CAPE USES FOWLER PLAY FOR SPLIT

Steve Fowler almost single-handedly made sure that the Cape Girardeau Ford & Sons American Legion baseball team would not go away empty handed Monday night.

After Cape dropped the opening game of a doubleheader against visiting Imperial 7-4, Fowler hit and pitched Ford & Sons to a 16-6 triumph in the nightcap.

Fowler, a product of Shawnee (Ill.) High School, drove in seven second-game runs, thanks in large part to a three-run homer and a two-run triple. He also added a pair of run-scoring ground balls.

On the mound, Fowler pitched all five innings, allowing eight hits and five earned runs. The game was stopped after the top of the fifth inning by the 10-run rule.

"I think I had eight (RBIs) one game in high school, but this is the most I've ever had in Legion," said a grinning Fowler, who will be a senior at Shawnee.

Cape is now 3-4 while Imperial is 1-3.

"We still have to get a lot of things ironed out," said Ford & Sons manager Ron Michel, who saw his squad commit seven errors Monday, including five in the first game.

Imperial came into Monday's action at Capaha Field shorthanded on pitching because the squad was missing several key players.

But that problem didn't show up in the opener as Kevin Pearson hurled seven impressive innings in going the distance. He allowed seven hits and three earned runs while striking out eight and walking one.

Justin Cook gave up 11 hits and six runs (five earned) in six innings to take the loss.

Scott Reinagel homered and led Cape's offense with two hits.

Jimmy Skiles had three of Imperial's 13 hits. Justin Shaver, Bryan Milam and Ryan Carnes all added two hits.

Imperial's mound troubles certainly surfaced in the nightcap. Three pitchers combined to walk a whopping 15 batters, which -- coupled with four errors -- allowed Cape to score 16 runs despite having only six hits.

Jerry Mann, Imperial's starter, couldn't find the plate at all. He walked nine batters in only 1 1/3 innings of work.

Daniel Turner joined Fowler in getting two hits for Cape while Mark Fisher and Wes Steele each drove in two runs.

Eric Tolie had a second-game homer for Imperial. Tolie, Skiles and David Bouchek -- the son of former major-leaguer Jerry Bouchek -- all had two hits.

So Cape was able to garner a split despite being outhit 21-13 on the evening.

"I think we'll eventually be fine and have a pretty decent ballclub," Michel said. "We haven't had all our players together for very long yet so it'll just take a little time."

Ford & Sons will host perennial Legion power Paducah, Ky., Wednesday at 7 p.m.. Cape will visit Sikeston Thursday night for a District 14 doubleheader before returning home for its Capaha Classic Tournament Friday through Sunday.