COUGARS, BRAHMAS EXPECT CLOSE GAME ON ROAD TO TITLE.Byline: Bryan Winchell Special to the Daily News On paper, the College of the Canyons College of the Canyons is one of the fastest-growing community colleges in the state. According to the National Junior College Research Association, College of the Canyons consistently ranks in the top 50 community colleges in the nation. and Pierce baseball teams look evenly matched. On the field, however, the two teams usually trade blowout wins. ``We've never had many close games,'' said Canyons coach Len Mohney, citing this year's 18-6 and 8-2 Pierce wins and Canyons' 15-1 win. ``But I think that will change (today).'' One reason Mohney expects a tighter game is that intensity levels will be high because sole possession of first place in the Western State Conference's Southern Division is on the line. Both teams are 17-6 in league and have clinched first and second place in the division. But the first-place team gets an automatic bid to the playoffs, while the second-place team must receive an at-large bid An at-large bid is a bid or berth in a sporting tournament granted by invitation, not right. This term is most commonly used in the United States to refer to berths that the NCAA grants in its annual Division I men's and women's basketball tournaments, although at-large berths are . With two games left in the season after the game today, Pierce has the easier road with games against Glendale and Mission, while Canyons (22-17, 17-6) takes on Valley and third-place Bakersfield, who defeated the Cougars last week. And the Brahmas (27-10, 17-6) are the hot team, having won 17 of their last 19 games. Despite the two teams' blowout scores this year and despite Pierce's win streak, Pierce manager Bob Lofrano also thinks this one will be close. ``Will it be 5-4 or 11-10?'' Lofrano said. ``I don't know Don't know (DK, DKed) "Don't know the trade." A Street expression used whenever one party lacks knowledge of a trade or receives conflicting instructions from the other party. . It'll be like playoff intensity, so it should be a good one.'' The pressure may be a bit higher for Canyons than for Pierce because the Cougars' overall record isn't as good as Pierce's, and that is factored into consideration for an at-large bid. As if the race for first place doesn't make this game interesting enough, it showcases two of the top junior-college power hitters around in Pierce's Mike Glendenning (.389, 16 home runs, 57 RBI RBI abbr. Baseball runs batted in Noun 1. rbi - a run that is the result of the batter's performance; "he had more than 100 rbi last season" run batted in ) and Canyon's Rick Nadeau (.386-13-49). ``Those are two really good ballplayers,'' Lofrano said. ``It's good for the area to have them playing here.'' Glendenning just set a school record with his 15th and 16th home runs in Saturday's 20-9 win over Valley, and Nadeau and teammate Mike Oliver See also: Michael Oliver Mike Oliver may be:
But both coaches feel the team's starting pitchers Noun 1. starting pitcher - (baseball) a pitcher who starts in a baseball game baseball, baseball game - a ball game played with a bat and ball between two teams of nine players; teams take turns at bat trying to score runs; "he played baseball in high school"; (Canyons right-hander Chris Baker For more people named Chris Baker, see . Chris Baker is a race car driver born in the United States of America on 29 November 1969. He raced in US Barber Formula Dodge in 2001, and in the Barber Dodge Pro Series from 2002 until 2003. born in houston texas. and Pierce southpaw Keith Reed) won't allow a repeat of Saturday's home-run derby. Baker and Reed faced each other in Pierce's 8-2 win. Two Canyons errors took the Cougars out of the game, while Reed (8-3, 3.87 ERA, 79 IP, 67 Ks) went eight innings and gave up both runs. ``(Reed's) a good one,'' Mohney said. ``I wouldn't call him a power pitcher In baseball, a power pitcher is a pitcher who relies on the velocity of his pitches, sometimes at the expense of accuracy. Power pitchers usually record a high number of strikeouts and statistics such as strikeouts per 9 innings pitched are common measures of power. , but he's got a good arm. He's real competitive and he gets it done.'' Baker, who has struggled in his last couple of outings, pitched well in the 8-2 loss, Mohney said. He is 5-3 in league with an ERA under 3.00. If Pierce holds a late lead, that spells trouble for Canyons. Pierce relief ace Harry Kenoi leads the state with 30 appearances and has pitched in the last 19 games. His ERA is 1.67 and he has 11 saves. ``It's not a coincidence that when he has pitched for us we have won 17 of 19 games,'' Lofrano said. Other Canyons standouts are: third baseman third baseman n. Baseball The infielder stationed near third base. Noun 1. third baseman - (baseball) the person who plays third base third sacker Kasey Canale (.385., 26 RBI) and left fielder Justin Bunch (.302, team-high 16 doubles). For Pierce, shortstop Dave Cipolla (.359, state-high 39 walks) and second baseman second baseman n. Baseball The infielder who is positioned near and to the first-base side of second base. Noun 1. second baseman - (baseball) the person who plays second base second sacker Kirk Mayer (.362) also stand out. |
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