Bearcats open tournament play at home today against a tough Kelly Hawks squad

Jerry Jarrell Photo Dexter head baseball coach Brian Becker tries to sort out a questionable call during the Bearcats' recent game against Cape Central. He will lead his top-seeded squad into SEMO Conference tournament action today at home against No. 9 Kelly.

The first pitch is scheduled for 4 p. m. at Dexter's East Park ball field.

Dexter enters the tournament as the No. 1 seed after the Bearcats have put together a 6-1 conference record, 10-3 overall. Kelly, the tournament's No. 9 seed, earned a shot at Dexter by defeating No. 8 New Madrid County Central, 11-7, in the tournaments only play-in game Thursday at New Madrid.

The top four seeds will all be hosting first-round games today. Saturday's action will move to Cape Girardeau where games will be played at Notre Dame Regional High School and Cape Central High School.

The championship game, third and fifth place games will be held Monday in Cape Girardeau at Capaha Field on the Southeast Missouri State campus.

Dexter has been a surprise to many observers this season, as head coach Brian Becker has put a mixture of youth and veterans on the field each game. Senior David Hessling and junior Caleb Miller are the only true returning starters, while seniors Eric Windham and Tyler Scott saw plenty of action last year.

This year, Becker has had a healthy Matt Banken step up, while Mason Noe, Ben Mills, Jarrett Laird and Sawyer Smith have moved into every-day player roles for the 'Cats. Garrett McKuin and Caleb Stanley have also made positive contributions to the team success this season.

The Bearcats have proven to be a gritty team, pulling out several wins with late inning heroics. The team enters the tournament coming off consecutive one-run conference wins over No. 3 Jackson and No. 4 Cape Central, and a earlier 3-2 win over Poplar Bluff. The team also has a come-from-behind win over No. 5 Sikeston on a 3-run walk-off home run by Miller, who is leading the team with a .500 batting average, 18 hits, 16 runs batted in and three round-trippers.

The Bearcats support a .305 team batting average while Dexter pitchers and defense have held the opposition to a .250 average at the plate.

Noe is hitting at a .400 clip, while Banken supports a .382 average. The team has over 100 hits and has scored 88 runs.

To win the conference tournament, a team will have to play three games in four days; so pitching is always a key element of any team's success.

Windham's three wins leads a pitching staff that consists of seven different hurlers with at least one win. He also leads the team in strikeouts with 25, while the team supports a combined 3.41 earned run average.

The 'Cats have a good balance of power and speed. Dexter has five home runs, but also has produced 14 doubles. On the bases, the team has 23 thefts, including six each by Mills, a sophomore catcher, and the fleet-footed Hessling who patrols center field.

Two of Dexter's three losses have come on the road against No. 2 Notre Dame (6-3) and Perryville (8-5). The lone home lose was at the hands of Oran (7-5) and their ace, Steven Dooley, an all-state performer.

The Bearcats are also one win away from clinching the SEMO Conference's regular-season title. Dexter still has to get by a regular season meeting New Madrid to win the title outright.

That game between the two schools was originally scheduled for March 31, but was rained out. The makeup date has not been announced.

NOTE: For a complete tournament schedule, see Page 9 of the Daily Statesman under the Scoreboard.