HENDERSON, Nev. (May 15, 2021) – Vin Scully, the former Los Angeles Dodgers announcer, coined a phrase of 'In the year of the improbable, the impossible has happened.'
Saturday's events in the Region 18 tournament at Morse Stadium may not have been impossible but the feat accomplished by the College of Southern Nevada baseball team was certainly improbable, with the Coyotes downing Salt Lake Community College twice to earn the Region 18 crown. CSN earned victories of 21-11 and 16-12 to earn the Region crown, setting up Southern Nevada to join this week's NJCAA Western District tourney in Arizona.
The regional pairings will be announced early next week.
Southern Nevada 21, Salt Lake 11: Early offense made all the difference for CSN in the day's opening game, setting a tone from which momentum in the entire tournament swung.
The Coyotes scored 13 runs in the opening inning, with
Johnny Cuevas hitting a grand-slam home run and
Trey Frahm also hitting a three-run double.
Jacob Godman later hit a home run in the fifth inning.
Cuevas went 3-of-7 at the plate with five RBI's, while Godman was 3-of-5.
Southern Nevada 16, Salt Lake 12: The clinching victory for the Coyotes came with another offensive explosion.
Full of momentum, CSN posted six runs in the game's opening inning, using a
Dax Fellows three-run triple to seize the momentum.
John-Howard Bobo later hit a two-run home run in the fourth inning to up CSN's lead to 11-2, with SLCC then making a comeback that cut the deficit to 13-9 in the seventh inning. CSN responded with a pair of runs to clinch the win.
Fellows and
Trey Frahm both went 3-of-5 at the plate, with Frahm scoring a team-high four runs and posting a team-high four RBI's. In a team pitching performance,
Andrew Hauck earned the clinching win.
After the tournament the following players were selected to the Region 18 All Tournament Team:
Bruer Webster - Salt Lake CC
Zachary Blaszak - Salt Lake CC
Chase Peterson - Salt Lake CC
Karson Bodily - Salt Lake CC
Joey Walls - College of Southern Nevada
Johnny Cuevas - College of Southern Nevada
Dax Fellows - College of Southern Nevada
Andrew Hauck - College of Southern Nevada
Damiano Palmegiani - College of Southern Nevada
John-Howard Bobo - College of Southern Nevada
Region 18 Tournament MVP:
Johnny Cuevas - College of Southern Nevada
