Romero, Stockman pair well together again for 'Fish

When the Cape Catfish pair pitcher Jorge Romero and catcher Tucker Stockman together, good things are a distinct possibility.

The duo worked very well together in a recent 7-0 shutdown of O’Fallon at Capaha Field, and the result Sunday against Springfield was very similar, as the Catfish won 10-0 over the (Un)Lucky Horseshoes in seven innings.

On the mound, Romero, who leads the Prospect League with a 1.57 ERA, was dominant for the ninth time in 10 outings.

He threw five innings and didn’t allow a run while giving up just two hits, walking three batters, and striking out four.

Romero teamed with relievers Ray Ochoa and Camron Lewis in the shutout win, which lowered the Cape team ERA to 3.79, which is by far the best in the Prospect League.

“They bring it every game,” Catfish pitching coach Jason Chavez said recently of his staff. “Sometimes you fall into having some guys with a lack of confidence, but most of these guys, they are competitive.”

While Romero, who threw 49 strikes in 84 pitches, was shutting the Springfield bats down, Stockman was pounding out some hits.

He and Kevin McCarthy each had a couple of hits in the win, one of which for Stockman was a double.

Catfish catcher Tucker Stockman awaits the throw to home plate during Sunday's game against the Lucky Horseshoes at Capaha Field. Tony Capobianco ~ tcapobianco@semoball.com

Stockman scored twice and drove in one run while raising his average to .333.

Cape got a triple from Dante Zamudio while Kaden Jeffries added a home run.

Zamudio ranks third in the Prospect League in triples this season with four.

Chris Hall and Brody Chrisman added hits in the win, which was Cape’s second straight victory after a brief two-game skid.

The Catfish will travel to Jackson (15-36 overall, 4-18 second half) today at 7 p.m.

Cape (36-17 overall, 14-11 second half) only has five games remaining in the regular season, with Saturday’s game at Capaha Field (vs. Alton at 6:35 p.m.) being the lone home game remaining in the regular season.

The postseason will open Sunday at Capaha Field at 6:35 p.m. when the Catfish play (more than likely) Thrillville (28-19, 16-6) for the Prairie Land Division title.