Coyotes come to grips with loss

Wednesday, May 16, 2007 | 7:16 a.m.

Community College of Southern Nevada baseball coach Tim Chambers admitted late Friday it stung watching Western Nevada celebrate on his field.

The Wildcats beat the Coyotes at Morse Stadium two consecutive nights, in the best-of-three Region 18 championship, to advance to their first district tournament this week in Arizona.

"Failure, my only word for it," Chambers said as he sat on the back of his dugout bench. "We won 41 games, and the season is a failure when you're in a position we're in."

CCSN (41-18) earned home-field advantage by narrowly winning the Scenic West Athletic Conference, only to see its Silver State rival beat it in every aspect of the game.

Winning in Arizona would propel Western Nevada to the National Junio r Collegiate Athletic Association World Series in Grand Junction, Colo., which the Coyotes won, in the fourth year of the program, in 2003.

"We'll win every year," Chambers said. "I don't mean this arrogantly, but I'll be shocked if we ever have a losing season. We're always going to win. Players and coaches here expect to have a chance to go to Grand Junction.

"When you come up short, it's a losing season. Forty-one wins don't mean jack."

A lot of hurt

Bryce Massanari's eyes welled up and his sentences broke off after two or three words.

"Oh, geez," he said. "It's hard, man ... it's been a lot of fun."

The Centennial High graduate's brief career at CCSN ended Friday with two late-inning ground-outs with runners on base.

A week earlier, the infielder dislocated his left shoulder - for the second time this season - sliding head-first into second base. That relegated him to designated-hitter status against Western Nevada.

Although the shoulder harness hampered him somewhat, he did not make excuses. He said two days in the batting cage made him comfortable with it, and Chambers noted a shorter, sharper swing.

Afterward, the reality of the end of his CCSN career jolted Massanari.

"It's how baseball is, man," he said. "I have a lot of good friends here ... Coach is a good dude, he takes care of us."

Behind the scenes

Early last week, Chambers suspended hard-slugging first baseman Tylien Manumaleuna for Thursday and Friday's games because of an off-field incident.

Chambers said that was the type of late-season distraction that he always warns his players about.

"We're educators, too," Chambers said. "We're supposed to be here to teach these guys, not just win baseball games. When you make a mistake off the field, I feel you need to pay for it. Lesson learned, and he'll learn from it.

"He's a good kid. He'll grow up. Trust me, he'll learn from it. I feel very strongly about the decision I made, and I feel like I made the right decision."

Moving on

Sophomore right-handed pitcher Jon Berger, a Bishop Gorman product, visited San Diego State and coach Tony Gwynn last week and committed to the Aztecs next season. Several other schools showed interest in him, but Berger felt most comfortable at San Diego State.