Semoball

Capahas struggle holding early leads, split baseball doubleheader with Waterloo

The Capahas' Trent Pobst reacts after striking out in the first game of a doubleheader against the Waterloo Millers on Sunday at Capaha Field.
KASSI JACKSON

Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.

The Capahas baseball team was able to overcome a blown lead once Sunday, but twice was too much to ask, as it split a doubleheader with the visiting Waterloo Millers and fell 8-7 in the nightcap of a Mon-Clair League twin-bill at Capaha Field.

The Caps had let an early lead slip away in the opener, but rallied for a 6-4 victory. But when they again dropped an early advantage in Game 2, the response never came.

After scoring seven runs in the first two innings and leading by five runs after four innings, the Capahas (14-5 overall, 9-5 Mon-Clair League) were undone by a six-run fifth inning for Waterloo (6-7 league), which tied the game at 7-all on a two-out single by Ethan Ruff and then scored the go-ahead run on a wild pitch.

"[Our] guys in the first game, they put together good at-bats, good approaches, and part of the second game they did too. But give the other pitcher credit, he was throwing first-pitch strikes and that changes the whole dynamic at the batter's approach," Capahas' coach Tom Bolen said.

The Cape Girardeau Capahas celebrate their win in the first game of a doubleheader against the Waterloo Millers on Sunday, June 24, 2018 at Capaha Park.
KASSI JACKSON

The home side knocked Millers starter Noah Thaggard out of the game with just two outs in the first inning, but managed only two more runs and three more hits against the visitors' three relievers, giving Waterloo a chance to find its feet and rally.

"The whole approach is you've got to keep laying on, especially when they're down, and we failed to do it," Bolen said. "We failed to execute and take advantage of that."

Left-handed reliever Cory Vogel got the win for Waterloo, allowing two runs (one earned) on two hits in 3 1/3 innings. Trevor Davis threw one inning to get the hold and Andrew Yancick pitched a clean final two frames for the save.

Lance Young took the loss in relief for the Capahas. He entered during the fifth-inning collapse and was responsible for one run -- the go-ahead score -- while allowing five hits with a strikeout and a walk in 2 2/3 innings.

Chase Hagerty, getting his first start for the Caps, allowed seven runs on eight hits in 4 1/3 innings, walking three batters and striking out two.

Waterloo got off to a quick start with a run-scoring triple by Cory Lubinski before he scored on a sacrifice fly for 2-0 lead.

Lubinski was 2-for-4 with two triples, two runs scored and two driven in for the Millers. Keegan Baxmeyer was 3-for-4 for the visitors.

Waterloo's initial lead didn't last long. Austin Bucher and Brady Wright led off the bottom of the first by reaching base and later scoring with two outs. The hosts scored five times in the inning, highlighted by a three-run home run by Trynton Tompkins.

Kelby Brown capped the scoring with a run-scoring single and the Capahas led 5-2 after one.

Wright had a big day at the plate, following up a strong opening game with a 2-for-4 performance in which he reached base three times, scored twice and hit a double.

The home side made it 7-2 in the second, as Wright reached on an error and then scored on a triple by Trent Pobst, who scored on an errant throw to the plate on his hit.

But for the second time on the day, the lead didn't hold up.

The Millers got off to a fast start in the top of the fifth -- including another RBI triple by Lubinski -- and went to work erasing the gap. When Quinn Albrecht hit a two-RBI double with one out it drew the visitors within a run, 7-6, and drove Hagerty from the game.

Waterloo tied the game thanks to that two-out single by Ruff off Young, and the wild pitch allowed the Millers take an 8-7 edge.

KASSI JACKSON ~ kjackson@semissourian.com

Cape Girardeau Capaha's Tyson Campbell pitches in the seventh, and final, inning against the Waterloo Millers Sunday, June 24, 2018 at Capaha Park.

Game 1

Pobst was 2-for-4, including a two-run, game-winning base hit in the bottom of the sixth, as the hosts won the opener, losing an early lead before rallying to grab victory.

The Caps took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first on an RBI double from Wright, and then made it 2-0 in the third when Pobst scored on a passed ball.

The Millers vaulted on top in the sixth inning, scoring four runs on six hits to take a 4-2 edge, but the Capahas responded with four runs in the bottom half of the inning.

Noah Niswonger tied things at 4-all with a one-out, two-RBI single before Pobst came up with the go-ahead swing, picking up a two-out, bases-loaded base hit.

"They bounced back really well," Bolen said. "Tyson Campbell, he's a great pitcher and a great athlete and he kept us in the game. I kept talking to him about if he was tired and this and that, and he said he wanted the game. You want pitchers like that -- the bulldog mentality where they want the game."

Campbell got the win for the Capahas, throwing all seven innings, striking out 11 batters and walking one to move to 3-0 on the season.

Wright was 2-for-4 with a pair of doubles, an RBI and a walk for the home side and Andrew Hayden went 2-for-3 and scored.

"For the most part, I'm satisfied," Bolen said. "We should have walked away with a sweep today, but overall, it's a new league (and) it's highly competitive. Every team's got great hitters. We've held our own."

The Capahas are back on the field at the 47th Annual Valmeyer Classic at Borsch Memorial Park in Valmeyer, Illinois. They open the tournament on Saturday vs. Fairview Heights at 11:30 a.m. The Classic runs through July 4.

GAME 1

Waterloo0000040--4100
Capahas101004x--690

WP -- Tyson Campbell. LP -- Marshall Shill. 2B -- Keegan Baxmeyer (W), Brady Wright (C) 2. Multiple hits -- Waterloo: Ethan Ruff 2-4, Chandler Purcell 2-4, Andrew Yancik 2-3; Capahas: Wright 2-3, Trent Pobst 2-4, Andrew Hayden 2-3.

GAME 2

Waterloo2000600--8131
Capahas5200000--760

WP -- Cory Vogel. LP -- Lance Young. Sv -- Andrew Yancick. HR -- Trynton Tompkins (C). 3B -- Cory Lubinski (W) 2, Trent Pobst (C). 2B -- Quinn Albrecht (W), Brady Wright (C). Multiple hits -- Waterloo: Ethan Ruff 2-5, Lubinski 2-4, Lucas Wetzler 2-4, Keegan Baxmeyer 3-4; Capahas: Wright 2-4.

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