The Alvin Community College Dolphins lost their first game in the third round of the Alpine Bank JUCO World Series in Grand Junction, Colo. against the Grayson County College Vikings, of Denison, Texas, 10-8 on Tuesday.
Despite coming back from a 5-run deficit to tie the ball game in the seventh inning 6-6, holding the tie 7-7 in the eighth and leading at the top of the ninth 8-7, the Dolphins were knocked out of the winners’ bracket when the Vikings’ Michael Reed hit a three-run homer ending the game 10-8. “The coin toss looks like it cost us by not being the home team,” ACC Dolphins Baseball Head Coach Bryan Alexander told reporters after the game of not having the last trip at bat.
The double-elimination tournament gives the Dolphins another chance for the championship by competing in the losers’ bracket, first against the Hagerstown Community College Hawks, of Hagerstown, Md., on May 28. With a defeat over Hagerstown, the Dolphins will need only one more win for a shot at the crown.
“We’ve lost a few games before,” Alexander said. “We know how to bounce back from a loss; we just have to come out hard and get after it.” The Dolphins won their first two games of the JUCO World Series against the 2006 champions, the Walters State Community College Senators of Morristown, Tenn., 13-7 in the opening game on May 24 and defending 2007 champions, the Chipola College Indians of Marianna, Fla., 11-8 on May 26. Walters State and Chipola were both eliminated from the tournament in their second games in the losers’ bracket. Currently, only Grayson and Shelton State Community College, of Tuscaloosa, Ala., have remained undefeated in this year’s JUCO World Series. They face-off during an evening game on May 28.
In their battle against the Vikings, the Dolphins kept a 1-run lead for the first three innings with solid pitching by starter Jason Fuqua, of Baytown, and defense by basemen Pablo Salinas, of League City, Chris Herrmann, of Tomball, and Clay Puckett, of Texas City. Outfielder Blake Lynd, of Deer Park, also led a phenomenal double play with a fly ball catch and throw to Adelaido Anaya, of Deer Park, at home to tag the Vikings’ Eric Ross before scoring at the bottom of the third.
A potential run was lost by ACC in the second inning when Richard Porfirio, of Houston, attempted to score after a wild throw went over the head of the Vikings’ first baseman who was trying to stop Porfirio from getting to the bag. Porfirio rounded all the bases, but was tagged out before reaching home. A solo home run by Stuart Slakey in the bottom of the fourth triggered a scoring spree for Grayson in the fifth and sixth innings, catapulting the Vikings in front 6-1.
Not phased by the spread, the Dolphins tied the game despite a pitching change in the top of the seventh with three RBIs, one by Jesse Husband, of Baytown, and two by Herrmann, and a two-run homer by Ryan Priest, of Houston. In the eighth inning, both teams earned a run before a change at the mound and finished the inning tied 7-7. Porfirio hit an RBI to bring in Priest to put the Dolphins in the lead for the last time at the top of the ninth. With one out on Grayson, Reed ended ACC’s winning streak with a three-run homer to right field. “What can you say about Alvin Community College being down 6-1 and coming back,” Vikings Head Coach Dusty Hart said. “It’s almost a shame someone had to lose that game.”
The Dolphins earned a trip to the JUCO World Series after making a clean sweep in the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Region XIV Baseball Tournament and clinching the championship for the first time in the college’s history.
ACC will go on to play the Hagerstown Hawks in an elimination game on Wednesday, May 28, at 4 p.m. The game will be broadcast live on KACC 89.7 FM. For team and game details, visit www.jucogj.org.
Photo: Alvin Community College Dolphins outfielder Blake Lynd (below, right), of Deer Park, steals second base at the top of the first inning against the Grayson County College Vikings during the third round of the JUCO World Series in Grand Junction, Colo. on May 27. Lynd earned the first run of the game shortly after; however, the Dolphins eventually succumbed to the Vikings, of Denison, Texas, 10-8. ACC will go on to play an elimination game against the Hagerstown Community College Hawks, of Hagerstown, Md., on Wednesday.
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Photo: The 2008 ACC Dolphins Baseball Team consists of: (front row, seated, left to right) Chris Herrmann, Jesse Husband, Drew Hudson, Travis Magliolo, Jerry Raines, Giovanni Angel, Ryan Gilbert, Blake Lynd, Ryan Priest, (middle row, kneeling) Mark Hudson, Chris Pena, Richard Porfirio, Brett Kinsel, Adelaido Anaya, Taylor Wulf, James Land (rs), Michael Martin, Jeremy Toole, Clay Puckett, (back row, standing) ACC Student Assistant Zack Ellis, Matt Flores, ACC Assistant Coach Jason Schreiber, Kyle Little, Kyle Keena, John Gilligan, Josh Darnell, Nick Hammons, Guillermo Cienfuegos, Jason Fuqua, Kenny Jackson, Pablo Salinas, and ACC Head Coach Bryan Alexander.
