CAPE SENIOR BABE RUTH OPENS '96 SEASON TONIGHT

Matching or bettering last year's 30-9 record might be tough, but Steve Williams still expects the Cape Girardeau Senior Babe Ruth White Sox to be quite a formidable baseball team this summer.

"Last year we had a really good season," said Williams, Central High's head coach who directs the White Sox along with Notre Dame High head coach Gregg Muench. "I think we'll be solid again this year.

"We've got a number of kids from the Cape area who played some high school baseball. We've got some kids from winning teams in the spring and hopefully that will carry over into the summer."

Senior Babe Ruth baseball is for players ages 16 through 18. While Cape Girardeau's American Legion team takes many of the top players in that age group, Williams said there are still quite a few talented ones left for the White Sox.

"It's a good experience for the kids, especially for the ones who still will be playing high school baseball next year," Williams said.

The White Sox -- who open the 1996 season at 7:30 tonight by facing the Festus Legion squad at Capaha Park -- are the defending champions of the SEMO North Babe Ruth League that also consists of Jackson, Sikeston and East Prairie.

This year's 16-member squad will feature seven players from Notre Dame High and five from Central High.

On the squad from Notre Dame are Ben LeGrand, Chris Canfield, Trent Summers, Mike Renick, Danny Wittenborn, Dirk Dirnberger and Scott Essner.

From Central are Chris Pobst, Troy Hooper, Troy Sikes, Brian Beard and David Hamm.

Rounding out the team are Travis Estes (Scott City), Willie Tatum (Shawnee), Brian Winans (Shawnee) and Sterling Koen (Egyptian).

"We're looking forward to the season," said Williams.