Cape eliminates Portageville in state tournament

~ The Pepsi Mid-America team advanced to play in an elimination-bracket game 10 a.m. today against Boonville.

CHARLESTON, Mo. -- Offense was in short supply Saturday for the Cape Girardeau Senior Babe Ruth baseball team in an elimination game at the Senior Babe Ruth state tournament.

But Cape, which managed just three hits in the game, made the most of a pair of errors to defeat Portageville 5-3 in an elimination-bracket game at the double-elimination event.

Cape starter Garrett Stevens pitched 3 1/3 innings before yielding to reliever Anthony Wulfers, who picked up the win.

Stevens allowed two runs on four hits and gave up two walks.

Wulfers surrendered one run on four hits with one walk in 3 2/3 innings.

Portageville took the lead early, scoring one run on three hits against Stevens in the top of the third. Portageville, which represented the same conference (Dexter) as Cape in the tournament, added another run in a two-hit top of the fourth.

Cape collected its first hit of the game in the bottom of the fifth on a one-out single by Brett Heischmidt. After Stevens followed with a walk, Heischmidt was forced-out at third on a fielder's choice and Wulfers worked a two-out walk to load the bases. Stevens and Blake Gaddis came around to score on a dropped fly ball by the Portageville center fielder to tie the game at 2-2.

"They let us back in the game with that error, and we made the most of it," Cape coach Alan Wengert said.

Nathan Kolda led off the bottom of the sixth with a single to right field. Luke Moll and Heischmidt drew consecutive walks to load the bases with one out. Stevens collected the go-ahead RBI on a sacrifice fly to left field, and Gaddis followed with a basehit to right to reload the bases.

Alert baserunning by Cape resulted in two more runs, as Moll came in to score on a wild pitch and Heishmidt crossed the plate after a throwing error on the play, giving Cape a 5-2 lead going into the seventh.

Cape plays 10 a.m. today against Boonville, which ousted Bourbon, in the elimination bracket. The winner of that game moves into the losers bracket final scheduled for later today.