Conference tourney brings test for pitching

The early success of Kennett and New Madrid County Central has put some new faces among the top seeds at the SEMO Conference baseball tournament, which begins today, but a familiar foe is on the minds of most coaches.

Rain has played havoc with the tournament each of the past three years. Currently, weather forecasts do not have high threats of rain over the course of the tournament, but the recent pattern does not have many coaches counting on dry weather.

"You're talking about five days, and expecting five spring days with no rain, that's tough," Notre Dame coach Jeff Graviett said.

Added Central coach Steve Williams: "Spring sports, you always have to deal with that. We had to deal with weather even before we had the conference tournament. Hopefully, we can dodge the raindrops."

Three first-round games are scheduled for today. Poplar Bluff, the No. 8 seed, will host No. 9 Scott City. Sixth-seeded Dexter will host No. 11 Chaffee, and No. 7 Sikeston will host No. 10 Kelly.

Quarterfinal games will be played at top seeds Central, New Madrid County, Kennett and Notre Dame on Friday.

Williams said the ability of teams such as New Madrid County and Kennett to rise to the top shows how far the league has come.

"The conference is a lot deeper," Williams said.

Central (14-4) earned the top seed in the tournament, with an 8-1 conference mark. The Tigers' only loss came to Kennett the first week of the season. Central will open with the winner of the Poplar Bluff and Scott City matchup.

New Madrid County is seeded second, followed by Kennett, Notre Dame and Jackson. Notre Dame, which finished its conference schedule with a 7-3 record, will host the Indians on Friday. Jackson defeated Notre Dame with a run in the bottom of the seventh earlier this season at Jackson.

Notre Dame (13-5) is the defending conference tournament champion, defeating Sikeston in a battle of the Bulldogs last season. Since the start of April, Notre Dame has gone 10-3 with solid pitching and timely hitting.

Graviett said the way the conference tournament is set up -- having to win three or four games in five days -- winning the tournament championship may mean more to him than the regular-season crown.

"I'd rather have a tournament conference championship," he said.

The conference's most dominant team in recent years, Sikeston, is in a rebuilding mode this season. Sikeston, which has appeared in the tournament finals each of the past three years, has struggled to a 9-9 record this season.

Semifinal games will be played at Central on Saturday, and the championship game is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Monday at Capaha Field.

"It's going to find out who's the best team," Williams said. "It gets into the depth of the pitching staff, and shows who's playing well at that time. I think it's a great tournament."