Capahas dominate in securing return to Wichita

The National Baseball Congress Mid-South Regional field has not been especially potent in recent years.

I still didn't expect the Plaza Tire Capahas to have such an easy time in capturing their sixth consecutive regional championship.

The Capahas rolled through the three-team tournament played Friday and Saturday at Capaha Field, going 3-0 and outscoring the opposition 22-4.

Pine Bluff (Ark.), a former regional doormat, has gotten better every year and last summer gave the Capahas a nice run, losing two games to the host squad by a combined six runs. The Braves were beaten by just two runs in the finals.

The Braves again brought a solid club to Cape Girardeau -- featuring several current or former Division I collegiate players -- but were no match for the Capahas, falling 11-3 in the first round and 7-1 in the finals.

While the Capahas hit the ball well in the wood-bat event and played strong defense, their pitching stole the show.

Anthony Maupin, Brad LaBruyere and Jason Chavez, in order, threw nine-inning complete games while allowing just three earned runs and 15 hits in 27 innings.

That trio of current or former Division I hurlers -- LaBruyere will be a senior at Southeast Missouri State, Maupin pitched for Southeast and Chavez threw for SIU-Carbondale -- dominated.

The Capahas, playing in their 44th season under manager Jess Bolen, secured their 29th straight bid to next month's NBC World Series in Wichita, Kan. The squad still has several regular-season games before heading to Wichita.

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The Cape Girardeau Ford & Sons Post 63 American Legion baseball team is gearing up to host two postseason tournaments.

First comes this week's five-team District 14 event beginning Thursday at Notre Dame Regional High School.

The winner earns a spot in next week's five-team Zone 4 meet that will be played at Capaha Field. That winner qualifies for the state tournament.

Since Cape is hosting the zone and has an automatic berth, if Post 63 captures the district tournament then the runner-up also will qualify for zone play.

Dunklin County probably rates as the district favorite, but Cape is not far behind and Jackson also should be right in the mix. Poplar Bluff is dangerous while Sikeston, which has struggled, rounds out the field.

Dunklin County and Cape have combined for the past three District 14 tournament titles. Dunklin County won in 2007 and 2008, with Post 63 prevailing last year for its first district crown since 2003.

Cape's resurgent program, which experienced several recent rough seasons, has now posted consecutive campaigns of at least 30 victories.

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Another important summer baseball tournament will be played this week in Charleston, Mo., as the Fighting Squirrels host the Senior Babe Ruth state event beginning Thursday.

Charleston is the defending champion after beating Jackson in last year's title game. Jackson went on to finish second in the regional hosted by Charleston.

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Former Southeast baseball player Phil Warren has been selected as a coach for Wednesday's Frontier League All-Star Game in Marion, Ill.

Warren, who played at Southeast from 1997 through 2000, is in his fourth season as manager of the Gateway (Ill.) Grizzlies of the independent Frontier League.

Warren previously had a six-year Frontier League playing career, earning all-star honors and ranking among the league's career top 10 in games played, hits, home runs and RBIs.

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Luke Lochhead, a former student manager for the Southeast men's basketball team, is joining the Indiana Tech women's basketball staff headed by ex-Southeast men's assistant Rodney Hamilton.

Hamilton, who spent the 2007-2008 and 2008-2009 seasons at Southeast under former coach Scott Edgar, is entering his second season as coach at Indiana Tech, an NAIA school in Fort Wayne, Ind.

Lochhead, a native of Chester, Ill., was a manager at Southeast for four seasons from 2005-06 through 2008-09. He will be a graduate assistant at Indiana Tech after graduating from Southeast this year.

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I'm glad LeBron James finally decided which NBA team he's going to play for the next several years.

As much as I like James, I'm sure I was not alone in getting tired of being bombarded with all the media coverage and speculation of where he might be headed.

James ended all the suspense in Thursday night's nationally televised announcement that he will be joining the Miami Heat to play with fellow superstar Dwyane Wade and another standout in Chris Bosh.

I can't say I blame James for seeking out a better situation to try and win one or more NBA championships. I just couldn't see that happening if he had stayed with Cleveland.

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There will be no column next week as I take some time off to hang out in St. Louis with my brother and his family, who make a visit from California.

Marty Mishow is a sports writer for the Southeast Missourian.