Caps find 'rout' to World Series

The Plaza Tire Capahas readily acknowledged that the National Baseball Congress Mid-South Regional field was not nearly as strong as it normally is.

But the Capahas weren't about to let that detract from their dominating run through the four-team, double-elimination tournament at Capaha Field.

Plaza Tire won a regional championship for the first time since 2001 by routing the St. Louis Toros 12-2 in Sunday's title game that ended in the bottom of the seventh inning by the 10-run rule.

"It's about time we won one," said Capahas manager Jess Bolen, whose squad settled for second place in its own regional the past three years. "It doesn't matter who's in it. We can't control that.

"I feel good that we dominated the tournament."

The Capahas (18-6) laid waste to the field, winning all three of their games by at least 10 runs while outscoring the opposition 40-4. Plaza Tire, which earns an automatic bid to next month's NBC World Series in Wichita, Kan., had 40 hits to the opponents' 16.

"We weren't playing well coming into the tournament, and we knew we couldn't take any team lightly," left fielder Seth Hudson said. "Even though the tournament wasn't all that strong this year, we came to play every day.

"Our goal was to not let any team hang around. We wanted to show them who's best."

Right fielder Tom Bolen, the manager's son who is by far the Capahas' most experienced player, said it doesn't matter that the regional was not as rugged as usual.

"This is our sixth [regional] championship in the 10 years I've been with the team, and it always feels good," Bolen said. "We just took care of business in the tournament, and I think we're starting to come together at the right time."

Plaza Tire's offense actually wasn't as dominant Sunday as it had been in the first two games, but that mattered little.

While the Capahas had only eight hits -- just two through the first four innings -- they took advantage of nine walks and six errors by the normally sure-fielding Toros, who played two games Saturday, with the loser's bracket final not ending until around midnight.

"I'm sure they were worn down," Jess Bolen said. "They helped us some, but we took advantage of it."

The Capahas jumped on top with four second-inning runs despite having just one hit. Only one run was earned as the Toros helped out with four errors while throwing in two walks and a hit batter.

Plaza Tire, which scored numerous late runs in all three tournament games, led just 4-2 after four innings. The Capahas got one in the fifth and four in the sixth, then invoked the mercy rule with a three-run seventh.

Hudson and first baseman Josh Ford both tripled, and each had two hits. Designated hitter Bryan Ingram doubled and drove in three runs.

"We really didn't hit the ball until late in the game, but we still were able to score a lot of runs," Hudson said.

Plaza Tire Capahas Matt Stroup pitched against the St. Louis Toros Sunday at Capaha Field.

Matt Stroup pitched all seven innings for the victory. The right-hander allowed six hits, with four strikeouts and no walks.

Kellen Brown tripled and had two hits for the Toros. Matt Brickler added two hits.

Capahas sweep awards

Not surprisingly, the Capahas came away with both of the major tournament awards as third baseman Josh Eftink was named most valuable player and right-hander Jason Chavez was named most valuable pitcher.

Eftink, despite going hitless Sunday, went 8-for-13 in the tournament, with three home runs, two doubles, eight runs batted in and eight runs scored. He also walked three times.

"To hit three home runs with wood bats is pretty impressive," Jess Bolen said.

Eftink was given a run for MVP honors by Hudson, who went 8-for-11 while reaching base safely five other times (three walks, two hit by pitches). He had two triples and scored seven runs.

Ingram also had a big offensive tournament, going 6-for-12 with a home run, four doubles and six RBIs.

Chavez pitched a three-hit shutout, with 12 strikeouts, during the Capahas 10-0, eight-inning win over the Toros in Friday's opening round.

The Capahas will have several more games prior to the NBC World Series, starting Tuesday night at Fairview Heights, Ill. They'll have four home games this weekend, a Saturday doubleheader against the St. Louis Golden Spikes and a Sunday doubleheader against the St. Louis Printers.