Weather only delays Central's tournament victory against Sikeston

Central's Garrett Stevens pitched a first-round SEMO Conference tournament game Friday against Sikeston without his regular catcher, Alex Shell, who was attending a family wedding.

The senior hurler, however, worked real well with backup battery mate Josh Compas to toss possibly his best game this spring.

Stevens threw a complete-game shutout, striking out four Bulldogs batters and allowing five hits to help the No. 4 Tigers past No. 5 Sikeston 4-0 at home.

"I had trust in him [Compas] today, and once I had a four-run lead I especially had a lot more trust in him because then I wasn't worried about making the perfect pitch but just making a good pitch," Stevens said. "He kept me under control back there, and he called good pitches."

Stevens improved his individual pitching record to 4-3. His earned run average dropped to 2.60. In 48 innings this season, he has 31 strikeouts and has allowed 15 walks.

Central (7-13) advanced to the 2 p.m. tournament semifinal game today at Notre Dame against the winner of Dexter vs. Kelly, which will be decided earlier in the day.

Central coach Steve Williams liked what he saw from both Stevens and Compas.

AARON EISENHAUER ~ aeisenhauer@semissourian.com Cape Central shortstop Blake Smith picks up a ground ball in the third inning against Sikeston on Friday, April 25, 2008.

"They worked well together, obviously," Williams said. "Josh is a good kid and a good catcher, and he's done a good job for us on the JV level, and he's even caught some varsity games this year [before Friday]. ... The reason we DH'd for him today was because he could focus just on catching Garrett and that turned out to be a good move.

"I don't know if [Stevens] had his best velocity today but he really pitched well," Williams added. "He mixed his pitches. He threw strikes."

Stevens hopes to play college baseball next year. He has focused more on baseball recently. He played on the football team at Central his first three years but opted not to go out for the team last fall, instead using some of that time to improve as a baseball player by working with Talley Haines, a former Central pitcher who played minor league ball.

"We came here almost every Saturday and we played baseball all day, and I just got better and better and just did what I had to do to make myself a better baseball player to go onto the next level," Stevens said.

AARON EISENHAUER ~ aeisenhauer@semissourian.com Lightning strikes in the distance as Cape Central baseball players wait for the storm to pass and the game to resume on Friday, April 25, 2008.

Stevens shined not only on the hill against the Bulldogs but also at the plate. He got the offense started in the bottom of the first, smashing an RBI double to deep center field to put the Tigers ahead 1-0. Hide Tanaka, who had walked and stolen second earlier in the inning, scored on Stevens' hit.

"Here lately, I've been hitting the ball pretty good," Stevens said. "I made a few adjustments to my swing, and I've started to hit the ball a lot more solid than I was and getting a little underneath it and hitting the ball all over the ballpark. I feel more comfortable going to the plate. I'm not nervous about every at-bat."

Stevens aided a third inning rally, too. Brooks Osburn tripled to start the inning and scored on a single straight up the middle by Tanaka, who later moved to second on a pass ball. Tanaka then scored to make it 3-0 when Stevens stroked another double, this one lined down the third-base line.

Stevens improved his batting average to .440. He has three homers, 11 doubles and 19 RBIs.

"He always hits well," Compas said. "He was just stroking the ball like normal."

The Tigers made it 4-0 when freshman Austin Davis singled home Jared Green in the fourth inning.

Stevens looked stronger as the game went on. In his first three innings of work he allowed four hits and five base runners, four of which reached scoring position.

But over the last four innings he allowed just one hit and two base runners to reach.

"I did feel stronger [as the game progressed]," Stevens said. "You never know what to expect every day with a new strike zone. The umpire today did a great job. He had a low strike zone, which is what I like. I don't like to throw balls up. And it was a lot of fun. I just went out there and had a good time.

"I had a pretty good curveball and had a pretty decent fastball today," he added. "I didn't have a lot of velocity. I just let them put it in play and let my defense work."

Central 4, Sikeston 0

Sikeston 000 000 0 -- 0 5 2

Central 102 100 X -- 4 7 1

WP -- Garrett Stevens 4-3. LP -- Matt Ritch. 3B Brooks Osburn (C). 2B -- Stevens 2 (C), Ritch 2 (S); Cody Anderson (S) Multiple hits -- Central, Stevens 2-3, Jared Green 2-3. Sikeston: Ritch 2-3. Records -- Central 7-13.