Plaza Tire splits two in tourney

EVANSVILLE, Ind. -- The Plaza Tire Capahas split two games Wednesday to begin play in the American Baseball Congress Tournament.

A 15-0, five-inning rout of Jackson, Tenn., was followed by an 8-7 loss to Hattiesburg, Miss., in eight innings. All pool play games of the tournament are scheduled for seven innings.

The Capahas (28-9) have two more pool play games today. It's the start of a busy week for the squad, which begins play in the wee hours of Monday morning at the National Baseball Congress World Series in Wichita, Kan.

Jason Chavez pitched the five-inning shutout against Jackson, Tenn. He allowed three hits, struck out four and walked two.

Playing on a high school field with smaller dimensions than Capaha Field, Plaza Tire had six home runs among its 19 hits.

Bryan Kurt went 4-for-4 and homered. Eric Horstman, Lance Seasor, Levi Olson and Tom Bolen each homered and had two hits. Bryan Austin, picked up from the Cape Girardeau Riverdogs for the postseason, also homered.

In the loss to Hattiesburg, the Capahas forced extra innings with a run in the top of the seventh, but the Mississippi squad scored the winning run on an error with two outs in the bottom of the eighth.

The Capahas had 10 hits, led by Horstman, Seasor and Wade Walter with two each.

Starter Matt Stroup allowed 10 hits and seven runs in 5 2/3 innings. Josh Parham was the tough-luck loser, allowing an unearned run and two hits over the final two innings.