CCSN, Dixie take turns at the top

Wednesday, May 11, 2005 | 9:45 a.m.

Tim Chambers began his Community College of Southern Nevada baseball program six years ago trying to emulate Dixie State.

CCSN then won the NJCAA World Series title two years ago in Colorado, and Dixie coach Mike Littlewood did a curious thing. He began trying to model his program after CCSN.

Dixie won the junior college championship last season.

So it's appropriate, if not poetic, that the two programs will play at Morse Stadium in Henderson, in a best-of-three series that starts Thursday, to decide the Region 18 championship.

The victor moves on to the Western District championship in Arizona next week, where a berth in the World Series, in Grand Junction, Colo., will be at stake.

"It's a great rivalry," Littlewood said. "I think both teams make each other better. I don't think we win the national championship last year if they're not in our league to raise the bar. It's been a good, healthy rivalry."

CCSN (46-12, 30-10 in the Scenic West Athletic Conference) eked out first place in the league over Dixie (39-13, 29-11) this season to secure home-field advantage in the Region 18 tournament.

"We anticipated this would happen from the first day of the season," Chambers said. "They ended our season (in '04), and we'd like to have an opportunity to end their season. Obviously, we have a lot of work to do to beat them.

"But I'd rather it be them than anyone else."

The two coaches spoke by telephone Monday, and both said the rivalry has been built on mutual respect. After the two teams finish a series, players from both sides typically exchange warm handshakes, if not a hug or two.

Littlewood has guided Dixie to four World Series appearances.

"It's two extremely successful programs," Chambers said. "It's not about us hating them or their players, or them hating us. There's a lot of respect between the two programs.

"Mike does a great job. We built our program on the premise of what kinds of kids we'd have to recruit in order for us to be better than them. If you can't beat Dixie, you can't win a national championship."

Thursday and Friday games are scheduled to start at 6 p.m. Saturday's, if necessary, had been slated to start at 1, but Chambers told Littlewood it could be switched to 3 to accommodate a family event.

Tyson Littlewood, a junior shortstop for Pine View High in Utah, is playing for a state title Saturday at 9:30 a.m. If CCSN and Dixie require a third game, Mike Littlewood will spend the morning in Utah and the afternoon in Henderson.

"When someone raises the bar, you have to do the same," he said of the rivalry. "You have to get more serious about it, or whatever you need to do. With Southern Nevada, you have to have a great series just to get to the district tournament."