GRAND JUNCTION, Col. -- Someone will make history at this year's Juco World Series, which starts on Saturday at Sam Suplizio Field here.
Guaranteed.
That is because none of the 10 teams gathered have ever won the double-elimination NJCAA Division I national tournament. Six teams, like Wabash Valley (53-11), have at least been here before, with the Warriors reaching the semifinal stage last year before bowing out. Four teams, like Saturday's Warrior opponent Salt Lake, Utah, are making a first appearance.
So, when 8:30 p.m. CDT finally rolls around, and WVC and the Bruins take the field for the fourth and final game of the first day, do the Warriors have an edge?
Yes and no, says Wabash Valley manager Aaron Biddle.
"It's a great (tournament) field, so there's not a whole lot of an advantage," the first-year coach said. "But it does help that we have been here, we've played in the park, we know how it plays and how the ball carries. You still have to come out and play baseball."
Salt Lake (31-18) is hardly a babe in the woods. The Bruins barely lost the West District title a year ago to eventual national champion Central Arizona, a team they had one loss down in the tournament only to be swept on the final day.
Sound familiar? Central Arizona later eliminated WVC in the World Series, with the Vaqueros walking off a 5-4 win in the semifinals.
Salt Lake coach David Nelson, in his 15th year at the helm, said the disappointment of last year has fueled his club this time around. They needed that impetus to overcome a completely different set of obstacles in 2023.
For starters, the wet, wild weather out West this spring led to six rainouts, and another eight conference games against Community Christian College were cancelled because of a lack of players at the California school.
The Bruins, the closest team to Grand Junction (284 miles apart), are thus only 31-18 heading in. The stat sheet suggests that pitching is their strength.
Righthander Jordan Pace is their biggest winner, with an 8-4 record and ERA of 3.24. He has four complete games.
Dalton Smith matches Pace's complete game total but adds a shutout to his credit. A 6-foot-5 righthander, Smith is 6-2, with an ERA of 2.64.
They also have James Boeree, who may be the tallest pitcher in the history of the Juco World Series. The sophomore righthander from Australia checks in at 7-2, 240-pounds.
Chip Beck leads the club in hitting, with a .366 batting average. Trey McLawhorn paces the team in home runs with eight, while Daniel Gonzalez is the clubhouse leader in runs batted in with 42.
The tournament begins at 10 a.m. CDT with a matchup between No. 4 seed Weatherford, Texas (50-9) and seventh-seeded Delgado, Louisiana (45-11). Top seed Central Florida (47-12) plays next, at 1 p.m. against No. 10 Andrew, Georgia (34-23).
At 4 p.m., No. 2 Johnson County, Kansas (55-8), the winningest team in the field, faces No. 9 Shelton State, Alabama (31-28). Then comes the Wabash Valley-Salt Lake matchup at 8:30 p.m.
The final first round game is on Sunday morning at 11 a.m. between No. 4 seed Blinn, Texas (44-13) and No. 5 Gaston, North Carolina (49-11).