Capahas split doubleheader as pitchers have their way

~ Plaza Tire won the opener 6-0 on a one-hitter, but Pally's claimed the second game 2-1.

The Plaza Tire Capahas' pitching was more than good enough to sweep Sunday's doubleheader.

But the Springfield (Ill.) Pally's had a pretty tough pitcher of their own going in the second game.

That, along with one poor defensive inning by the Capahas, caused Plaza Tire to settle for a split in a pair of seven-inning, wood-bat contests at Capaha Field.

Capahas pitcher Jason Chavez pitched a one-hitter against Pally's of Springfield, Ill. on Sunday at Capaha Field. (Fred Lynch)

Jason Chavez fired a one-hit shutout in the 6-0 opener, but the Pally's bounced back with a 2-1 second-game victory.

The Capahas, losing for just the second time all season -- but the second time in a span of five days -- are 11-2. The Pally's are 5-6.

"You never like to lose games you should win, and this is one we should have won," Plaza Tire manager Jess Bolen said. "But baseball is one of those things ... you're not going to go something like 28-1.

"You're going to lose some games. That's the way the sport is."

Plaza Tire's Chad Bogenpohl and Springfield's Luke Jason squared off in a second-game pitcher's duel.

Bogenpohl allowed five hits and did not walk a batter while striking out seven. But two Plaza Tire errors in the fourth inning led to a pair of unearned runs as the Pally's erased a 1-0 deficit.

Jason, a former pitcher at Western Illinois University, made that lead stand up. He allowed six hits while striking out three and walking one.

"Bogie pitched well. He should have had a 1-0 shutout," Bolen said. "But give him [Jason] credit. He was throwing strikes, keeping the ball down and changing speeds.

"We had some opportunities, but we couldn't take advantage."

Capahas' right fielder Tom Bolen, the manager's son, also praised Jason.

"He had a good slider and he knows how to pitch," Tom Bolen said. "He did a good job against us."

But nobody pitched better Sunday than Chavez, who came within an eyelash of his third no-hitter with the Capahas.

Chavez, a Central High School product and former Southern Illinois University hurler, allowed only a disputed infield single to Sean Shea in the fourth inning of the opener.

Shea sent a bouncing ball up the middle and Plaza Tire second baseman Omar Padilla ranged far to his right near the second-base bag.

Padilla bobbled the ball just a bit and then his throw was late to get the speedy Shea.

Although players said there was plenty of discussion in the Capahas' dugout about how to score the play, Jess Bolen said he wouldn't have felt right ruling it an error.

"Any time a guy has to go that far to field a ball, you have to score it a hit," Bolen said. "When it happened, I said 'that's the first hit.' "

Chavez, in his sixth season with the Capahas, acknowledged that it was a difficult play.

But a smiling Chavez added: "Omar said he should have had it. It would have been nice to get another no-hitter."

As it was, Chavez improved to 4-0 and lowered his earned-run average to under 1.00. Chavez, who leads Plaza Tire in wins, struck out seven, walked three and hit two batters.

"Jason was really good again," Bolen said. "He's been pitching very well every time out."

The Capahas didn't exactly have their way offensively against former University of Memphis pitcher P.J. Moore, who trailed just 2-0 before Plaza Tire broke things open with a four-run sixth inning.

"I thought he threw pretty good for them too," Bolen said.

Plaza Tire had just 13 hits in the doubleheader. Bolen went 2-for-2 and scored two runs in the opener, while Zach Blemker drove in a pair of runs.

Levi Olson went 2-for-2 with a double in the second game. Dustin Pritchett and Chad Mercado also had two hits each.

Springfield finished the day with only six hits. Chris Schmidd had two hits in the nightcap.

Plaza Tire returns to action Tuesday night at the Charleston Riverdogs..

(Game 1)

Capahas 6, Springfield (Ill.) 0

Springfield 000 000 0 -- 0 1 3

Capahas 100 014 X -- 6 7 0

WP -- Jason Chavez, 4-0. LP -- P.J. Moore. 2B -- Omar Padilla (C). Multiple hits -- Capahas, Tom Bolen 2-2. Records -- Capahas 11-1, Springfield 4-6.

(Game 2)

Springfield (Ill.) 2, Capahas 1

Springfield 000 200 0 -- 2 5 0

Capahas 010 000 0 -- 1 6 3

WP -- Luke Jason. LP -- Chad Bogenpohl 2-1. 2B -- Brennan Malham (S), Levi Olson (C). Multiple hits -- Springfield, Chris Schmidd 2-3; Capahas, Olson 2-2, Dustin Pritchett 2-3, Chad Mercado 2-3. Records -- Capahas 11-2, Springfield 5-6.