Capahas win again, will play in bracket final

The Plaza Tire Capahas' best National Baseball Congress World Series showing in years is not over yet.

Plaza Tire posted a wild 9-8 win over the Ozark (Mo.) Generals in a game that started at 10:08 p.m. Wednesday night and ended at 12:20 a.m. Thursday morning.

The Capahas, who earlier Wednesday rallied past the Liberal (Kan.) Bee Jays 6-2, improved to 4-1 during the 79th annual 32-team, double-elimination event in Wichita, Kan.

Plaza Tire, 32-4 on the season, will play the San Diego Force at 7 p.m. Thursday in the losers bracket final of the first week. The winner advances to the championship week that begins Friday.

The San Diego Force handed the Capahas their only tournament loss, 4-1 Tuesday.

Plaza Tire had remained alive early Thursday morning by outlasting Ozark, which built a 5-0 lead after 2 1/2 innings only to see the Capahas rally for 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.

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 a run 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.

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.

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