Area digest

Capahas drop opener in Illinois tournament

VALMEYER, Ill. -- The Craftsman Union Capahas gave two ninth-inning runs and lost 11-10 to Alton (Ill.) in the opening day of the eight-team Valmeyer Tournament.

The Capahas took a 10-9 lead going into the ninth inning, but Alton tied it on a lead-off home run. After Matt Stroup struck out the next batter, Alton put a runner on first with a single, then scored from third two batters later.

Jason Chavez took the loss in 6 2/3 innings. He struck out seven and gave up 10 hits. Stroup pitched the final two innings.

Gary Gilbert was 4-for-4 for the Capahas (23-2). Dave Lawson and Justin Welker had three hits apiece, and Josh Eftink and Steve Kress had two hits apiece.

A's, Steele finish 2-0 in tournament's first day

The Cape Girardeau A's and Steele went unbeaten in Friday's first day of the three-day Pop's Pizza Firecracker Classic tournament for Senior Babe Ruth teams.

The A's defeated Charleston 17-3 in five innings, then beat New Madrid 14-4 in six innings. Against Charleston, Buddy Conrad pitched the win (five innings, four hits), and seven players had two hits apiece. Against New Madrid, Jared Jinkerson got the win in six innings (six hits, five strikeouts). Chance Franklin had a team-high three hits.

Oran went 1-0 with a 10-9, nine-inning win over New Madrid. Brandon Dirnberger and Matt Seyer -- the winning pitcher -- had three hits apiece.

Chaffee went 1-1 with an 8-4 win over Dexter and a 9-6 loss to Steele. Chase Eskew struck out four and gave up four hits in seven innings against Dexter, and Ty Brown had two hits, including a two-run home run.

Steele won the day's other game 8-7 over Dexter.

Ford & Sons stands 0-2 in Ballwin tournament

BALLWIN, Mo. -- The Cape Girardeau Ford & Sons American Legion team dropped two games Friday in the first day of a three-day tournament.

After Patrick Slattery drove in the go-ahead run to put Ford & Sons up 2-1 in the ninth inning of the second game, Eureka scored three runs in the bottom of the inning to win 4-3. Wayne Essner provided the bright spot in Cape's three-error game; he gave up a run, struck out nine and walked three in eight innings. Luke McClellan drove in a pair of runs.

Earlier in the day, Jefferson City kept Ford & Sons without a run until the seventh inning in a 9-4 Cape loss. John Thies gave up three hits and struck out six. Seth Hudson had two of Cape's six hits.

Junior Legion a game away from title shot

PADUCAH, Ky. -- The Cliff's Rent to Own Junior American Legion team will play today for a shot at Sunday's tournament championship after winning its first two games.

Cape won 14-1 in five innings Friday against Ballard County, Ky. Tyrone Reece improved to 7-1 after striking out four and giving up three hits. Zach Hudson and Ty Craft had two hits apiece.

On Thursday, Stuart Doyle pitched a two-hitter in a 13-3 defeat of Paducah American. Cape scored nine times in the fourth inning. Scott Brueckner, Tony Leuckel and Matt Hellrich each had two hits.

-- From staff reports