Dixie features LV flavor

Just because the Community College of Southern Nevada won't be there doesn't mean Las Vegas baseball fans won't have an interest in the upcoming Junior College World Series.

With four area graduates on the roster -- including three-fourths of its starting rotation -- Utah's Dixie College will have a decidedly local flavor as it begins the 10-team tournament in Grand Junction, Colo., on Saturday.

In fact, the first batter to step up to the plate for the No. 6 Rebels will be Bishop Gorman product Dallas Pollaro, a sophomore enjoying his second solid season in the junior college ranks.

Dixie's leadoff hitter, Pollaro comes into the tournament with a .350 batting average, with three homers, 14 doubles, 36 RBIs and 52 runs scored. His play this spring has caught the eye of more than a few Division I coaches, with Oklahoma State, UNLV and New Orleans in the running to sign the former Gael.

"It's all worked out pretty well for me here," Pollaro said, adding that not getting recruited by Division I schools as a high school senior has only made him work harder since.

Offered Dixie coach Tom Littleton: "He's been our most steady guy for two years. There's not too many better second basemen in the country."

Littleton's club opens the double-elimination event with a game against defending World Series champion Grayson County (Texas) College at 9 a.m. Saturday, with 15-0 Brandon Lyon on the mound.

After that, the Rebels will turn to three Las Vegas graduates for the bulk of their pitching: Chris Martinez (Cimarron-Memorial '97), J.T. Sherman (Durango '99) and Ben Fox (Gorman '99).

Martinez, who spent a redshirt season at Oregon's Treasure Valley before transferring to Dixie, brings an 11-3 record into the tournament. He has already signed to play at the University of San Diego next year.

Sherman, the ace for 4A state champion Durango last season, has shined in his freshman year in St. George, going 8-2 to lock up the No. 3 spot in the rotation.

Fox opened the season as the Rebels' starting center fielder but has excelled since becoming the team's fourth starter, compiling a 5-2 record. Littleton said Fox will be used primarily in relief in the Series.

"There are a lot of polished guys in Vegas," said Littleton, who has already signed Durango's E.J. Shanks and Cheyenne's Adam Lesko to pitch from him next season. "We try to get a few of the top pitchers from there each year."

archive