CAPS, RIVERDOGS WIN OPENERS

It was a good opening day Friday for the local teams in the National Baseball Congress Mid-South Regional at Capaha Field.

The Craftsman Union Capahas, the tournament favorite and host squad, knocked off the Sauget (Ill.) Wizards 12-2 in Friday night's winner's bracket semifinal. The game was stopped in the bottom of the eighth inning by the 10-run mercy rule.

And Cape Girardeau's other tourney squad, the upstart Riverdogs, picked up their first-ever regional win earlier in the day, beating the Pine Bluff (Ark.) Braves 13-8. This is just the Riverdogs' second regional appearance.

Also Friday, in the tournament's opening game, Sauget edged the Fulton (Mo.) Bandits 4-3.

There will be five more games today, beginning at 9 a.m. as the Riverdogs meet the Southern Illinois Merchants in a winner's bracket semifinal. That victor will meet the Capahas in the 8:30 p.m. winner's bracket final.

Capahas 12, Sauget 2

This contest was actually much closer than the score indicates as the Capahas led the Wizards just 3-2 after five innings.

But the Capahas were able to pull away late as they improved to 23-7 and dropped the Wizards from the St. Louis area to 18-10.

"It was a good game. It was not a 12-2 game at all," said Capahas manager Jess Bolen.

One of the big keys for the Capahas was the offensive performance of catcher Dan Berry, the No. 9 hitter in the lineup.

Berry went 3-for-3 with a walk and he drove in three runs, including the first two of the game as the Capahas grabbed an early 2-0 lead.

"Dan Berry had a tremendous game," Bolen said. "He really came up big for us."

Steve Kress and Kevin Meyer each had two of the Capahas' 11 hits. Kress delivered four RBIs, three coming on a bases-loaded triple in the sixth inning that put the home team ahead 6-2 and started the romp.

Richie Phillips pitched seven innings for the win, allowing nine hits and both runs. He struck out six and did not issue a walk.

"I struggled some, but I got through it," said Phillips.

Kyle Perry hurled a perfect eighth, fanning two.

Sauget starter Justin Mallet was impressive in defeat, but wildness hurt him as he walked seven while fanning six. Mallet allowed five hits and five runs in five-plus innings.

"Their kid threw well," said Bolen.

Aaron Burton, Tom Cigno and Brian Vernon all had two hits for the Wizards.

Riverdogs 13, Pine Bluff 8

Robin Minner, one of the Riverdogs' coaches, was understandably elated after his team's first regional victory.

"It's a good win for us, a steppingstone for us," said Minner.

The Riverdogs (7-12) got a huge performance from Josh West, who went 5-for-5 with three doubles and seven RBIs.

"He's a hitter," Minner said.

Jason Underwood had three of the Riverdogs' 15 hits while Mark Silverthorn and Chris Bradshaw added two each.

Michael Minner hurled all nine innings, allowing 12 hits and six earned runs. After allowing two runs in the first, Minner held the Braves without an earned run until the ninth, when they scored four times to make the final score a bit more respectable.

The Riverdogs, trailing 2-0, scored six runs in the third to go ahead for good. They led 13-4 entering the ninth.

Sauget 4, Fulton 3

Sauget built an early 4-0 lead and then held on.

Bill George pitched 7 1/3 innings for the win, allowing seven hits and three runs, with 10 strikeouts. Burdette Pombier earned a save with 1 2/3 hitless innings, fanning four.

Two local products figured prominently in the Wizards' scoring. Cape Central High graduate Leroy McCauley had an RBI double in the first while Jackson High grad George White had the game's big blow, a three-run double in the third.

Losing hurler Mike Aslinger worked all eight innings, allowing seven hits.

White doubled twice to lead the Wizards.