Friday, May 13, 2005 | 9:53 a.m.
The Community College of Southern Nevada baseball team whiffed in its golden chances to rally in a 4-2 defeat to Dixie State on Thursday night at Morse Stadium.
Coyotes coach Tim Chambers said his team could not have been in a better situation, trailing by two runs with one out, the bases loaded and his Nos. 2 and 3 hitters due at the plate in the bottom of the ninth inning.
However, Rebels relief pitcher Todd Morlock got Mike Dunn, CCSN's No. 2 hitter, out on a called third strike. Then Austin Hales swung and missed at a strike three to end the game.
"I'll take that," Chambers said of the situation. "But you can't strike out in those spots. I know it's easier said than done. We had our shot right there and didn't get it done."
Dixie (40-13) needs one more victory in the best-of-three NJCAA Region 18 championship to advance to the Western District tournament next week in Arizona.
Today's game starts at 6 p.m. at Morse, and CCSN sophomore Jesse Craig and Dixie freshman Nick Walters are the probable starting pitchers. If a Game 3 is needed, it is scheduled to begin Saturday at 3 p.m.
CCSN (46-13) was baffled by Dixie sophomore pitcher Chad Barben, who lasted 8 1/3 innings, most of Thursday's game.
"He kept us off-balance all night," Chambers said. "All game long, I told our guys to go with the pitch. But they tried to pull the ball. We're a better hitting team than that. We didn't adjust."
The Coyotes had scrounged for only one hit until the sixth, when Shawn Olsen turned a lead-off bloop single into CCSN's first run on a groundout and flyout by the next two hitters.
That came in the bottom of an inning in which Dixie batted around for its four runs. Braden Wells and Nick Beghtol hit doubles, and Ray Wright singled in two runs in the uprising.
CCSN helped with a walk, an error and two wild pitches.
"They didn't kill us," Chambers said. "We kicked it around in the sixth."
Chambers yanked starter Ryan Tabor in the sixth for Craig Heyer, who got the last out of that inning and kept the Rebels under wraps the rest of the way.
Barben walked Jorge "Pudge" Esquivel and Kyle Price to start the ninth, and then Chris Slack, whom Chambers put in to run for Esquivel, safely slid under third baseman Colt Sedbrook's diving tag attempt to load the bases for CCSN with nobody out.
Aaron Brady had hit a sharp grounder to Sedbrook, who bobbled it and then tried to get the quickest out to his right. But Slack was quicker.
Dane "Kalani" Ponciano lined out to center field to score Slack and cut CCSN's deficit to 4-2, and then Olsen singled to right to load the bases again for Dunn and Hales.
"I felt like (the Rebels) had more energy tonight, that they wanted it more," Chambers said. "My hat's off to Tabor. He didn't deserve that fate, and we had our chances."
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