Menu
Deep Griffons not falling behind in league race
NEVADA, Mo. -- It's the Bermuda Triangle of summer league baseball.
It's flat, desolate, colorless and the wind always blows.
It's west Kansas, and many seasons the Nevada Griffons have seen their Jayhawk League hopes disappear without a trace when they venture to Liberal for a four-game set.
Often times the trip has included more than just Liberal. For years there was an addendum on the itinerary that included Elkhart.
With the Dusters having gone defunct three seasons ago, the trip was pared to just Liberal.
That was until this year when the Dodge City Athletics joined the league. Now the venture west includes a four-game series with the A's as well.
The Griffons returned home from their 2007 trip to Bermuda Monday. To sum it up, Nevada head coach John Hill III said, "It was long and hot."
But something happened on that long, hot jaunt. The Nevada Griffons didn't lose their season, instead they may have found it.
The Griffons played nine games in six days on the road, starting with a non-league game at Newton, Kan. That followed with two doubleheaders at Dodge City, sandwiched around four games in three days at Liberal.
The nine-game trip is the longest Nevada faces all summer.
Most years the Griffons would settle for a split on the road. With eight of the nine games counting toward the Jayhawk League standings, Nevada brass would have been satisfied with a 4-4 trip. But it turns out that the players wanted better.
Nevada finished the trip 6-3, with five league wins. It was the first time the Griffons have had a winning mark in the Triangle since their back-to-back NBC runner-up years in 1997 and 1998.
In a league where nobody has stepped up as the front-runner, Nevada sits in third place with a 12-9 record. That is two games behind Derby (12-5), a team Nevada has a 3-1 record against so far this season.
In second place is Hays (10-6). Nevada hasn't yet played the Larks this season, since Tuesday's scheduled doubleheader at Lyons Stadium was postponed by rain.
Tied for third with Nevada is El Dorado. The Broncos have a 4-1 mark against the Griffons this season, but have had difficulty with Hays and Derby. El Dorado is also 12-9.
Sitting in fifth, but still in the thick of things is Liberal. The BeeJays led the Griffons in all but two innings of the four games played in Liberal last week, but only managed a 2-2 series split with Nevada.
Liberal is sitting at 9-8 this year in league play.
It's a five-team race, with three games all that separates first from fifth.
Hill likes where his team sits, considering they have injuries to three key starting pitchers, one of whom was also counted on to be a key player in the field when not on the mound.
Jake Hoover, the two-way player, has been out since he took a pitch off his ankle against Derby June 14. Hoover was still in crutches Tuesday and Hill suspects a hairline fracture in the ankle. Hoover's return to the team isn't expected until sometime in July.
Tyler Appelhans is the other player out, battling arm soreness. Although his return is hoped for in the next week or so, the lefty hasn't thrown in a game since June 15.
That doesn't include starting pitcher Scott Ruthven, who left his last start early because of pain in his throwing elbow. Hill said the right-hander has been feeling better as of late and could work as soon as this weekend, if everything pans out.
Ruthven might be Nevada's best pitcher. In three starts this season, Ruthven has allowed a total of only two runs.
"If you would have told me we would have gone 4-4 (in west Kansas) in the league without Jake Hoover and Tyler Appelhans, I would have taken it," Hill said.
That Nevada went 5-3 shows the rest of the players are picking it up.
The Griffons easily have their deepest team since Hill took over as coach three seasons ago.
When healthy, the pitching staff has 15 arms that can all pitch legitimately at the Jayhawk League level.
The line-up is rock solid as well with Greg Lagreid, Nick Adams and Korby Mintken anchoring an offensive attack that is averaging more than seven runs per game this season.
The defense, which has been shaky at times, played well in seven of the nine road games, and is largely dependent on the play at shortstop and behind the plate. Fitzgerald has been up and down at short this season, but Hill expects him to settle into a groove as the season progresses.
The catching has been spectacular at times this year, but Daniel Dellasega has struggled attempting to throw out runners lately and that's something else Hill expects will be a strength before too long.
And for a change, the Griffons have the depth to withstand an injury or two. With Hoover healthy, the Griffons have six legitimate outfielders. One of them, Mintken, also can play second base. That doesn't include recently added utility man Ryan Tokarz, who plays a lot of infield but can also play outfield in a pinch.
Nevada has three legitimate catchers, and with Tokarz, six legitimate infielders. That's not counting Appelhans and Lagreid (a catcher), who can both play first base.
"As long as our pitching stays healthy, I feel really good about it," Hill said, looking at the season that is still 60 percent away from being completed.
"I can't imagine other teams having pitching depth of that quantity."
That doesn't mean Hill is through trying to add players. If Fitzgerald went down at short, Nevada would probably be in trouble.
Also, Hill would love to have "one or two" more arms at the back end of the bullpen to take some of the work load off Ryan Allen and Ryan Carbah, who have been dominant.
The day off Monday, followed by the rain out Tuesday and the addition of two new pitchers should leave Nevada in pretty good shape the rest of the week.
The Griffons are scheduled to play a doubleheader with Hays today, then visit Joplin for a game Friday before beginning the NBC qualifying tournament at Champion Diamonds Saturday.
The Griffons are the defending tournament champs and have the top seed. They have a first-round bye and will play the winner of the Springfield Generals-Pine Bluff (Ark.) Braves game Saturday afternoon. Nevada's game is scheduled for 3:45 p.m. The tournament is double elimination and lasts through Monday.