Dunklin flexes muscles vs. Cape

Ford and Sons dropped an 11-8 decision on Wednesday night.

The Dunklin County American Legion baseball team had scored 26 runs in its first two District 14 games, both wins.

Cape Girardeau Ford and Sons was not immune to Dunklin's big bats on Wednesday, falling 11-8 in a district contest at Capaha Field.

Dunklin County (10-4, 3-0) finished with 18 hits off three Cape pitchers and went without a hit in just one inning.

Cape fell to 6-8 and 1-2 in district play.

"They just got the hits when they needed to and we didn't," Cape coach Dave Meyr said. "We're hitting the ball well, we just need to string them together at the right time. Any time you put eight runs on the board, you should win."

Ford and Sons starter Lance Young was treated to a rude welcome, as Dunklin County scored four runs on six hits in its first two trips to the plate. Young managed to hold Dunklin County without a hit in the third, but Dunklin County put up three more runs in the fourth for a 7-2 lead.

Jeremy Patton and Ryan Branum, Dunklin's Nos. 2 and No. 3 hitters, respectively, each had two hits in the first four innings. Patton drove in three runs, and Branum had two RBIs.

"Jeremy and Ryan in the No. 2 and No. 3 holes are really putting some runs together right now," Dunklin coach Jamie Johnson said.

Cape rallied in the fifth inning with three runs on four hits. Scott Brueckner had a two-run triple and Sean Bard had an RBI single to cut the lead to 7-5 off Dunklin starter Dylan Gurley.

Dunklin County went right back to work, though, scoring two runs apiece in the sixth and seventh innings off reliever Kirk Boeller. Boeller and Young combined to give up 11 runs on 15 hits in seven innings.

"When we get our pitching straightened out, we'll be competitive," Meyr said. "We're still trying to find the right combination."

In the seventh inning, Cape inched closer with a run on a wild pitch. The next inning, Ford and Sons loaded the bases with no outs, only to see Ty Craft pop out and Brueckner hit into a double play.

Cape did bring home a pair of runs in the ninth, but could not get the baserunners needed to mount a serious comeback.

"We're battling out there," Meyr said. "We're staying in the game and we don't give up."

Mike Taylor, Cape's side-arming reliever, pitched two scoreless innings in relief.

"We even toyed with starting him today but we didn't know how many innings he could go," Meyr said of Taylor. "Taylor's been our stopper, no doubt about that."

Patton and Branum finished with four hits apiece for Dunklin County. Ben Foster had three hits. Eric Dent, Brandon Massey and Gurley added two hits apiece. Gurley pitched seven innings for the win.

For Cape, Bard finished with three hits and three RBIs. Craft, Trevor Irwin and Tony Leuckel had two hits apiece.

"We're cutting down on mistakes, that was a big thing early," Meyr said. "We're getting better every game. We're going to get over the hump one of these days and start flying."

* Ford and Sons lost at Festus 7-6 in a game that ended late Tuesday. Zac Hudson had two of Cape's five hits.