TIGERS LOCATE DRY LAND, FLOG MULES

Considering the thunderstorms that rolled through the area Friday night, most high school baseball teams would have had to cancel any scheduled games on Saturday.

Not the Cape Central Tigers.

With the Southeast Missouri State University baseball team playing on the road Saturday, the host Tigers moved their noon SEMO Conference game with Poplar Bluff to the tarp-covered infield of Capaha Field.

Central made the most of the change in venue, blasting the Mules in six innings 16-6. Central, which scored eight runs in the sixth inning to end the game via the mercy rule, improved to 2-1 overall and 1-0 in the conference. Bluff fell to 1-1 overall in its second conference game.

Considering the weather forecast for Friday, Central coach Steve Williams had already made arrangements with Jess Bolen and the Capaha Field Committee to use the field if necessary.

"The field was in great shape and it's such an advantage ... not just for Cape Central, but for anybody on our schedule," Williams said. "We could have played at Central, but we would have had to wait until (later in the day).

"We had a great day and a big crowd and everybody got in a great day of baseball."

Central senior Tatum Kitchen certainly came to play Saturday. Kitchen went 4-for-4 at the plate, pounding three doubles and four RBIs as the Tigers totaled 12 hits as a team. Kitchen also went the distance on the mound, striking out seven in six innings.

"Tatum had a big day," said Williams. "I was very pleased with his performance. I thought he did a good job"

Three runs in the first inning staked the Tigers to a lead they would never lose. Central's first four batters reached on walks to Mitch Ogles and Andy Sweet and consecutive singles by Ross Bennett and Kitchen.

Ogles scored on a wild pitch and, with two out, third baseman Chris Bradshaw came through with a two-run single to put the Tigers ahead 3-0. Ogles, Sweet, Bennett and Bradshaw all clubbed two hits.

Bluff got an unearned run in the second, but Central picked up three more runs in the bottom half of the inning on just two hits. Sweet's two-out, two-run home run to right-center field put the Tigers up 5-1 and Kitchen added an RBI double later in the inning to chase Mules starter Adam Brack and make the score 6-1.

An unearned run in the third inning put Central ahead 7-1, but the Mules put together rallies in the third and fourth innings to make things interesting.

Run-scoring hits in the fourth inning by Bluff's Scott Lindsey and Travis Hoffman made the score 7-3. Kitchen answered in the bottom half for Central with another RBI double to put the Tigers up 8-3.

Bluff's first three batters reached and scored in the fifth inning as Kitchen appeared to tire on the mound. Trailing 8-6, the Mules brought the tying run to the plate with two out, but a nice play by shortstop Richard Harrison got Central out of the jam.

"I thought the seventh and eighth runs were going to be huge runs," said Poplar Bluff coach Pat Carda. "I thought we might be able to get back in it, but as it turned out they weren't big runs."

The Mules never made it that far. After Kitchen held them scoreless in the sixth inning, the Tigers ripped five hits to score eight runs and end the game. Kitchen had a two-run double in the sixth and Sweet's RBI triple scored Ogles to end the game.

"We did a good job clawing back," Carda said. "We actually made it a game, but we just couldn't get it done defensively in the sixth inning and (Central) swung the bats well."

Central plays another SEMO Conference game at Jackson on Tuesday.