Cape Legion wins opener in weekend tournament

It was an unusually long first inning for Cape Ford and Sons Post 63 pitcher Jamie Pickel in a couple different ways Thursday in the opening game of the SEMO Invitational.

First he spent a long time on the mound in the top of the inning considering he retired the Missouri Bulls 16U team in order.

"I threw like 23 pitches that inning and like 15 of them were foul balls," Pickel said. "It was crazy. The top three guys really made me work early, so they could see what I was throwing. I didn't throw too much, just pretty much a fastball all day, but they were right on it early in the game. That's kind of why they had so many foul tips."

Then Pickel and every other player in Post 63's lineup batted twice in the bottom of the inning to build a big lead on their way to a 15-1 victory in five innings.

"That's a good start," Post 63 coach Todd Pennington said. "They had a little trouble throwing strikes in the inning, and we took advantage of it. We got a couple big hits in big situations and started the game off well."

Post 63's Cody Livesay doubles against the Missouri Bulls 16U during the second inning Thursday at Central High School. (Fred Lynch)

Post 63 got eight free bases from the Bulls and six hits in the inning, which resulted in a 12-0 lead.

"Every time you give up walks, they lead to runs," Bulls coach Matt Wagner said. "Walks lead to runs every time because then the other team knows what to expect to hit, and they do hit."

Pickel recorded two hits and an RBI in the inning before heading back to the bullpen to warm up again before taking the mound in the second inning.

"We just got hot at the right time early in the game," Pickel said. "We came out and did what we had to do and hit the ball well. Everybody contributed there in that first inning, which was really nice. That's how we posted up that big number. Everyone did a good job today."

Seth Ressel, who relieved Bulls starter Gavin O'Brien in the first inning, did not allow a run in the second and third innings before allowing three in the fourth, two of which came on a double by Central graduate Trey Gardner.

Missouri Bulls 16U shortstop Griffin Siebert hauls in a popup during the third inning.

"Seth did a great job coming in today," Wagner said. "He did that last week for us, too. We know he's a guy that will come off the bench and throw the ball really well. He throws a lot of strikes and when you throw strikes, you can get the other team off balance and start doing some things. That's what he did well all day."

Ressel, who will be a sophomore at Oran High School in the fall, was pitching to a Post 63 lineup that featured some players entering their sophomore year of college.

"It really doesn't bother our guys," Wagner said about playing in a higher age division, something his team also did last week. "They're all high school kids, and if they want to compete on the high school level, they've got to play against guys like this anyway."

The Bulls scored their run in the second inning on D.J. Dowdy's RBI double with two outs.

The Southeast Missouri Cobras, a 16-and-under team made up of players from Southeast Missouri, dropped their opening game of the tournament 12-2 to the Eagles.

Cape Girardeau Ford and Sons American Legion Post 63 third baseman Logan Morris tags out Missouri Bulls U16 baserunner D. J. Dowdy during the second inning Thursday at Central High School. (Fred Lynch)

Central student Tyler Anderson was 2 for 3 in the loss.

The Bulls 16U team dropped its second game of the day Thursday, falling 16-8 to the Southern Illinois Sundawgs 17U team.

The Bulls 18U team got its tournament started with a 9-3 win over the Hitmen in the tournament's nightcap at Notre Dame High School.