CAPS IMPART BASIC LESSON IN VICTORY

Goreville (Ill.) pitcher Brett Blondi was reminded of a lesson Monday night in his team's 10-5 loss to the McDowell Capahas at Capaha Field that he probably should have remembered from Little League.

The lesson: Always listen to your coach.

Trailing 5-4 in the seventh inning with Capahas left-handed slugger Robert Kern coming to the plate with two runners on, Goreville player-coach Shawn Tripp, who played two years of baseball at Southeast Missouri State University in 1992-93, had a meeting on the mound and told his right-hander to walk Kern intentionally.

"I should have yanked (Blondi) a little earlier," said Tripp. "When I went to the mound I said, `just put him on.'"

Blondi had other ideas. Despite the fact Kern had already roped two singles off him and the right-handed Tom Bolen (0-for-4) waiting on deck, Blondi wanted to face Kern.

"I knew the guy on deck wasn't a Kern, plus he was a righty," Tripp said with a smile. "I wanted to put (Kern) on, but (Blondi) talked me out of it."

That likely won't happen again.

Kern laced a two-run triple to the fence in right-center field to make the score 7-4. Blondi got Bolen to pop out to end the inning, but Goreville added only one more run to drop its record to 4-11. The Capahas outhit Goreville 12-7 to improve to 17-7.

Kern finished the night 4-for-5 with four RBIs. Kern's big night may have been the result of a talk McDowell manager Jess Bolen had with him before the game.

"We talked in the dugout before the game and I told him to think `up the middle' and to keep his eyes on the ball," Bolen said. "The biggest problem for any hitter on any level is their eyes.

"When Robert got the two-out triple into right-center, I wish I had a picture (of that swing) because he was perfect. His head and eyes were right on the ball."

Kern put the Capahas ahead in the first inning with a two-out, two-run single up the middle. Both runs were unearned.

The Capahas added a run in the second and two more in the third to hold a 5-2 lead after three innings. Darrick Smith, who played a sparkling defensive game at second base for the Caps, drove in the second-inning run with a single.

Shawn Pemberton led off the third with a home run to right field and Kern singled and eventually scored a controversial run on a sacrifice fly by Jerry Wolsey. The throw from right field appeared to beat Kern to the plate but, even though he didn't slide, the home plate umpire ruled him safe.

"I would have called him out," Bolen said.

Goreville touched McDowell starter Jeff Lappe for four runs through five innings. After Goreville scored two runs in the fifth inning to close the score to 5-4, right-hander Jerry Scholl replaced the left-handed Lappe and allowed only one run in four innings of relief.

After Kern's big seventh-inning triple, the Capahas put the game out of reach with three more runs in the eighth off Goreville reliever Todd Tripp.

Ryan Murphy had a looping RBI single to score Wolsey, who doubled with one out. Smith, who had two hits along with first baseman George White, followed with a sacrifice fly to score Lance Craft. The final run scored when Mike Miller's grounder up the middle got past Blondi, who had moved to shortstop.