TOURNEY PAIRED TO FINAL 4; CAPE THIRD TEAM TO FALL FROM FIELD

Jackson's upset magic ended Thursday night in the winner's bracket finals of the District 14 American Legion baseball tournament.

And earlier in the evening, host Cape Girardeau's hopes of climbing out of the tournament loser's bracket ended as Ford & Sons was eliminated.

Jackson, the seventh and last seed, had posted huge upset wins over second-seeded Cape and third-seeded Chaffee in its first two tourney games.

But top-seeded Dunklin County put an end to Jackson's impressive string of upsets by prevailing 4-0 in a quick, well-played game at Capaha Field.

That contest came on the heels of fourth-seeded Sikeston's 10-7 victory over Cape that sent Ford & Sons packing for the duration of the tourney, although Cape's season is not over because the team will host next week's zone tournament.

So now the original seven-team field has been sliced to four, with Dunklin County, Jackson, Sikeston and Chaffee still fighting for the title and a berth in the zone tourney.

Dunklin County certainly appears to be in good shape as it is the only undefeated team remaining in the double-elimination event. And the Redbirds can now relax until Saturday's 4 p.m. championship round, when they will face one of the other three remaining squads.

Today's action at Capaha Field will feature two elimination games, after which the tournament will be down to only two teams. Sikeston and Chaffee square off at 5 p.m., with the winner meeting Jackson at 8.

Dunklin County improved to 32-10 overall on the season after dropping Jackson to 18-21, but Redbirds head coach Randy Smith was quick to emphasize that his team has not won anything yet.

"I've been here before," said Smith, whose team is the defending tournament champion. "You just never know in baseball. We've still got our work cut out for us."

Smith was quick to praise Jackson, which continued its impressive play Thursday night.

"They're playing real well. They gave us all we needed," he said.

Two Dunklin County pitchers combined on a seven-hit shutout. Jonathan Binkard got the win, working six innings and allowing five hits while striking out five and walking none. Jonathan Payne fanned four, walked none and allowed two hits over the final three innings.

Jackson's Mike McCall, who had pitched eight shutout innings previously in the tournament, was strong again. He allowed nine hits and three earned runs in going the eight-inning distance.

"It was a well-pitched and well-played game by both teams," Smith said.

Brian Branum was the hitting star for the Redbirds, going 4-for-4 with two doubles and three RBIs.

Justin Gladish had three hits for Jackson while Jesse Boyer added two.

Branum's two-run double in the third gave the Redbirds all the scoring they would need.

Earlier Thursday, Sikeston stayed alive and improved to 21-10 while Cape fell to 23-24.

T.J. Abernathy got the win, allowing five runs six innings.

Then standout pitcher Brent Self, who had hurled a nine-inning win Monday, closed things out by fanning seven over the final three innings. He gave up two unearned runs.

Steve Fowler took the loss, giving up 14 hits and six runs in six innings.

Sikeston out-hit Cape 16 to 7. Josh West led the winners by going 5-for-5 with a home run and three RBIs. Clay Hooper also homered while Self had three hits.

Cape's Andy Sweet had three hits, giving him eight in the last two games. Adam Bertrand added two hits.

"It's hard to win with seven hits," said Cape manager Ron Michel. "It's a disappointing tournament for us, but now we have to get ready for zone."

American Legion Baseball

District 14 Tournament

(at Capaha Field)

Monday's Results

Game 1: Sikeston 8, Poplar Bluff 4

Game 2: Jackson 11, Cape 0 (7 inn.)

Game 3: Chaffee 11, Van Buren 5

Tuesday's Results

Game 4: Dunklin Co. 12, Sikeston 5

Game 5: Jackson 13, Chaffee 10

Wednesday's Results

Game 6: Cape 19, Van Buren 2 (7 inn.), Van Buren eliminated

Game 7: Chaffee 13, Poplar Bluff 6, Poplar Bluff eliminated

Thursday's Results

Game 8: 5 p.m. - Sikeston 10, Cape 7, Cape eliminated

Game 9: 8 p.m. - Dunklin Co. 4, Jackson 0

Today's Schedule

Game 10: 5 p.m. - Chaffee vs. Sikeston

Game 11: 8 p.m. - Jackson vs. Game 10 winner

Saturday's Schedule

Game 12: 4 p.m. - Dunklin Co. vs. Game 11 winner

Game 13: Championship, if needed, 30 minutes later