Meyer pitches Cape past district favorite

~ Austin Greer delivered three hits in Ford & Sons' 7-3 victory.

Josh Meyer said the Cape Girardeau Post 63 Ford & Sons American Legion baseball team found extra motivation in facing Dunklin County.

That's because the Dodgers came to town with a 19-1 record and a 15-game winning streak. They also are the District 14 favorites in most years.

"It's always exciting to face somebody that caliber of team," Meyer said.

For one night at least, Cape showed it could stand toe to toe with Dunklin County.

Ford & Sons handed the Dodgers their first district loss, 7-3 on Monday at Capaha Field.

Cape also won the second game of the doubleheader, a non-district affair, 9-8 in a rain-shortened five innings.

"It's a big win for us, to beat a team like that," Meyer said following the opener.

Dunklin County, the two-time defending District 14 tournament champion, fell to 4-1 in district play.

Cape improved to 13-7 overall and 2-0 in the district as it pushed its winning streak to six straight.

"We didn't beat a bunch of scrubs," said Cape coach Todd Pennington, whose squad lost to Dunklin County 6-5 in the early-season Charleston tournament.

Meyer survived several jams to pitch five innings for the first-game victory. He allowed seven hits and three runs, just one earned. He struck out three and walked three.

"I worked out of a lot of trouble," Meyer said. "I didn't have my best stuff, but I was getting outs when I needed."

Said Pennington: "That's a true pitcher, when you can go out there with not your best stuff and win."

Skylar Cobb notched a save as he retired six of the seven batters he faced over the final two innings.

The only runner against Cobb was hit by a pitch with two outs in the seventh innings. He struck out two.

"He's just a little bulldog when he comes in," said Pennington of Cobb, who has been strong in relief on several occasions.

Austin Greer, who batted nearly .500 in earning all-state honors for Notre Dame's Class 3 state championship team this year, tripled, doubled and singled to lead Cape's offense. He drove in two runs.

"He's a big part of our team," Pennington said.

Levi Felter also had two RBIs for Cape.

Each squad finished with seven hits and scored just one earned run. Cape took advantage of five Dunklin County errors.

Cape, which never trailed, grabbed a 3-0 first-inning lead on RBI singles by Greer, Felter and Jamie Pickel.

The Dodgers tied it in the second inning despite having just one hit. They took advantage of Meyer's only three walks and a key error.

Cape went ahead for good with a two-run third inning as Ethan Lee and Jimmy Obermark delivered RBI singles.

Ford & Sons added insurance runs in the fifth and sixth innings.

Adam Kelley was the second-game winning pitcher, with Pickel notching a save.

Cape hosts Poplar Bluff on Wednesday.

Dunklin Co. 030 000 0 -- 3 7 5

Cape 302 011 x -- 7 7 2

WP -- Josh Meyer. S -- Skylar Cobb. LP -- Aaron McCaig. 3B -- Austin Greer (C). 2B -- Austin Jackson (D), Greer (C). Multiple hits -- Cape: Greer 3-4. Records -- Dunklin County 19-3, Cape 13-7.