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CAPE GIRARDEAU -- They would do anything to get back on the diamond.
Both Dexter's and Cape Central's baseball teams agreed to change venues for an opportunity to play at least one game before the SEMO Conference Wood Bat Tournament following the flash floods that have caused nothing but headaches in the past week.
They met at Notre Dame High School following the Sikeston-Notre Dame match-up.
And although the Bearcats were happy to see the field again, their return would end up being a solemn one. Dexter fell to Cape Central, 8-4.
"We were very happy to get out of the gym and onto the baseball field," Dexter head coach Brian Becker said. "It's been a long week, weather-wise, and hopefully the weather will stay nice and we'll be able to get this tournament in. But, we've got to come out and play better baseball."
Dexter's night started in ominous fashion.
With Dexter starter Nick Noble, a freshman, on the mound, Cape Central's first batter of the game, Christian Caveness, hit a deep fly ball to centerfield which had Dexter centerfielder, Josh Sifford racing towards the wall.
Sifford ended up slipping and losing his balance in the still-moist outfield allowing Caveness' hit to roll all the way to the wall. Cape Central's leadoff man eventually rounded all four bases for an inside the park home run.
Two batters later, Trey Gardner smoked a solo home run to left field that hit off the top of Notre Dame's scoreboard to give the Tigers an early 2-0 lead.
"We threw a freshman out there and after that first inning I thought Nick threw great," said Becker. "He had some pre-game jitters and I think having the inside the park home run during the first batter didn't help matters any."
Cape Central (9-5) added two more runs in the third and four more in the sixth.
Dexter did not add their first run until the bottom of the fifth inning when Chase Young hit a two-RBI single making it a 4-2 game.
"We took too many pitches," Becker said about Dexter's slow offensive start. "Their pitcher did a good job of hitting the corners and we'd just look at it. When we would swing, we would lunge and throw our hips forward."
The Bearcats pushed across two more in the bottom of the seventh off a two-RBI double by Bryn Hester but could not complete a full comeback.
Dexter (7-6) will take on Notre Dame in the first round of the SEMO Conference tournament today at 4:30 p.m.
"I know Notre Dame has their heads down after getting beat by Sikeston and they're going to come out ready to play baseball," Becker said. "Basically, the team that gets over their loss is going to perform well tomorrow."
Cape Central 202 003 0 -- 8
Dexter 000 020 2 -- 4
WP -- Andrew Hileman. LP -- Nick Noble. 2B -- (C) J.P. Huston; (D) Bryn Hester. HR -- (C) Christian Cavaness, Trey Gardner.