CAPE GIRARDEAU PLAYS HOST TO SPECIAL SOFTBALL TOURNEY

Whenever Ryan Ewing plays catcher, he never thinks of arguing calls with the umpire.

"I don't argue with people," said Ewing, 21. "It's a waste of time."

He tries to get along with everybody, he said. Even umpires.

Ryan's Cape Girardeau Storm was one of 11 regional softball teams that played in Cape Girardeau on Saturday for the Special Olympics district tournament.

Although track and field events are more widely known, other Special Olympics sports for the physically and mentally handicapped are a large part of what the organization is about, said Gary Brimer, director of sports and training for Missouri's Special Olympics.

"We're at our third year with golf competition at the state level," Brimer said. "We'd like to get more going with tennis, and we're looking at team handball, too."

Softball has been part of Special Olympics since 1980, he said.

On Saturday, teams gathered from St. Louis to the Bootheel for the district tournament here. It is one of four districts in the state, said Scott Williams, a local Special Olympics organizer.

About half the teams that played Saturday will advance to the state finals during the first weekend in August in Jefferson City, Brimer said. The event, called the Outdoor Classic, features finals in softball and golf.

The Cape Girardeau Storm should be on its way after finishing second in the district tournament to the BHC Flyers of St. Louis. The storm lost to the Flyers in the final game 11-13.

"We did pretty well today," said Jim Andrews, whose 16-year-old son Patrick plays on the team. "The Flyers were beating everybody else by 10 runs."

Patrick would have been happier if his team won, and if he had gotten to play first base.

"Mark McGwire plays first base, too," Patrick explained.

But he said it was nice to play ball with friends.

The attitudes of Special Olympics players is one aspect that draws Waylon Bracey back year after year to be an umpire. He appreciates the difference between working Cape Girardeau's recreational leagues and Special Olympics softball.

"This weekend, I don't get hollered at," he said. "It's because it's all in fun."

Williams thinks it would be worthwhile for more athletes without disabilities to watch these games.

"It's good, because you get to see sportsmen enjoy a sport for what it is," he said.

Mae Sauer was probably the rowdiest fan at the tournament's championship game. She pounded her feet on the stands when her grandson, 25-year-old Scott Philip, hit the ball.

"I'm going to wear out my shoes like this," Sauer said.

Sauer said she was impressed with the team's play, considering they have only had five practices together this year.

The Storm is a "unified" team, Williams said, which means handicapped players participate together with player/coaches.

Ewing likes his team's makeup. This is his first year playing softball, which augments time missed from his favorite sport, bowling, during its off-season.

Catcher is the position for him, Ewing has discovered.

"I like it because you can use two hands," he said. "It's all in your hands."