STRONG PADUCAH SQUAD ROUTS CAPE

Geoff Kirksey's booming bat led powerhouse Paducah (Ky.) to a 10-2 win over host Cape Girardeau Ford and Sons in a non-district American Legion game at Capaha Field Monday night.

Kirksey, the Paducah first baseman, went 4-for-6 with two home runs, five runs batted in and three runs scored as the visitors opened up a 7-0 lead after three innings and cruised to victory.

Paducah, which finished second in last year's American Legion World Series, improved to 27-5 and dropped Ford & Sons to 21-16.

"It wasn't too good of a showing," said Cape manager Tom Reinagel. "We weren't ready to play. I thought we should be able to play with them, but the chemistry just wasn't there."

The lackluster performance spilled over into all facets of the game -- hitting, pitching and defense. Cape committed four defensive miscues, which didn't include a couple of mental errors.

Perhaps contributing to the weak performance was the absence of two key players, Zac Fidler and Dusty Barrows. Both players started vacations over the weekend, forcing a lineup reshuffling which had several players out of position.

Held to only one hit in the first five innings, Ford and Sons managed only five hits in the game against winning left-hander Nick Nesler. Nesler struck out seven and issued one walk, while going the distance in the nine-inning game.

Jay Pierce, starting pitcher for Ford and Sons, took the loss as he went seven innings. Pierce allowed 11 hits while striking out three, walking six and hitting a batter.

John Snider relieved in the eighth inning and allowed one run on two hits and a walk.

The top three -- Kirksey batted third -- in Paducah's order presented problems all night as they produced eight hits, drove home seven runs and scored seven. The two Kirksey homers were no-doubters to deep left field.

Ford and Sons pushed across a run in the sixth with two outs when Snider reached on a third strike passed ball. Snider later scored on a Paducah error following a single by Shane Kistner.

A ninth-inning run plated when Justin Welker, who had two hits on the evening, and Timmy Wencewicz slammed back-to-back doubles.

Cape will return to action today when Stoddard County visits Capaha Field for a 6 p.m. District 14 doubleheader.