ND grad Chase Simmons dazzles in Capahas debut

For Chase Simmons, it was good to be back home again.

Simmons, a 2013 Notre Dame graduate who just finished his freshman year at Jefferson Community College in Hillsboro, Mo., played in his first game for the Plaza Tire Capahas on Saturday and contributed greatly to a 3-2 victory over the St. Louis Raging Bulls in the first game of a doubleheader at Capaha Field.

Simmons drove in a run in his first at-bat in the second inning and threw out a runner attempting to steal second in the top of the seventh. Both were critical plays at critical times as the Capahas, behind Sean Bard's walk-off RBI single in the bottom of the seventh, ran their home winning streak to 48 consecutive games.

"It was my first game, and it's good to be back home," said Simmons, who had spent the past two weeks playing for the Wisconsin Woodchucks of the Northwoods League, a college-age wood-bat league. "I felt really comfortable and was seeing the ball well."

In 28 games at Jefferson CC, Simmons hit .352 with four doubles and drove in 12 runs. Too old to play another season of Legion baseball, he contacted Capahas manager Jess Bolen and was about to join the team until the Northwoods League came calling.

Teams in the 18-team league are on the lookout for players to fill roster spots until their everyday players return from collegiate postseason play. Such was the case for Simmons, who saw action in eight games for the Woodchucks, who are based in Wausau, Wis.

His best game was a 1 for 3 effort in a 6-0 win against Madison (Wisconsin) on May 31, a little more than a week before he was released when the team's regular catchers reported.

Bolen, for one, was glad to see Simmons back in Southeast Missouri.

"He's a good receiver," Bolen said. "He's sound back there. He threw out a baserunner in the last inning trying to steal, got a big base hit and a sac fly, so yeah, a good first game for Chase."

St. Louis jumped on Capahas starter Travis Hayes for two runs on three hits in the top of the first inning, but the right-hander, who was named Ohio Valley Conference Co-Pitcher of the Year after going 8-2 with a 3.23 ERA for Southeast Missouri State this spring, quickly settled down. He allowed just one hit the rest of the way, and at one point retired 14 consecutive batters.

Hayes attributed his slow start to not being able to throw to a catcher this past week.

"The first few batters, I could tell that I was just a little off," Hayes said. "But by about the fourth batter, I could tell I had my timing back down. After that, I felt pretty good."

Hayes allowed run-scoring hits to Logan Springer and Adam Lampel in the first inning but allowed just two baserunners the rest of the way. He finished with a four-hitter, walking one and striking out nine.

"An excellent start," said Bolen. "You see that with a lot of pitchers, though. They're searching to see what's working best for them so they have a little problem in the first inning, but I thought he pitched well."

With Hayes settling down, the Capahas (4-1) went to work cutting into the deficit. Adam Connor led off the second inning with a double to wall in left-center. Walks to Brandon Bennett and Alex Heuring loaded the bases for Simmons, who lifted a sacrifice fly to center to score Connor. Bennett was erased trying to score on the back end of a double-steal, but Drew Morecraft blooped a triple to right that plated Heuring with the tying run.

In the bottom of the seventh, Cody Heisserer reached on an infield error and took second when Hunter Flippo's sacrifice bunt turned into a fielder's choice, Heisserer beating the throw to second. One out later, Sean Bard ripped a single to center that easily scored Heisserer with the winning run.

"I was just looking for a pitch to hit," Bard said. "I was trying to hit something up the middle. I got a good pitch to hit hard, so I did."

As a Capahas veteran, Bard admitted he's still learning the names of many of the new faces in the Capahas dugout, like Simmons, Heuring and Heisserer, to name a few.

"It's been interesting, but I like playing with all these young guys," he said. "It's been a good time so far."

Bolen likes the mix of young players and veterans.

"That's one thing about summer ball that I've always believed in," Bolen said. "A mixture of real young guys with older guys that are out of school, like maybe 24 or 25 [years old]. It's a good mix because it's a settling impact on these younger kids."

St. Louis Raging Bulls 200 000 0 -- 2 4 1

Plaza Tire Capahas 020 000 1 -- 3 8 1

WP -- Travis Hayes. LP -- Will Rogers. 3B -- Drew Morecraft (C). 2B -- Adam Conner (C). Multiple hits -- Capahas: Conner 3-3.