Cape Junior Legion baseball sweeps through first two rounds of state tournament

The Cape Girardeau Junior Legion Post 63 baseball team opened up the Junior Legion State Tournament with a bang on Thursday at Rosnick Field in Washington, Missouri, rolling through the first two rounds.

Cape (32-9) dropped Elsberry 8-0 in the opening round before sweeping past tournament host and defending champion Washington 6-2 in the second-round nightcap.

It was the worst loss Washington suffered this season.

"Our expectations are very high," Post 63 coach Josh Meyer said. "With that said, we met expectations for sure. The first game, Reid James pitched a heck of a game and ... we swung it. Game 2, that Washington team is a heck of a program and we really had to battle."

Post 63 will face Sedalia (36-12), a 2-0 winner over Glendale on Thursday, today at 5:30 p.m. The winner will move into the championship game.

Cape Girardeau scored in each of the first five innings against Washington, opening things up with a two-RBI double from Jacquen Cummins in the first. Up 3-0 after that inning, Post 63 added a run in each subsequent inning to take a 6-0 lead after four frames.

"When you get that early lead it lets the pitchers settle in and throw strikes," Meyer said. "[And] you can't say enough about how our table setters -- Jawone Newell and Cooper Crosnoe -- have played. And the guys below them ... have been picking them up and bringing them in."

An error and two wild pitches allowed the hosts to get on the scoreboard in the fifth, breaking a string of 17 consecutive shutout innings for Cape pitchers.

By the time the inning ended, Post 218 had cut into the lead, 6-2. That was all the defending champs could muster.

Crosnoe got the start and win on the mound for Post 63, going all seven innings. He worked through five walks to allow just one earned run while scattering six hits and striking out four batters.

Zach Stahlman suffered the loss for Washington, getting peppered for 13 hits in six innings, allowing six runs (three earned) and walking two.

Cummins and Sam Dirnberger were each 2-for-4 with two doubles to lead the Cape offense. Cummins added a pair of RBIs.

Jawone Newell was 2-for-4 and Noah Arnzen was 2-for-2.

Post 63's opener against Elsberry set the tone for the day.

Cape got things going with a Cummins RBI single in the top of the first inning and never looked back.

Leading 3-0 after two innings, Post 63 stretched the advantage to 5-0 when Nicholas Lindsay smacked a two-run single with the bases loaded in the top of the fourth. Dirnberger drove in another run to make it 6-0 after four innings.

Cape added one run in each of the fifth and sixth innings to cement the final score.

Reid James picked up the win on the mound for Post 63, going five innings and allowing three hits while striking out three. Austin Dill pitched the final two innings to preserve the shutout.

Dirnberger was 2-for-3 with a run batted in for Cape Girardeau, while Nathan Patterson and Crosnoe were each 2-for-4.

Joey Marko took the pitching loss for Post 226, giving up six runs (five earned) on 10 hits in four innings of work, striking out four and walking four.

The double-elimination tournament will play its championship game at 3:30 p.m. Saturday. Should the winner have one loss, a deciding contest will played Sunday at a time to be determined.

Game 2

Washington 000 020 0 -- 2 6 2

Cape 311 100 x -- 6 13 2

WP -- Cooper Crosnoe. LP -- Zach Stahlman. 2B -- Jacquen Cummins (C) 2, Sam Dirnberger (C) 2, Nathan Patterson (C), Reid James (C). Multiple hits -- Washington: Justin Heggeman 2-3, Quinton Peopsel 2-3; Cape: Cummins 2-4, Dirnberger 2-4, Jawone Newell 2-4, Noah Arnzen 2-2.

------

Game 1

Cape 210 311 0 -- 8 13 1

Ellsberry 000 000 0 -- 0 3 3

WP -- James. LP -- Joey Marko. Multiple hits -- Cape: Crosnoe 2-4, Dirnberger 2-3, Patterson 2-4.

[Editor's note: Story changed to correct Nicholas Lindsay's name.]