Capahas begin season today against Valmeyer

The Capahas begin their season against Valmeyer at 8 p.m. today at Capaha Field, but there won't be a sponsor to help keep the team afloat.

Instead, manager Jess Bolen said the team will rely on donations.

"We scheduled a lighter schedule to try to cut expenses, so we'll try to get through this year like we did last year," Bolen said. "We had people step forward last year and help us, so that's where we're at right now. I will say this team cannot exist this way."

Funding the 121-year-old team continues to be an issue, and Bolen said the plan for next season will revolve around finding a main sponsor immediately in order to end any threat of watching the team dissolve.

"It takes some money to operate a team like this," Bolen said. "Hopefully we'll get through the year, and I think we will."

The Capahas enter this year with 21 players on their roster, including nine who committed to the team at the beginning of last season.

Two Southeast Missouri State graduates, infielder Kenton Parmley and pitcher Dylan Lynn, and two current Redhawks, pitchers Brady Wright and Riley Calvird, headline this year's squad.

The Capahas Kyle James takes a cut at the ball during batting practice Thursday, June 4, 2015at Capaha Field. (Glenn Landberg)

Bolen believes the team's strength will be on the mound.

"I think we will have decent pitchers on the mound most of the time," Bolen said. "I always try to go out and get some good pitchers, and Dylan Lynn, who's pitching tomorrow night, is a really good pitcher. He's a year out of college now."

A number of local high school graduates will also compete for the Capahas this season. Central graduates Lance Young and Andrew Williams are both returning players, as well as former Oran standout Alex Heuring and Notre Dame graduate Cody Heisserer. Jackson graduates Kyle James and Avery Whiteside and Notre Dame graduate Cambron Womack will also take the field for the Capahas.

"We'll have several guys back from last year. ... It'll be a local flavor big time on this team, and we'll probably add some players later when we get going and players not become available from the draft," Bolen said. "It's going to be a very young team, but honestly, I couldn't go out and really recruit with uncertainty and the way the team right now is structured."

The team will host an auction July 10 at the Isle Casino in an effort to raise money for the National Baseball Congress World Series in Wichita, Kansas.

"It was a good event last year," Bolen said about the auction, which has helped the team raise money for the last 40 years. "It raised enough funds for us to go to Wichita last year."

The Capahas encountered a financial hurdle last season when Plaza Tire announced it was dropping its sponsorship April 8, forcing the team's season to get off to a late start. A group of anonymous donors along with Plaza Tire eventually salvaged the team's season, but a number of players had already left for other summer baseball opportunities.

Bolen compared the tradition-rich team to an antique and said that losing it would be a big loss for the city.

"Anything that's taken care of for years and years always fascinates me. I guess that's the biggest part of it," Bolen said. "This has lasted 120 years, and that part of it is hard to let go. It's hard to say, 'Well, that's it.' And I think maybe I'm nostalgic, but in the city of Cape Girardeau, there would be a lot of people sad to see something that lasted 120 years just go down the drain.

"It's not only a loss for me. It's a loss for the whole city. It's a loss for every player that ever played on the team, and it would be a loss, a void. ... Any time you lose something that's recognized throughout the nation as the oldest baseball team ever, I think that's not a positive for you as a city or for me or for anyone else."

In his 48th year as coach, Bolen said he never envisioned becoming so involved with the team.

"I think something like this starts out as a one- or two-year thing. It starts out that you're going to coach the team until they can find someone else, and then it turns out to be a lifelong job," Bolen said. "It's a job that we love. We have great people, associations with players and their girlfriends, wives, parents and everybody else. There's no way to put a value on that."

Schedule

Date Opponent Time

6/5 VALMEYER 8 p.m.

6/6 VALMEYER (DH) 1 p.m.

6/10 at St. Louis Bulls 7 p.m.

6/14 at Springfield, Ill. (DH) 1 p.m.

6/17 at Fairview Heights 7:30 p.m.

6/19 ST. LOUIS BULLS 7:30 p.m.

6/20 ST. LOUIS BULLS (DH) 5:30 p.m.

6/27 ST. LOUIS PRINTERS (DH) 1:30 p.m.

6/29 at St. Louis Bulls 7:30 p.m.

6/30 at Fairview Heights 7:30 p.m.

7/3 at Valmeyer Tournament TBD

7/4 at Valmeyer Tournament TBD

7/5 at Valmeyer Tournament TBD

7/8 at Charleston (DH) 6 p.m.

7/11 FAIRVIEW HEIGHTS (DH) 1:30 p.m.

7/12 at SPRINGFIELD, ILL. (DH) 1 p.m.

7/18 CHARLESTON (DH) 2 p.m.

7/24 NBC Tournament TBD

Roster

No. Name Pos.

4 Kenton Parmley INF

5 Kelby Brown INF/P

6 Lance Young P

8 Kyle James OF/1B

9 Cambron Womack OF

10 Calvin Lovig P

12 Laban Petzoldt INF

15 Drew Dowd P

16 Ross James P

21 Avery Whiteside P

23 Cody Heisserer P/INF/OF

25 Adam Connor 3B

28 Brady Wright P

32 Drew Morecraft C/OF

33 Riley Calvird P

34 Cody Gilbert OF

35 Andrew Williams P

43 Seth English 1B/P

44 Alex Heuring C

45 Dylan Lynn P