CAPAHAS LOSE GAME, STARTING INFIELDER

VALMEYER, Ill. -- The Cape Girardeau Kohlfeld Capahas lost 13-7 to Valmeyer (Ill.) Saturday night, but more importantly may have lost starting second baseman Darrick Smith for the upcoming National Baseball Congress World Series.

Smith, a veteran leader and one of the top batters on the Capahas, had surgery on his nose Saturday night after a bad-hop ground ball hit him in the face in the sixth inning. The Capahas led 6-4 at the time of the injury, but Valmeyer reeled off 10 runs on eight hits in the sixth to take a 13-6 lead.

The loss dropped the Capahas to 30-5, but manager Jess Bolen was more concerned with the health of Smith rather than the outcome of the game.

"It was one of those freak accidents," said Bolen. "The ball was a two-hop smash and as he went down to field it, it took a bad hop on him.

"Ozzie Smith couldn't have reacted to the hop it took."

Smith, who was the leading hitter in the Capahas' NBC Regional Tournament Championship at Capaha Field, will be a difficult player to replace if he can't return to the lineup.

"It's a very, very tough blow considering his fielding and his leadership," said Bolen of the Caps' oldest player. "He turns the double play at second base better than anybody I've coached."

Smith was also hot at the plate, with 11 hits in three games following the NBC Regional. He has seven home runs on the season.

"It's a very tough blow, but we're more concerned about him, rather than the team," Bolen said. "I'm not saying he's out of the tournament, but if he were to get hit again like that it could be even more serious."

One bright spot for the Caps was the powerful bat of clean-up batter Tom Breuer, who had two home runs. Breuer cranked a three-run shot in the first inning and added a solo shot in the third. Steve Kress followed Breuer's first home run with a solo home run to put the Caps up 4-0.

Brandon West started on the mound for the Caps, pitching the first three innings. Kevin Vent followed with two innings, allowing four runs and Garrett Dunning was touched for six runs in the final three innings.

The Capahas will open the 1997 NBC World Series in Wichita, Kan., by playing at 10 p.m. Friday against the Iowa regional champion.