Capahas' tourney run ends

The Plaza Tire Capahas' best National Baseball Congress World Series showing in years, one that featured several spine-tingling finishes, finally ended Thursday night in Wichita, Kan.

Plaza Tire fell one win short of advancing to championship week under the new tournament format, losing to the San Diego Force 7-3.

It was the Force's second tournament win over the Capahas, who went 4-2 in the 79th annual 32-team, double-elimination event that features many of the nation's top amateur baseball teams. Plaza Tire ended the season with a 32-5 record.

The Force also beat the Capahas 4-1 Tuesday, sending them into the losers bracket. They rebounded with two comeback wins Wednesday, 6-2 over the Liberal (Kan.) Bee Jays and 9-8 over the Ozark (Mo.) Generals in a contest that ended at 12:20 a.m. Thursday.

A win Thursday night in the losers bracket final of the opening week would have put the Capahas in the 16-team championship that begins today.

Under the tournament's new format, two teams from the opening week move into the final round of play against 14 higher-seeded qualifiers who have not yet seen action.

"I was proud of our team. So much for people who said we couldn't play with these teams out here," said Capahas manager Jess Bolen, whose squad had been 2-8 in its previous four NBC World Series appearances. "I really think our team played well in this tournament. They represented themselves well. You walk away 4-2 against this type of competition, that's not bad."

Thursday night's contest saw the Force build a 3-0 lead after two innings.

The Capahas, after having their first 11 batters retired, made it 3-1 in the fourth inning. Kenton Parmley drew a two-out walk, stole second and scored on Kody Campbell's RBI single.

Plaza Tire stranded two runners in both the sixth and seventh innings, then the Force added three runs in the bottom of the seventh to make it 6-1.

The Capahas, who came from behind to win three of their four tournament games, were not finished.

Parmley and Campbell each singled with one out in the eighth. They moved up on an error and Mark Hagedorn delivered a two-out, two-RBI double to cut the deficit to 6-3.

But the Capahas got no closer as the Force rounded out the scoring with a run in the bottom of the eighth.

"We needed more than three runs to win this game because they were going to score some runs," Bolen said. "But our guys didn't give up. They really battled."

The Capahas were outhit 11-7. Campbell and Hagedorn led Plaza Tire with two hits apiece.

Skylar Cobb suffered the loss, allowing three runs and six hits in six innings. He walked four and did not record a strikeout.

Andrew Williams gave up three runs on four hits in the seventh inning. Logan Bartels finished up, allowing a run and a hit in the eighth inning.

"We knew coming into this game we were going to be in trouble pitching," Bolen said of his squad's depleted mound staff after playing six games in six days. "But they all gave me everything they had. I thought Skylar had a good start."

Adrian DeMar gave the Force a strong start, allowing one run and four hits in 5 2/3 innings. He struck out five and walked one. Two relievers finished off the victory. The three pitchers combined for eight strikeouts.

Plaza Tire had remained alive early Thursday morning by rallying past the Ozark Generals, who built a 5-0 lead after 2 1/2 innings only to see the Capahas forge a 5-5 tie after six innings.

Ozark regained a 7-5 advantage with a two-run seventh inning but the Capahas answered right back with two in the bottom of the seventh.

Plaza Tire took its first lead of the game with a two-run eighth that made it 9-7.

Brandon Bennett singled with one out and scored off an error on a ball hit by Chase Fieldhouse, a tournament pickup from the Crestwood (Ill.) Panthers. Fieldhouse advanced to third on the play and scored on Jordan Kimball's squeeze bunt.

Ozark scored in the ninth on a one-out double and a triple. The tying run was at third base with one out but Brady Wright recorded a strikeout and a pop out as the Capahas secured the victory.

"It was a pretty remarkable game," Bolen said. "We had a great comeback."

Wright, a tournament pickup from the Charleston Riverdogs who was the winning pitcher earlier Wednesday against Liberal with 2 2/3 scoreless innings, also notched the victory against Ozark.

Wright, who also was the winner in relief in Plaza Tire's tournament opener, allowed a run and two hits in two innings against the Generals. He struck out one and walked one.

"Brady did a great job for us, winning three games in the tournament," Bolen said.

The Capahas had 13 hits, led by Parmley with three. Christian Cavaness, Adam Connor and Adam Blum all had two hits. Connor, Blum and Kimball each drove in two runs.

Anthony Spangler, a tournament pickup from the Crestwood (Ill.) Panthers, pitched the first seven innings. He allowed seven runs, six earned, on 10 hits. He struck out one and walked two.

The Capahas finished the tournament with only two errors as they did not commit an error in five of their six games.

All told, Bolen had few complaints after the Capahas' 32nd consecutive NBC World Series appearance that saw them win their first two games in 13 and 14 innings, or a season that saw them exceed expectations.

"I doubt if many people thought we'd go 32-5 and win four games out here [in Wichita]," said Bolen, who has a 1,465-393 career record over 47 years managing with the Capahas. "I guess we proved we had a pretty good team. It was a great summer."