The Plaza Tire Capahas gained a lead in the first inning of their game against the St. Louis Spikes on Wednesday night and never relinquished it.
The Capahas defeated the Spikes 8-2 in Sauget, Illinois, to improve to 6-2 on the season.
With two outs and the bases empty in the first inning, shortstop Kenton Parmley drew a walk and scored on a double to left field by first baseman Sean Bard.
Adam Connor singled to drive in Bard and give the Capahas a 2-0 lead.
"We played pretty good defense, good pitching, and any time you get off to a two-run lead in the first inning, it makes you feel pretty good," Capahas manager Jess Bolen said.
The Capahas led 4-1 after three innings and 4-2 after six before tacking on a couple more runs in the eighth for the final score. "You know, you like to score in multiple innings -- any coach does," Bolen said. "We scored in six innings out of the nine, and that's always a good feeling when you do that. ... We got some timely hits, some sac flies and stuff like that. We've got a very young team, as you well know, but they played a pretty good ballgame."
The Capahas recorded nine hits in the game. Parmley and Alex Heuring each went 2 for 5 -- Parmley had two RBIs and Heuring had one -- while Bard was 2 for 3 with 2 RBIs.
Starting pitching Lance Young allowed two runs on four hits in seven innings of work while striking out five. Reliever Andrew Williams pitched two innings, allowing only two hits and striking out two. Neither pitcher walked a batter.
"It was just a good, workmanlike win," Bolen said. "The team played well, and it was a good game."
The Caps host Fairview Heights in a doubleheader starting at 1 p.m. Saturday and Springfield, Illinois, in a 1 p.m. doubleheader Sunday at Capaha Field.
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