BATS CARRY CAPAHAS TO SOLID 1997 SEASON

After a disappointing (by his standards) 1996 season, manager Jess Bolen was determined to get his Kohlfeld Capahas back on track.

And that's exactly what happened.

The Capahas, who finished just third in the National Baseball Congress Mid-South Regional a year ago, rebounded to capture the 1997 Mid-South Regional championship and tie for seventh place in the prestigious NBC World Series in Wichita, Kan.

"Overall, I thought it was a good year," said Bolen, whose team went 3-2 in the NBC World Series, capped by last week's 14-4 loss to Santa Barbara (Calif.) that eliminated the squad. "We bounced back and won the (Mid-South) regional. And finishing seventh in the nation is not too bad."

Bolen's 31st season as the Capahas' manager ended with a 33-7 overall record, giving him a 1,019-344 career mark with the Cape Girardeau baseball team.

This season was marked by several things, namely a 19-game winning streak to start the season and a high-powered, relentless offense that made it possible for the Capahas to stage rallies even when it looked like they were headed for defeat.

Never was that more evident than in the Mid-South Regional held in Cape Girardeau, when the Capahas rallied from an 8-1 deficit against two-time defending champion St. Louis O.B. Clark in the winner's bracket final. Not only did the Caps come back to win, they ended up prevailing via the run rule.

Then the next day in the finals, the Capahas staged several more rallies to upend O.B. Clark in extra innings and claim the championship.

"Winning 19 games in a row to start the season was something," Bolen said. "And the lineup we had was something. We just kept coming at you with those hitters."

The Capahas wound up batting better than .350 as a team, with Tom Breuer, Cory Crosnoe, Steve Kress, Ryan Murphy, Darrick Smith and Darin Kinsolving all hitting above .400. Shawn Pemberton batted in the .340 range while Lance Craft, Julio Vega and George White were all just under .300.

In the 32-team NBC World Series, facing some of the nation's stiffest competition, Breuer hit a sizzling .545, Crosnoe batted .435 and Murphy hit .421. Another standout was Jeremy Johnson, who sat out the regular season to help ease some back problems but joined the team for the NBC World Series and hit .471.

"We hit out there (in Wichita) like we hit all summer," said Bolen. "We just had really good hitters up and down the lineup."

In the pitching department, Danny Simpher went 7-1, including two victories in Wichita. Chad Bogenpohl wound up 6-1, with David Michel and Garrett Dunning both 4-1, Brandon West 4-1 and Kevin Vent 3-1. Vent had two big saves in Wichita.

"Our offense and defense were probably good enough to win the whole thing (in Wichita)," said Bolen. "I thought we were a little short of pitching this year and that really showed up in the World Series."

According to Bolen, one of the highlights of the entire season was the way several area businesses and individuals stepped up to financially assist the Capahas when they were in desperate need of travel/lodging funds for the NBC World Series.

"That really touched us as a ballclub," Bolen said. "The way people stepped up to help us out was something."

Looking ahead to next season, Bolen said he would like to keep the core of the team, adding some quality pitchers to strengthen that department.