Jackson opens floodgates, demolishes Catfish in Independence Day blowout

Cape's Bryce Cannon is greeted by the dugout during a Wednesday, June 19, 2024 game between the Cape Catfish and the Alton River Dragons at Capaha Field in Cape Girardeau, Mo.

Tony Capobianco ~ tcapobianco@semoball.com

Jackson opens floodgates, demolishes Catfish in Independence Day blowout

Going on the road and into one of the hardest places to play in the Prospect League, Cape couldn’t hold off a rallying Jackson offense in a 16-6 mercy-rule loss in seven innings on Thursday night in a July 4 fireworks show.

Jackson, 15-2 at home this season, kept its undefeated record against the Catfish on its own turf alive, now 4-0 against Cape when at home.

Trailing 5-4 in the fifth inning, Jackson scored seven runs in the bottom of the fifth to fly in front and put another five runs across in the seventh to walk it off for the mercy-rule ending.

For Cape, it was a matter of time. The offense couldn’t keep up in a shootout, and Jackson took full advantage of a lackluster Cape pitching performance.

Falling below the even mark, now at 1-2 in the 2024 second half, Cape’s finding itself playing catch-up with its record once again after a half-opening win against Dubois County on Tuesday.

Against one of the worst opponents to lose to, Cape has now dropped two games in two days as the Rockabillys move a little further ahead of the Catfish in the early race for the second-half crown.

The intra-divisional rivalry between South Division hopefuls has been one of the ones to watch, and Jackson has dominated all season long.

With a blowout victory on home turf, the Rockabillys proved that they’re serious with that home-field advantage, and Cape just couldn’t keep up.

One of the biggest parts of this year’s schedule, the start to this three-game set against the Rockabillys has been nothing short of unimpressive for the Catfish.

The harsh truth is that Cape has shot itself out of these shootouts, and a great offense hasn’t been enough to pull itself in front. That’s been the case all season long.

It feels like Cape is always in games, but the defense plays down when the offense plays up.

On Thursday, that wasn’t the case. Cape got punched in the mouth, and a mercy-rule loss reflects poorly on that record as the Catfish now sit at 1-2 on the new year.

Ahead of a Friday finale against Jackson, with another matchup on the road, Cape looks to take the final game of its three-game series with the rival Rockabillys after two upsetting losses on Wednesday and Thursday.

Jackson, leading the season series 5-2, hasn’t lost to the Catfish on home turf this season and will look to keep that perfect record intact for one more game.

Looking to get back to .500 on the second half, Cape’s got its work cut out for the Friday clash, and a win could spell a reset for the Catfish.