COMMENTARY
Of the Tribune
So the NAIA World Series is down to its final two teams — neither of which sits atop a pile of championship rings on Normal Hill — and you don’t know which one to pull for.
Here is my advice: You simply need to study these teams’ nicknames, and you’ll have an answer.
I know that sounds a little silly. But in this championship showdown, the nicknames are remarkably informative.
The vivacious, fun-loving players from Point Loma Nazarene seem correctly labeled as “Sea Lions.” When one of their peppy outfielders makes an acrobatic catch, it brings to mind one of those marine pranksters bouncing a beach ball on its nose.
The Sea Lions are from San Diego, and they’ve brought a California coolness with them. They have an outfielder from Hawaii (Kaohi Downing) who enrolled at PLNU partially for the surfing scene.
This team seems to have enjoyed every moment it has spent in Lewiston.
“Nobody in the country has more fun than us,” said junior Ian MacMaster, a lone Canadian on a roster filled mostly with Californians. “They may hit more bombs than us, they may throw harder than us, but nobody in the country has more fun than us.”
Added senior Kurt Steinhauer: “We like to keep it loose, we like to have fun. That makes us dangerous, I think.”
So if a sun-soaked group of merry dudes is to your liking, then you’ve found your club. Point Loma can bag its first national championship with a win tonight — and will get a second shot Friday if needed.
The Sea Lions will be up against the Chaparrals from Lubbock Christian. A chaparral, for those of you without a dictionary at your fingertips, is “a dense thicket of shrubs.” And in the Texas panhandle, a thicket of shrubs had better be hardy if it’s going to survive.
Fittingly, this LCU squad is tough, businesslike and relentless. The Chaps went 50-2 during the 2008 regular season, but were upset before advancing to the Series. Yet in ’09, they showed no mental strain from that disappointment, and have fought their way into the championship round.
Outside of a 2-1 loss to Point Loma on Tuesday, LCU’s offense has hummed. The Chaps have scored at least 11 runs and accumulated 11 or more hits in their three wins, and tonight they won’t have to deal with the Sea Lions’ Brandon Dixon — the only pitcher to shut them down.
LCU’s hitting prowess was probably overshadowed during the regular season by conference rival Oklahoma City and its ridiculous statistics. But the Stars’ bats turned to mush once they got here — whereas the Chaps have maintained their consistent ways.
LCU experienced something of a rebirth in 2006 when it advanced to the Series for the first time in 15 years. The Chaps took third in that tournament — they even notched an opening-day upset of eventual champion Lewis-Clark State — and that led to successful showings the next three seasons.
“We’ve got to give credit to that ’06 team,” said shortstop Armando Dominguez, who was a freshman that season. “LCU’s potential and its team ethic and everything has gone way up because of that year.”
A moment later, Dominguez added this: “But this team is probably the best team that I’ve played for since I’ve been here.”
So if you appreciate a hard-bitten, soft-spoken club, LCU is your team.
One caveat: These caricatures of the final two teams aren’t completely accurate. The Sea Lions entered the Series with the second-best fielding percentage in the NAIA — a hallmark of a deadly serious team. And the Chaps had the second-most homers in the nation — a sign that they know how to have fun.
In the next day or two, one of these teams will be slapped with another label — national champion. And both are deserving of it.
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Baney is a Tribune sports writer. He may be reached at mbaney@lmtribune.com or at (208) 848-2258.
