The Alvin Community College Dolphins ended their run for a JUCO World Series championship title in Grand Junction, Colo. with a loss to the Hagerstown Community College Hawks, of Hagerstown, Md., 11-9 during an elimination round on Wednesday.
“We played four games and had only two errors,” ACC Baseball Head Coach Bryan Alexander told reporters after the game. “I couldn’t have asked them to play any better or harder (during the tournament); we just couldn’t get on track today.” 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 was eliminated from the tournament with a second loss to the Central Arizona College Vaqueros, of Coolidge, Ariz., 10-5 in a double-elimination round on Monday. The Hawks gave the Indians their second defeat, sending Chipola home with a score of 10-7. A 10-8 loss to the Grayson County College Vikings, of Denison, Texas, in their third game on May 27, however, sent the Dolphins to their own double-elimination round with the Hawks, who lost to Grayson, as well, 18-2 in their opening game on May 25.
“I know they probably don’t feel well right now, but they have no idea how much the community supports them,” said Greg Roof, an ACC government instructor who has been following the progress of the team in the World Series with other colleagues. “They’re going to get a very warm reception when they come home.”
“It’s really good to see a team, like Bryan Alexander has put together, have so much success; it makes you proud of your school,” he added. “I’m so happy with the way they performed, not only on the field but in the classroom. I had five or six baseball players in my classes this semester and they really studied. I think it’s because of their coach. He expects them to perform in the classroom, as well as on the field.”
The ACC Dolphins Baseball Team, which was the only team competing in the JUCO World Series that was composed of players from one state, earned the trip to Colorado 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.
Photo: The Alvin Community College Dolphins celebrate after Richard Porfirio (No. 12) hits a two-run homer in the bottom of the fifth inning to tie the game 8-8 against the Hagerstown Community College Hawks, of Hagerstown, Md., during an elimination match at the Alpine Bank JUCO World Series in Grand Junction, Colo. on May 28. Unfortunately, the Dolphins ended up losing to the Hawks 11-9.
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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.
