Capahas cruise past Bulls 11-0 in first game of doubleheader

The Capahas baseball team and the St. Louis Bulls were about as familiar with each other as they were with their own teams when they met for their doubleheader at Capaha Field on Saturday night.

Neither team had played a game since their first meeting 10 days earlier in Cahokia, Illinois, because of rain and wet field conditions, which was the cause of Friday night's cancellation between the two teams.

But any unease the Capahas had about getting back on the diamond didn't show in their 11-0 rout of the Bulls in Game 1.

"It felt strange. In fact I had to reintroduce myself to some of the players because we hadn't seen each other in so long," Capahas manager Jess Bolen joked. "It's frustrating with as much rain as we've had, but what can you do about it? ... I was surprised somewhat when we came out here this morning at 8 o'clock and there really wasn't any water standing on [the field]."

The Capahas scored three runs in the first inning. Right fielder and Jackson graduate Kyle James led off the game with a bloop hit to shallow right and stole second with one out. First baseman Sean Bard reached on a throwing error by the Bulls shortstop and third baseman Adam Connor was walked to load the bases.

A couple of runs scored when designated hitter Drew Morecraft's popup was dropped by the second baseman for an error and the Capahas took a 3-0 lead on a fielder's choice.

"They're like us. They haven't played a game in 10 days," Bolen said of the Bulls errors. "And believe me, when you travel, you never have your full team. When we go to St. Louis they'll have a different team. That's the way it is in summer ball."

The Capahas Cambon Womack reaches second base safely as the throw gets past St. Louis Bulls second baseman Logan Springer during the first inning in the first of two games Saturday, June 20, 2015 at Capaha Field. (Fred Lynch)

James, who was on base four times in his first game in the leadoff spot, reached on a fielder's choice with one out in the second inning.

"As long as I'm in the lineup and hitting, I'm happy," James said with a grin.

Oran graduate and Capahas catcher Alex Heuring followed with a single before Connor drove in both with a two-out single to left to make it 5-0.

The third inning was the only one that the Bulls retired the side in order and the Capahas responded with a six-run fourth.

A bases-loaded, two-out hit by pitch -- the third of the inning and first for reliever Jeremy Faust -- put the Capahas up 6-0.

Left fielder Cody Heisserer followed with an RBI single, second baseman Cam Womack drove in a pair of runs with a single down the left-field line and center fielder Cody Gilbert doubled to right to score two runs and extend the lead to 11-0 before being thrown out at third trying to stretch it to a triple.

Capahas starter Dylan Lynn pitches to a St. Louis Bulls batter during the second inning in the first of two games Saturday, June 20, 2015 at Capaha Field. (Fred Lynch)

"It's just all readjusting now," James said. "We've been off two weeks and you've got to get back in the groove."

Starting pitcher Dylan Lynn, a righty who pitched at Southeast Missouri State in 2013, got the win on the mound. He allowed three hits in five scoreless innings.

He gave up a single to start the game that just dropped in shallow right between three Capahas players to Adam Lampel, who advanced to second on a groundout.

Lampel was thrown out to end the inning. James recorded a flyout in right and threw to cutoff man and shortstop Kelby Brown, who got it to Connor for the tag.

The Bulls got a one-out single in the second and were retired in order in the third, including a pair of strikeouts.

Lynn hit one batter with two outs in the fourth and gave up a leadoff single in the fifth but nothing else. He recorded five strikeouts.

"What I've noticed with Dylan is when the first inning starts you see him out there, he doesn't look like he's throwing very hard, he doesn't look like he's locating," Bolen said. "You get to the third inning and bam, there he goes and he looks good."

Andrew Williams pitched the final two innings for the Capahas and gave up two hits and no walks. He struck out two.

The Capahas recorded nine hits in the game and did not commit an error.

"I thought we played OK. Nothing special," Bolen said. "I kind of look at, 'Do they make the routine plays? Do they put the ball in play when they're batting? Do you get pitchers that throw strikes?' That kind of thing. I thought we did OK being that we've played two games in the last 10 days, I think."

The Capahas have 15 games plus the Valmeyer Tournament on the remainder of their schedule before the NBC Tournament in Wichita begins at the end of July.

"We'll have to throw in a few extra games," Bolen said.

They have a doubleheader with the St. Louis Printers at Capaha beginning at 1:30 p.m. next Saturday and Bolen is looking forward to another chance to observe his squad.

"We haven't really played enough games to know what we got or nothing else."