DUNKLIN CO. TEAM TO BEAT IN DIST. 14 SR. LEGION TOURNEY

There is no doubt about it -- defending champion Dunklin County rates as a solid favorite for the District 14 Senior American Legion Baseball Tournament that begins today in Jackson.

That being said, however, the other six district teams aren't about to simply hand Dunklin County the championship.

"There's no question, they (Dunklin County) are definitely the favorites," said Cape Girardeau Ford & Sons manager Ron Michel. "They have had a tremendous season and they've got a lot of pitching.

"They'll be tough to beat, but strange things sometimes happen in a tournament. You never know."

Dunklin County easily earned the top seed for the tournament by rolling to the regular-season district title with an mind-boggling 21-1 record. The team is 32-5 overall.

Chaffee is a solid second seed after going 17-7 in district and 24-13 overall.

The next three teams were fairly balanced. Sikeston, 14-10 in district and 16-16 overall, earned the third seed. Cape (13-10, 21-20) is fourth, with Poplar Bluff (10-12, 13-15) fifth.

In the bottom two spots are Jackson, which won six district games, and Charleston, a first-year program that went winless in the district.

Action in the double-elimination event begins today with two games as Sikeston plays Jackson at 5 p.m. and Chaffee takes on Charleston at 8 p.m.

Cape will play its first tourney game at 5 p.m. Tuesday, against Poplar Bluff. At 8 p.m. Tuesday, Dunklin County -- which received a first-round bye -- will face either Sikeston or Jackson in a winner's bracket semifinal.

There will also be games at 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. The winner's bracket final is set for 5 p.m. Friday.

Saturday, the loser's bracket final will be at 1 p.m., with the championship set for 7 p.m. If no team emerges undefeated following Saturday's action, a final title contest will be played at 1 p.m. Sunday.

Chaffee manager Jeff Graviett, like Michel, rates Dunklin County as a solid favorite, primarily because of the squad's deep and talented pitching staff.

"They're really deep in pitching and have quality pitchers," Graviett said. "They're no better than us in the field or at the plate, but they can run seven guys on the mound who are really good. We've had a lead on them in three of the four games we've lost to them, so we can play with them.

"But I think we're playing well and we're looking forward to it."

Chaffee has the top power-hitter in the tournament as Josh Eftink has had an amazing summer season with 20 home runs and 68 runs batted in.

Cape's Josh McIntosh has also had an impressive season with 11 homers.

The winner of the District 14 Tournament advances to next week's zone tourney.