TIGERS LEAVE HAWKS STRANDED WITH 8-2 LOSS

Kelly set the table, but it couldn't find the plate.

The Hawks left 11 runners on base and lost a runner trying to score as they fell to the Cape Girardeau Central Tigers 8-2 at Tiger Field Tuesday.

"Each inning we were one hit away from opening things up and that comes with consistency and we just don't have that," said Kelly coach Mike Scott, who saw his first four batters go 6-for-15 but score just one run.

Kelly (9-8), which actually outhit Cape Central 9-6 and had each of its nine starters reach base, got a runner to third base in each of the first four innings, but Tiger starter Jay Pierce was able to keep the Hawks scoreless until the fifth.

"That's good that he can bear down like that, but I wish he'd pitch like that all the time," said Central coach Steve Williams. "But Jay didn't have his best stuff today. That's a good sign when a pitcher can win without his best stuff. He went six innings without his best stuff. I was pleased with the way he battled."

Pierce went six innings and gave up two runs, both earned, on nine hits and five walks. He struck out four.

The Tigers (15-6) got out to a 6-0 lead after scoring two in the first and four in the second.

Pierce scored on a Justin Welker single in the first and Welker later scored on an error.

In the second, two Kelly errors led to three unearned runs. T.J. Erlacker had an RBI single and Pierce had an RBI triple in the inning as the Tigers sent nine batters to the plate.

"We didn't hit the ball as well as we needed to today," said Williams, " but we got some hits in some big spots. We got some runs right off the bat and that always helps."

Scott was agitated with his team's four errors, particularly the two errors in the second which led to four unearned runs.

"We gave them about five of their eight runs," Scott said. "We're talking about simple things. We're talking about playing catch basically. That's the way we've been all year, though. We've been a team with potential that's been inconsistent.

"I thought we turned the corner yesterday (an 11-10, eight-inning win over Oran). We won the game with a lot of emotion. I thought we'd come out today with a lot of pep in us but we obviously didn't."

After the second inning, Central managed just two hits.

Kelly starter Tim Schmitt lasted three innings and gave up six runs, two earned, on four hits, while walking two and hitting two. He struck out three.

"The thing with Tim is we don't know how good he's going to pitch because we don't know what kind of defense we're going to get behind him," said Scott.

Justin Simpher came on and pitched three impressive innings. He gave up two runs, one earned, on two hits. He struck out three, walked one and hit one.

Cape Central scored a run in the fourth when Welker reached on a two-base error and scored on a single by Mark Fisher. In the sixth, Zac Fidler singled, stole second, stole third and scored on a sacrifice fly hit by Fisher.

Kelly scored single runs in the fifth and sixth. Brad Kolwyck doubled and scored on a single by Barry Ziegler in the fifth. Kolwyck doubled again in the sixth for an RBI to cut the deficit to 7-2, but was later thrown out trying to score on a single to center field by Simpher. Josh McIntosh fired a strike to Fisher who had the plate blocked perfectly.

Kolwyck, Jamie Essner and Ziegler each had two hits for Kelly. For Central, Pierce singled and tripled and was the only Tiger with more than one hit. Welker singled, was hit by a pitch twice, reached on an error and scored three runs.

The Tigers host rival Jackson today.