THE LATEST LINE: CAPAHAS LEFT NO DOUBT IN NBC TOURNEY

A funny thing happened last Sunday at Capaha Field on the way to what was expected to be a thrilling, down-to-the-wire affair to decide the championship of the National Baseball Congress Mid-South Regional Tournament.

A blowout took place -- and some players from St. Louis lost their cool in the sweltering heat.

The McDowell Capahas' surprisingly lopsided 25-2 romp past O.B. Clark almost took a back seat to what happened in the top of the fourth inning during a six-run McDowell rally that began to break the game open.

First, O.B. Clark pitcher Jeff Reed inexplicably blew up at home-plate umpire Jackie Baugher -- for no apparent reason, other than maybe he was frustrated at being shelled -- and was rightfully tossed from the game.

Then another O.B. Clark hurler, Jed DeSalve -- who wasn't even in the game at the time -- went into a tirade that wound up with him being handcuffed and led from the dugout by several police officers, although he was not arrested and even wound up pitching in relief a short time later.

While the two blowups probably had little to do with the outcome of the game, they did serve to point out one of the major differences between the organizations, which have been fierce rivals on the field for most of the past decade.

First, it needs to be said that, for the most part, the majority of the O.B. Clark players are good guys and talented players who compete hard on the field but leave it at that. It's been that way for years.

But, over the years, a few O.B. Clark players have frequently been in the center of some kind of storm or controversy when they come to Cape Girardeau for the NBC tourney. And that again came to the forefront last Sunday.

On the other hand, win or lose, the Capahas have always conducted themselves with an enormous deal of class, taking great lengths to praise the opposition and rarely, if ever, blaming umpires, field conditions and the like.

No doubt, much of that classy attitude has to do with the way longtime Capahas manager Jess Bolen has conducted himself over the years. He believes the game should be played a certain way, with plenty of dignity as well as fierce competitiveness, and he simply won't tolerate players who approach things any differently.

If the Capahas had lost the tournament to O.B. Clark -- which could have conceivably happened, because the St. Louisans are a very good team despite how lopsided the game turned out -- then I believe Bolen and the McDowell players would have accepted the defeat with style and simply said O.B. Clark was the better squad that day.

But, with everything that went on early in the game -- and with the kind of intense rivalry the teams have had during the 1990s -- the 25-2 thumping had to be the sweetest kind of statement imaginable.

And now the Capahas will begin to set their sights on yet another trip to the NBC World Series in Wichita, Kan. The elite tournament, which the Caps qualified for by winning the Mid-South Regional, begins early next month.

~Marty Mishow is a sports writer for the Southeast Missourian