YANKEES, WHITE SOX REPRESENT CAPE AREA

Bolstered by a brilliant regular season, the Cape Girardeau Yankees will ride plenty of momentum and confidence into this week's Senior Babe Ruth State Tournament in Boonville, Mo.

And Cape Girardeau's other Senior Babe Ruth team -- the White Sox -- is also feeling pretty good as it prepares for the 16-year-old state tourney in Dexter.

Cape Yankees

The Yankees have put together a record that almost any team would be envious of; they went 27-3, including an 11-1 mark in the SEMO North League to earn a state berth as the league's first-place squad.

"We've had a tremendous season," said Yankees head coach Jeff Glenn. "We've got a bunch of really good kids from different areas and they've really come together as a team."

The eight-team, double-elimination state tournament begins today, but the Yankees won't play their first game until 3 p.m. Friday as they take on perennial Senior Babe Ruth powerhouse Mineral Area.

"We've got a really tough draw, but we're going to see what happens," Glenn said. "We have a lot of respect for all the teams in the tournament, but we're not scared of anybody. We feel we belong there."

The Yankees' 18-man roster features players ages 17 and 18 from a variety of area high schools on both sides of the river.

Cape Girardeau Central products on the team are Arthur Pilsner, Jacob Roth, Jesse McGregor and Gabe Keys. Notre Dame has produced Scott Wittenborn, Adam Ralls, Matt Pobst and Dustin Klipfel while Ricky Renfroe and Garrett Williams are from Jackson.

From Illinois are Shawnee's Tim Davis, Matt Wilson and Kevin Peeler, along with Egyptian's James Powell, Brennan Gibson and Chris Honey.

Scott City's Jordan Comer and Chaffee's Chase Eskew played for their town teams during the regular season but have been added to the Yankees for the state meet.

Davis and Powell are regarded as the Yankees' top two pitchers and one of them will start Friday's tournament opener.

Glenn, who has coached the Yankees the past four years, said he has not kept any statistics this season and it has made for a harmonious group.

"This is the first year I have not kept statistics and I have not had a single player ask me about their stats. It's really a team," he said. "Up and down the lineup we've hit the ball well all year and we're deep in pitching."

Other coaches for the Yankees are Dave Meyr, Dale Smith and Ryan Essex.

Cape White Sox

After spending the regular season going up against primarily teams featuring players ages 17 and 18, the White Sox are looking forward to a state tourney that will include strictly 16-year-old squads.

"We're ready to go and see what we can do," said White Sox head coach Stan West. "When we were playing those big guys, it was tough for us a few days, but this is what we've been looking forward to all year."

While the White Sox didn't actually earn a berth in the state meet -- as the only 16-year-old team in the SEMO North League they had a spot guaranteed -- they more than held their own, going 11-15. Included in that record are several close losses.

"A few games we got thumped, but we played most people tough," West said.

The White Sox will open play in the six-team, double-elimination state tournament at 10 a.m. Friday, taking on the winner of a game today between defending champion Jefferson City and Mineral Area.

"We've got a good group of guys and I think we've got a good chance to do well," said West.

The White Sox state squad features 11 players from their regular-season team and six additions from fellow league members Scott City and Chaffee.

The 11 original White Sox attend Cape Central, Notre Dame and Jackson high schools. From Cape Central are David Hammond, Jacob Welch, Lucas Presson, Lance West, Tyler Klipfel and Corey Bowman. Notre Dame provides Jeff Brosey and Wayne Essner while Brandon Andrews, Josh Snell and John Lorenz are from Jackson.

Rounding out the squad are Scott City High's Steven Posey and Jason Umfleet, along with Chaffee's Brandon Davis, Sam Burnett, James Reischman and Brent Thomason.

Other White Sox coaches are Keith Bowman and Gary Snell.