Cape Legion claims opener in Fighting Squirrel Classic

The Cape Girardeau Ford & Sons Legion Post 63 Legion baseball team rolled into the quarterfinals of the Fighting Squirrel Classic with a 9-1 victory over the Jackson Senior Babe Ruth team Thursday night at Notre Dame Regional High School.

Cape collected seven hits and took advantage of five errors in improving to 7-2.

Winning pitcher Matt Chism threw all six innings of the contest, which was ended by time limit. Chism allowed four hits, struck out 10, walked five and hit one batter. He allowed one earned run in the fourth inning, but he escaped a bases-loaded jam in the frame with a strikeout.

Cape, which scored two runs without a hit in the bottom of the first, led just 2-1 at the time.

"That was a huge point of the game," Cape coach Justin Leisure said. "Things kind of swung around our way and we scored a run in the bottom of the inning."

Grant Dix led off the bottom of the fourth with a double, then stole third and scored on the errant throw.

Cape added two runs in the fifth and four in the sixth.

Dix finished with two hits, including an RBI single.

Cape will play the winner of the winner the Kelso Scrappers/St. Louis 18s in the quarterfinals at 7 p.m. today at Notre Dame.

-- From staff report