CAPS LOOK FOR THE POSITIVE AFTER NBC DEMISE

SUM: Quick ending didn't seem to fit another strong season.

It's the nature of sports that teams -- no matter how successful -- always seem to remember what happens at the end of a season.

And what happened to the McDowell Capahas at the end of their 1999 season was not impressive; the Cape Girardeau baseball team, for the second year in a row, lost both its games in the National Baseball Congress World Series.

But longtime Capahas' manager Jess Bolen, while disappointed with what took place earlier this week in Wichita, Kan., said his players should remember all the good things that happened to them during the 1999 campaign.

The Capahas went 29-8, won their third straight NBC Mid-South Regional championship and earned a berth in the prestigious NBC World Series for the 15th year in a row.

"It's like in any sport. All you remember is what happened last," said Bolen. "But I told the guys they have to remember the whole year, not just the last couple of games.

"We wound up 29-8. Any time you can keep your losses less than 10 and finish 21 games over .500, that's very good. And we were regional champions again."

Still, Bolen was frustrated -- and somewhat surprised -- by the Capahas' struggles at the NBC World Series. After falling to Norman, Okla., 10-7 in the first round, McDowell was eliminated by Seguin, Texas, with an 11-1, run-rule thrashing.

"I thought we'd do better," admitted Bolen. "I've seen the talent it takes to go out there and do well and I thought we had a pretty good team, a team that could really make some noise.

"But any time you go into a tournament where everybody there is so good, you have to play well. More than anything, we just didn't play well."

Bolen felt the Capahas should have won their first tournament game.

"I told the guys out there, we should have won that first game hands down, no doubt about it," he said. "We left 14 men on base. We had a 4-0 lead in the second inning and had the bases loaded with one out. Their pitcher was one hit away from being out of the game, but we hit into a double play and then he settles down.

"The second game, they (Seguin) just jumped on us early. We were really never in it."

Bolen, who has led the Capahas to a 1,074-364 record in 33 seasons as their manager, expects to field another strong team next season.

"I look for most of the guys we had this year to come back and I'm sure we'll add some new players," he said. "I look for us to have another solid ballclub next year."