Bishop Gorman ready to begin series quest

Bishop Gorman coach Tim Chambers already knows his team will return to Las Vegas from Las Cruces, N.M., early next week.

Whether the Gaels do so with their season behind them or with more baseball ahead still is very much up in the air, however.

With a berth to the first Nevada-hosted American Legion World Series on the line, Gorman will participate in the Region 8 Tournament beginning Thursday at Las Cruces' Apodoca Park.

To reach the Series, the Gaels will need to emerge victorious from an eight-team field that includes state winners from California, Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Utah and Hawaii, along with a host team from Las Cruces.

Yet Chambers is confident that his club, which will compete in the regionals for the third time in four years, has a legitimate shot at the title.

"Not to sound cocky, but the talk among the kids is that this is old hat for us," Chambers said.

"We've been there before. It's time we come out of there and play in the Series. They really believe that we can go down there and win it."

Gorman (45-12) will begin its quest against Hawaii's West Oahu (16-4) Thursday at 10 a.m. Right-hander Nate Fouts, who picked up the win in the Gaels' state championship victory over Durango last Wednesday, will start game one for Chambers' squad.

The rest of Gorman's pitching order will be determined by its result in game one, with right-handers Jason Van Meetren, Pat McBride and left-hander Ben Fox all possibilities for Friday's 5 p.m. game with Las Cruces (28-11).

The Gaels finish pool play Saturday at 10 a.m. against Utah's Taylorsville (36-5). In a tournament in Ogden (Utah) this summer, Taylorsville beat Gorman 4-3.

Given the event's nine-inning format, pitching is likely to play a major role in determining the champion. That means the Nevada representative must be considered one of the favorites.

The Gaels' pitching depth carried them to the state title last week, and Chambers has so many quality arms that he likely is to continue using right-hander Paul Wurts as his closer.

Wurts, a graduated senior who filled the No. 2 starter role for Gorman last spring, pitched eight shutout relief innings in the state tournament.

"We haven't put up astounding offensive numbers even though we have some good hitters," Chambers said. "The key for us is we're going to have to continue playing good defense and pitching well."

The tournament's other pool will feature two clubs that, like Gorman, are making return trips to regionals: Arizona's Sun Cities Insulation (36-2) and Albuquerque (36-14). Rounding out the field are California's Ontario (34-6) and Colorado's Boulder (37-20).

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