RED DEVILS BRACE FOR 2A DUEL

Clearwater coach Tim Green was tired of getting to the Class 2A state baseball quarterfinals every year only to get beat with his No. 2 pitcher on the mound.

Although Green respected West County -- Clearwater's sectional foe Thursday -- the District 2 winner has been an annual thorn in Clearwater's Final Four hopes in the quarterfinal round. Green knew a hungry and talented Chaffee team, ranked second in the state at 25-2, would be waiting for his Tigers.

So Thursday, Green went against the typical strategy and sent his No. 2 hurler to the mound in hopes of saving ace Jamie McAlister for today's 2A quarterfinal in Chaffee. The game starts at 2 p.m.

Green's gamble paid off as Tom Schultz knocked off West County 7-2.

Now, Chaffee will have to square off against one of the state's top pitchers, a pitcher who has put up similar numbers to that of the Red Devils' own all-state lock Matt Stroup.

McAlister has only pitched 49 innings after having some arm problems earlier this season, but his 1.15 earned-run average is nonetheless impressive. He is only 5-3, but one of his losses was against 2001 Arkansas state runner-up Pine Bluff. He has allowed only 29 hits this season.

"It's going to be a tough guy on the mound," Chaffee coach Brian Horrell admitted. "But we saw Cape Central's Jason Chavez twice, we saw Justin Simpher from Kelly twice and we saw some good kids from Sikeston. We'll just have to concentrate and put the ball in play."

Chaffee will start No. 2 pitcher G.P. Glueck, who has found great success on the mound in his own right. Heading into district play, Glueck had a 3.73 ERA but that figure was inflated after one bad outing against Jackson a couple weeks ago. Glueck has yet to taste defeat, however. He is 8-0.

"He's been feeling pretty good lately," Horrell said. "He's pitched tremendously well in some of our bigger games. We're behind him and ready to go."

Glueck pitched in Chaffee's win over Cape Central in the semifinals of the SEMO Conference Tournament and in the Red Devils' 4-3, 15-inning victory over Sikeston for the SEMO Conference regular-season title.

Stroup, who was brilliant in Chaffee's 10-2 win over South Pemiscot Thursday, will be able to throw four innings if needed.

Clearwater (17-8) is led in hitting by Shayne Mabury. Heading into Thursday's game, Mabury was hitting .520 with four home runs and 20 runs batted in.

There's no doubt that a big crowd will be on hand today. In Thursday's game, Chaffee's following outnumbered that of the home team South Pemiscot.

"Some fans have been behind us every year, through thick and thin," Horrell said. "But we got a buzz going after the SEMO Conference Tournament after we played at Capaha Field. Fans came out in droves and they've been following us like that ever since. The community is really enjoying it."