CHAFFEE TO HOST TOURNEYS

CHAFFEE, Mo. -- The Chaffee Red Devils are the hottest baseball team in the area.

Winners of 10 straight games, they'll look to continue their winning ways in their own eight-team Red Devils Baseball Classic which begins today and runs through Saturday.

The softball team will be holding a tournament as well. Action for that tournament will start at 4 p.m. today.

Chaffee, along with New Madrid, Perryville, Dexter, Senath, Shawnee (Ill.), Oran and Scott City will be competing for the boys title.

"I think we've got a very good field this year," Chaffee coach Brian Horrell said. "I really like the first-round matchups. I don't think there is a clear-cut favorite. You have to go three deep and we're not even that deep. I think it's going to come down to catching a few breaks and who is able to put up some runs."

Chaffee, at 10-1 seems to be the favorite, but it's not a lock.

"For being a small school, I think Oran has shown at times this year they can be a dominant ballclub," Horrell said. "They could be a darkhorse if they can get past Scott City. Some people say Senath is down this year, but they've got a nice tradition. It's going to be tough."

Games will be split between Chaffee's and Scott City's fields. The winner's bracket games will be held at Chaffee, while all the consolation games except the consolation championship game will be held at Scott City.

The only first-round game that will be played at Scott City is the Oran-Scott City game.

New Madrid and Perryville will kick off the baseball tournament at 3:30 p.m. today, followed by Dexter and Chaffee at 5:45 and Shawnee and Senath at 8.

Saturday's games will begin at 9:30 at both Scott City and Chaffee. The championship game is scheduled for 6:45 p.m.

In the softball tournament, all the games will be played at Chaffee. The games will start at 4 p.m. today. The championship game is scheduled for 3 p.m. Saturday.

Teams included in the softball tournament are East Prairie, Chaffee, Oran, Charleston, Egyptian (Ill.), Scott City, Advance and Dexter.