FORD & SONS MOVES TO TOP OF DISTRICT WITH SWEEP

Cape Girardeau's Ford & Sons American Legion baseball team could not have envisioned a more perfect end to its home schedule.

Ford & Sons moved two giant steps toward the regular-season District 14 championship and the No. 1 seed for next week's district tournament by sweeping Dunklin County Thursday night.

After rolling 12-2 in a five-inning, run-rule contest during the opener, Cape staged a big-time rally in the nightcap to secure an 8-7 triumph in eight innings.

Cape, now 33-13 overall and 18-4 in District 14 play, vaulted ahead of Dunklin County to the top of the district standings. Dunklin County now has five district losses.

Ford & Sons can wrap up the regular-season district title and the tournament's top seed by sweeping a Saturday doubleheader at Poplar Bluff, which is sixth in the seven-team district.

"These were two tremendous wins for us," said an excited Cape manager Ron Michel. "The second game was something. It looked like we were out of it but we came back."

Said Nate Williams, one of Cape's coaches, "They were great wins. Our team has really become battlers. We've started to hit the ball better and we're just playing with a lot more enthusiasm."

After romping in the opener, Cape looked like it would have to settle for a split as Dunklin County took a 7-3 into the bottom of the seventh inning. On the mound was ace pitcher Matt Palmer, a hard-throwing righthander who had worked out of a bases-loaded jam in relief in the sixth.

But an error on a routine play to second base to start the seventh got Cape going. After a walk and a hit batter, another walk forced in a run to make it 7-4.

Palmer settled down and struck out the next two batters as Dunklin County inched to within one more out of a split.

However, Lanson DeBrock got a two-run single with two strikes and then Todd Pennington got an RBI single with two strikes to force extra innings.

"Those were two great at-bats," Williams said.

Cape won it with a run in the bottom of the eighth. With one out, Jeff Lappe singled and Ross Bennett doubled, pinch-runner Adam Bertrand stopping at third. With two outs, Nathan McGuire's hard ground ball to shortstop took a wicked hop and bounced away for a single that scored Bertrand to end the contest.

"I just wanted to make contact," said McGuire. "I guess the ball came up on him. It was a good win."

McGuire had three of Cape's nine hits in the nightcap. He also drove in two runs. Lappe added two hits.

Lappe got the win in relief of Craig Ringwald, working 2 2/3 innings. He allowed two hits and one unearned run while fanning five and walking one. Ringwald gave up 10 hits and six runs (five earned) in 5 1/3 innings.

The first game was no contest as Cape scored early and often to end things after the top of the fifth inning.

Ford & Sons had 13 hits, again led by McGuire. He had two hits and drilled a long home run that traveled nearly 400 feet to left-center.

"That was definitely the longest home run I've hit," McGuire said with a grin.

Jeff Beasley also homered and had three hits while Andy Sweet had three hits as well. Bennett added two hits.

Pennington hurled a five-hitter, fanning six and walking four.