Oscar Leroy: Chaps kick down the door to Grand Junction
May 19-Head coach Hector Rodriguez and the Midland College baseball team had been close a few times but could not get over the hump of making it back to the JUCO World Series.
When a team plays in one of the toughest regions in the country, it's understandable.
Then add to it that the World Series only takes 10 teams, which arguably makes it the toughest national tournament to get to in the NJCAA.
That all changed over the weekend when the No. 9-ranked Chaparrals kicked down that door to win the Southwest District Super Regional in Weatherford and qualify for their first World Series appearance since 2014.
The tournament takes place May 23-30 in Grand Junction, Colorado.
"It means everything. It's something we've worked hard for," Rodriguez said. "We've knocked on the door a handful of times since 2014, we've been really close to getting back there. You always have that taste in your mouth of wanting to do it."
When the Chaps (50-10) closed out an impressive 13-1 victory over host Weatherford in the title game on Saturday, Rodriguez was doused in Gatorade by a couple of the players.
That moment had been a long time coming for Rodriguez, who has been a head coach of the Chaps for the past nine seasons, and with the program for 21 years. While he had gone with MC to Grand Junction as an assistant in 2013 and 2014 under David Coleman, this is his first time as a head coach.
While he's happy his team finally broke through, he said he's more excited for the players.
"You want the players to experience it," he said. "To be able finally get there with this group just says a lot about them. I know they're super excited about it . I think the message this week is just to enjoy it. Be in the moment, enjoy it, but also we have a job to do. We won a conference championship, we won a regional tournament, we won a super regional tournament, why not try and win the whole thing and win a national championship. For someone who's been there, it's great and I'm super excited to get back. But more than anything, I'm super excited to watch our guys be in the moment and enjoy their time."
Rodriguez said he's had some teams that were good enough to get there but just couldn't get the job done by playing in this competitive region.
Along with the obvious talent, the coach points to his team's mental toughness for getting them through. That mental toughness was put to the test after losing three out of four games against Odessa College to end the regular season.
The Chaps then lost the first game of the first-round series against Hill and came back to win the last two to advance. Then to start super regional play, MC was down 13-8 to Howard College in the ninth inning before rallying to win 14-13 in 11 innings. The Chaps again battled from behind the next day against No. 10 McLennan Community College before winning 7-6.
"Even though we had already clinched the conference championship, you lose three out of four against Odessa and it puts a bad taste in your mouth going into the first round of the playoffs," Rodriguez said. "Then you lose game one and kind of have your back up against the wall - really for the first time all year. Winning those last two games at home were huge. You saw the momentum jump back into the dugout and we have the belief that we can go win the super regionals. And to win the first two games the way we did with the late-inning heroics, was awesome."
By the time the Chaps got to the game against Weatherford, the team's confidence was really high. It helped matters to see Weatherford slug it out against McLennan in a 10-8 elimination game earlier that day to know that everything was falling in their favor.
Once again, the Chaps' offense was lethal as MC had 13 hits while Midland Christian grad AJ Velarde drove in six runs. Pitching was also strong as Luke Hayhow continued to throw well late in the season, while Lane Schulz closed out the final 3 1/3 innings by striking nine out of the last 10 batters he faced.
The Chaps have the confidence, and they have the momentum going to Colorado. The way they see it, they have as good of a chance as any other team there to win it all.
"Anytime you can make it through the gauntlet of Region V baseball, it says a lot about how good your team is," Rodriguez said.
"When you come out of the state of Texas and you get to the Word Series, you just have as good of a chance to win the whole thing because it's high level baseball, and again your region is as tough as any region in the country. You've been tested, you've been challenged through conference play, through postseason regional play and super regional play. Just having the belief that we can really do this thing."
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