Rain wins American Legion Zone 4 baseball tournament opener

Rain was the big winner Thursday at the Zone 4 Senior American Legion baseball tournament at Capaha Field.

Three games were scheduled, but only three innings of the 3 p.m. opening contest were completed before rain began to fall. It never let up, and no more baseball was played Thursday.

Host Ford & Sons Cape Girardeau Post 63 and three-time defending state champion Festus, who were tied 0-0 after three innings, will resume their game at noon today.

Jackson Post 158 (36-15) will play Creve Coeur (31-12) at 3 p.m., followed by the opening-game winner taking on Ballwin (17-16) at 6 p.m., and the losers of the first two games will square off at 9 p.m.

The five-team double-elimination event will continue Saturday with games at 2 p.m., 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. The championship is set for 2 p.m. Sunday, with an if-necessary title contest to follow at 5 p.m.

Cape Girardeau center fielder Travis Smith catches a Festus fly ball during the second inning Thursday. The game was suspended after three innings because of rain. (Fred Lynch)

"We had to revise the schedule some, but you can't control the weather," Cape coach Steve Williams said. "Rain hurt the tournament today, but in the big picture, a lot of people have really needed rain, so that was good."

Cape (17-29) and Festus (28-5) were locked in a pitcher's duel featuring Post 63 left-hander Alex Davie and Post 253's Caleb Wilkerson. Neither hurler allowed a hit over the three innings.

Davie struck out three and walked one for Festus' only baserunner.

Wilkerson struck out six and walked three. Cape also had a player reach on an error.

"Alex was pitching well, and so was their guy," Williams said. "We had some chances early."

Post 63's best chance came in the bottom of the third inning when Wilkerson issued a one-out walk and a two-out walk. He escaped the threat with a strikeout.

The zone tournament winner advances to next week's American Legion state tournament in Sedalia, Mo. Cape is hosting the zone for the third straight year.

Festus is attempting to continue its remarkable run. Post 253 became the first American Legion baseball team since World War II to win three consecutive Missouri state titles last year. The squad advanced to the American Legion World Series in 2009.