CAPS ON ROAD FOR HOLIDAY TOURNEY THIS WEEKEND

The McDowell Capahas will be hosting the annual National Baseball Congress Mid-South Regional Tournament next weekend.

But this weekend, the Capahas will also be participating in a pretty high-profile tourney as they take part in the 12-team Evansville (Ind.) July 4th Tournament.

Action will take place Friday through Sunday and should serve as a nice tuneup for the Capahas as they prepare to host the NBC Mid-South Regional July 10-12.

"This is always a very strong tournament and there are going to be a lot of really good teams there," said Capahas manager Jess Bolen. "We'll definitely face a lot of tough competition, which is really what we need."

The Capahas, who are 14-5 after winning four out of five during a homestand last weekend, are one of six teams in Pool 1.

Other squads making up that pool are the host Evansville (Ind.) Outlaws, the Fairview Heights (Ill.) Redbirds, the Kokomo (Ind.) Saints, the Warrick County (Ind.) Storm and Cincinnati (Ohio) Cheviot.

Making up Pool 2 are the Evansville (Ind.) Under-21 Outlaws, the Mt. Carmel (Ill.) Miners, the Saline County (Ill.) Monarcs, the Murphysboro (Ill.) Red Wings, the Memphis (Tenn.) Royals and the Owensboro (Ky.) River Rats.

Tournament action gets under way at 2:30 p.m. Friday but the Capahas won't play their first game until 9 p.m. when they face Cincinnati.

The Capahas will play two games Saturday, against Fairview Heights at 2 p.m. and Kokomo at 4 p.m.

McDowell will have its final contest in pool play Sunday, taking on Evansville at 2 p.m.

The winners of each pool will square off at 5 p.m. Sunday for the tourney championship.

"We're looking forward to the tournament," said Bolen. "We've been playing pretty well lately and we've gotten on kind of a roll so hopefully we can keep it up."