CENTRAL, ND WANT 'BIG' MOMENTUM

A pair of Cape Girardeau high school baseball teams enter this weekend's Big 8 Tournament hoping to answer some questions.

The Central Tigers have just moved above the .500 mark, but can they remain a winning team?

Central (10-9) could end up with a record as high as 13-9 or as low as 10-12 by the tournament's end.

The Notre Dame Bulldogs, meanwhile, boast a lofty 15-2 record, but how will they play against one of the best teams in southern Illinois?

They will find out in a 4 p.m. first-round game today when they play Harrisburg (Ill.) on their own field. Harrisburg is 18-3.

"This tournament is the best thing that could happen for us at this time in the season," Notre Dame coach Chris Neff said. "We've beaten a lot of teams in this area -- some really good teams. But we've yet to beat a good team from out of the area. We'll find out where we're at in the whole region."

While Notre Dame strives to strengthen its claim as one of the area's best teams, Cape Central, the tournament host, is searching for its identity.

Marred by inconsistent defense, Central has proven it can beat some dominant teams and lose to some inferior ones.

"We've kind of fought our way to some semblance of where we want to be," Central coach Steve Williams said. "So hopefully this will be a big weekend for us. We have a chance to take another step in the right direction. Hopefully we'll be ready to play."

In a tournament such as this where three games are guaranteed, pitching depth is a concern. Both Notre Dame and Cape Central have been successful in such situations this year.

Central, two weeks ago, won three straight -- including two of their best games of the year -- in the Tiger Classic at Capaha.

Notre Dame won two of three games and gave up just one earned run last weekend in a tournament in Potosi.

"We're going in there to play three games, which is good for us," Neff said. "Last week we had three complete games in a tournament. We're going to let (Mark) Ostendorf pitch the first round, then make a game-time decision with next two games."

"Our pitching has gotten better," said Williams. "We struggled early, but now our kids are understanding how to get batters out."

Williams said these types of events give players good experience heading into the postseason.

"It's tournament play and the end of season is all about tournament play. And that's one the reasons why we began this tournament. We're about two weeks away from districts and it's good to get them in the frame of mind now."

Central will take on Owensville (4-7) today at 4 p.m. at Capaha Field. Eureka (8-4) and Paducah (Ky) Tilghman (13-7) will play there at 6:15 and Mount Vernon (Ill.) and Mehlville (2-9) will follow at 8:30. Notre Dame's game is the only one which will not be played at Capaha today.

The rest of the tournament will occur on Saturday, with the winners' bracket playing at Capaha and the losers playing at Central High School. The first winners' bracket semifinal game will begin at 10 a.m., followed by the other semifinal at noon, the third-place game at 2:15 and the championship game at 4:30 p.m. The consolation games are slated to begin at the same times at Central.

If the weather forecasters are correct in predicting beautiful weather, the tournament will be completed for just the second time since its induction seven years ago.

Last year, Eureka claimed the tournament in what ended up being a weather-induced round-robin event.

BIG 8 TOURNAMENT

Today's Games

(at Capaha Field)

Cape Central vs. Owensville, 4 p.m.

Eureka vs. Paducah (Ky.) Tilghman, 6:15 p.m.

Mt. Vernon (Ill.) vs. Mehlville, 8:30 p.m.

(at Notre Dame H.S.)

Notre Dame vs. Harrisburg, 4 p.m.

Saturday's games

(at Capaha Field)

Championship semifinal, 10 a.m.

Championship semifinal, noon

Third place, 2:15 p.m.

Championship, 4:30 p.m.

(at Cape Central H.S.)

Consolation semifinal, 10 a.m.

Consolation semifinal, noon

Seventh place, 2:15 p.m.

Consolation final, 4:15 p.m.