April 4, 2001
| Scott
Dragicevich |
 |
Year:
Senior
Position: SS
Height: 6-3
Weight: 205
Bats/Throws: R/R
Hometown: Westlake, CA
High School: Westlake |
|
Every kid growing up playing
baseball dreams of stepping to the plate with two outs in the ninth with the
bases loaded with a chance to win the game. Well, Thursday night Chris ORiordan
got a chance to live that dream. Heading into the ninth inning we were down
6-1 and getting shut down by the Texas Longhorn pitching staff. We knew going
into the series that the Longhorn pitchers were good, considering that they
had pitched four consecutive shutouts, but we had no idea that their first starter
would stymie us for eight innings. However, after a couple clutch hits to start
the ninth, we managed to climb back into striking distance. With the bases loaded
Chris walked up to the plate with the score 6-2. In the back of everyones
mind was the thought of a grand slam to complete the comeback, but none of us
in the dugout dared to mention the thought out loud. Much like Kirk Gibson in
Game 1 of the 1988 World Series, Chris fouled the first strike right down the
line, just barely foul. However, he would not let another strike go by as the
next pitch was sent over the fence. Unlike Gibson, Chris hit the ball to left
field, right down the line and well over the 325 sign. The entire dugout ran
out onto the field, and the faithful fans that had not given up hope erupted
with excitement. Although we were not able to win the game that inning, it only
took one more, and in the tenth we ended the contest at 7-6.