Wednesday, April 30, 2003 | 10:04 a.m.
Tim Chambers coaxed the bus driver to steer the rig an hour south, down Route 139, to physically show his baseball players what had been only a vague image of their ultimate goal.
"We took a little ride," said Chambers, the coach of the Community College of Southern Nevada, "to let them know what we're playing for."
CCSN arrived in Rangely, Colo., on April 10 to prepare for two doubleheaders against Colorado Northwest Community College. Upon Chambers' request, the journey was extended to Grand Junction.
That is where the NJCAA World Series will be played May 24-31.
"It was a pretty good deal," said Coyotes slugger Don Sutton. "What I noticed is that they have a short fence. I'm a hitter, so a short porch is good."
Jabe Beard, CCSN's No. 2 pitcher who is 7-0 with a 0.88 earned-run average, was also impressed.
"I think that gave me inspiration to make it there," he said. "I felt the vibe."
Jino Gonzalez, the veteran ace of the Coyotes' pitching staff, envisioned a grand scene at Sam Suplizio Field.
"I could see all the guys playing on the field, getting a last out and then us dog-piling on each other at the end," said the usually reserved Gonzalez. "I'm excited. I think we're ready to go."
To return to Grand Junction, the Coyotes (44-8) must win a three-game series against Salt Lake Community College (28-16) at home this weekend and take another three-game series against either Dixie State or the College of Southern Idaho next weekend.
That second series would also be played at Lied Field in Henderson.
Winning the Scenic West Athletic Conference tournament would advance CCSN to a district championship in Arizona the following weekend, and a victory there would send the Coyotes to the eight-team World Series.
Chambers has guided the program to a 185-44 record in its four years of existence, but he bristles when he recalls criticism he has heard from some in the community who believe the team doesn't respond well to postseason pressure.
In two years as an independent, and in the SWAC last season, it has never played past the first weekend of the playoff system.
In a 10-minute meeting with his players in a Lied dugout before Monday's practice session, the message Chambers delivered to his players centered on respect.
"There are a lot of people who don't know about athletics," he said. "They think, if you don't win a championship, you're a loser. (Former Kansas basketball coach) Roy Williams hasn't won a championship, but he isn't a loser.
"That was the message. This team has the best chemistry of any that I've coached in 15 years. There are no fights, and they look out for each other if one isn't doing the right thing."
This is also the third consecutive semester that the team grade-point average will be higher than 3.0, so the Coyotes know what they're doing on and off the field.
Defense and pitching are their strong points, Chambers said. The slugging is left to Sutton, a 6-foot-1, 230-pound freshman out of Durango High who led the league with nine home runs, 55 RBIs, 94 total bases and a .653 slugging percentage.
Nobody else in the conference hit more than four homers. Those figures are impressive, considering that CCSN used only wooden bats for the second year in a row. Last weekend against Utah Valley State in Orem, Utah, Sutton slammed a homer into the teeth of a 30-mph wind.
"It was a slider in, and it would have been strike three," he said. "I sort of took a half swing, and it got caught up in the air and went out. I was pretty shocked myself."
Matt Minor, who has signed with UNLV, is 3-0 with a 0.53 ERA. Tyler Coon, the Nevada prep player of the year last season, has gone 7-1 with a 1.68 ERA. Beard, a Foothill High graduate, struck out 51 in 41 innings this season.
"I just like to go after guys with my fastball," Beard said. "The coach has a lot of faith in me, and I have a lot of faith in the guys behind me."
Gonzalez, a 6-2 lefty from Cimarron-Memorial who missed last season after shoulder surgery, went 5-1 with a 2.41 ERA this season. He said he will likely sign with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays after the playoffs.
He struck out 58 batters in 41 innings, and said it will be critical for him to keep his pitch counts low in the nine-inning postseason games. SWAC games are played in seven innings.
"I'll have to get my slider over, get ahead in counts and not walk anyone," Gonzalez said. "I think it will be huge if I can extend my innings."
Having already seen Grand Junction could be a boon to the Coyotes, too. A week after that enlightenment, the Coyotes took three of four games at Dixie State to clinch the season championship.
Dixie had won seven in a row.
"It's pretty neat," Chambers said of Grand Junction. "They draw 8,000 to 10,000 a night, and it feels kind of like Omaha. It's very special, really a big deal. It would be a lifelong achievement to get there."
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