Jackson, Cape set to battle in Junior American Legion zone tourney

The Cape Girardeau Plaza Tire Post 63 Junior American Legion baseball team will host the Zone 4 tournament beginning today at Central High School.

Cape has an impressive comeback in last week's district tournament to thank for its current position.

"We're excited," Cape coach Jacob May said. "This is where we've been working to get to all year. Our main goal all year was to prepare for the district tournament."

Cape fell into the losers bracket of the district tournament and had to beat host Jackson Post 158 twice Saturday to win the title.

"We had our backs to the wall but came through and beat Jackson twice," May said.

The district winner earned the right to host the zone tournament. Jackson also qualified for zone play after finishing as runner-up.

Cape gets the five-team double-elimination zone tournament started today with a 10 a.m. game against Ballwin. Jackson plays Ste. Genevieve at 1 p.m. and the Cape-Ballwin winner faces Eureka at 4 p.m.

There will be games Friday at 9 a.m., 11:30 a.m., 2 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. The championship is set for 1 p.m. Saturday. An if-necessary contest would follow at 4 p.m.

May said Eureka might be considered the favorite. The squad brings a 19-4 record to Cape Girardeau. But he wouldn't rule out any of the five teams.

"Eureka's pretty solid, I've heard," said May, whose club is just 15-17 but came on strong down the stretch. "Making it to this point is an achievement. You'll run into some tough competition now.

"Every team that has made it to this point has had to fight."

May, who said his squad consists primarily of players from Notre Dame Regional High School along with a few from Central and other schools, expects the local entries to make a strong showing.

"We've gone 4-3 against Jackson. They're a pretty solid team," May said. "I feel like we've got about as good a chance as anybody in the tournament."

The zone champion earns a berth in next week's state tournament that will be hosted by Jackson.

Jackson already is assured a state berth because of its host status. If Jackson wins the zone then the runner-up also will qualify for state.