New faces brought home Gators’ sixth straight baseball title

Spencer Patterson

Tuesday, May 26, 1998 | 11:03 a.m.

When Green Valley baseball coach Rodger Fairless walked off UNLV's baseball field after winning his fifth-straight state title last spring, he honestly thought his team's amazing run had just come to an end.

With 14 seniors -- including all eight starting position players, three of his top four pitchers and his DH -- graduating, Fairless knew the Gators' 1998 season might not have the happy ending the Henderson school had come to expect.

So after watching his charges post a 4-2 win over Carson in Saturday's championship game in Reno, Fairless still seemed in a state of shock over his club's accomplishment.

"I really didn't think this team would be here," said Fairless, moments before his players emptied the contents of one of Peccole Field's hoses on the coach. 'When we started going at it in practice, we didn't look too strong. I really didn't think we would be .500."

Instead, the Gators finished the season with a sparkling 33-2 overall record -- the best in school history. Only one-run losses to playoff qualifiers Cimarron-Memorial and Silverado preventing an undefeated run.

Already a dynasty, Green Valley added another chapter to their storied history, with the squad's seven 12th-graders going out the way every Gators' senior class has since the school opened in 1991.

"No seniors have walked out of Green Valley without a title," said senior pitcher Mike Nannini, who figured in all three of his team's state tournament decisions, winning one and saving the other two. "I'm glad we could keep the streak alive."

Perhaps most impressive of all, the Gators' sixth consecutive large-school title came in a season that featured more parity in Las Vegas-area prep baseball than any other in recent memory.

"I would put us up there with any of (Green Valley's championship teams)," senior first baseman David Jensen said. "This year, we put it all together."

Pair of aces

The Gators' 1998 title team will likely long be remembered for its top two pitchers: senior right-handers Joe Orloski and Nannini.

The duo -- both of whom are expected to be taken early in next week's Major League Baseball amateur draft -- came into the season with advanced billing and lived up to it, striking fear into the hearts of many an opposing hitter.

"We were successful a lot because of those two kids," Fairless said. "They pretty much carried us."

Nannini, who finished his high school career with a stellar 19-2 mark, was the most feared pitcher in the state this spring. The 5-11 fireballer posted an incredible 0.58 ERA, striking out 97 and walking only four in 73 innings on the mound.

Orloski, a hard-thowing 6-3, 175-pounder, matched Nannini's 10-1 1998 record, compiling a top-notch 2.06 ERA and striking out 68 batters.

Of course, the Gators had more than two pitchers on their staff, and one of Nannini and Orloski's classmates proved that point in the team's final game of the season.

Senior Richard Chatwin, long the overlooked member of Green Valley's three-man pitching rotation, threw five innings of three-hit baseball to propel the Gators past the Senators in the championship contest.

"It's more than I could ask for," Chatwin said. "I never dreamed at the beginning of the season I would be in this position."

Two-out specialists

While the pitching staff grabbed most of the headlines, the Gators' lineup also distinguished itself throughout the spring.

Although not a power-hitting group in the mold of last year's state championship team, this year's Green Valley club featured patient, consistent batters who picked their spots to shine.

The Gators seemed to thrive in clutch situations, particularly with two outs on the scoreboard. It wasn't unusual for a team to record a pair of quick outs against Green Valley, only to watch the team bat around before inning's end.

"It seemed like we always had a two-out rally," said Jensen, who led the club with a .513 batting average and 49 RBIs. "Sometimes, we would just get on a roll hitting the ball."

With Jensen, senior outfielder David Krynzel (.405, 26 RBIs), sophomore outfielder Ben Schiess (.464, 25 RBIs) and Orloski (.365, 34 RBIs) leading the way, a Gator team known for pitching managed to put some gaudy offensive numbers on the board.

Green Valley got it done defensively as well, with the infield of Jensen, senior second baseman Matt Merrifield, junior shortstop Kyle Reed and Orloski, along with junior catcher Dan Krynzel, forcing opponents to earn everything they got against the Gators.

And as any good club, the team had its share of versatile role players, like juniors John Slack, Justin Gentile and Mike Stratton and freshman Garrett Guzman.

But above all, the Green Valley players and coaches attribute their success this season to their overall work ethic and the team atmosphere Fairless created in practice.

"We take a lot of pride in ourselves," Orloski said. "All year long we played as a team. Winning is a great feeling, but it's tough as a senior. It's like leaving your family."

Lucky Seven?

So what's up next for the seemingly unbeatable Green Valley baseball team? How about a run at the state record for overall titles, currently held by Rancho High School, which has eight trophies to its credit.

The Gators return much of this year's starting lineup, including Reed, Stratton, Gentile, Scheiss, Slack, Dan Krynzel and Guzman. And even though the team loses its top three pitchers, the school is rumored to have several talented young arms waiting in the wings.

Besides, as this year's club can attest, sometimes a squad's future success can't be measured by the number of players it has coming back.