Former BYU baseball star, current college basketball referee and Salt Lake Community College’s baseball coach for more than 20 years, DG Nelson has seen his share of outstanding sports teams.
This year’s version of the Bruins — the #BruCru — certainly fits that description.
Nelson‘s SLCC team recently qualified for the 10-team Junior College World Series in Grand Junction, Colorado, and will begin play in the national championship for two-year college programs on Saturday.
No. 8 Salt Lake (43-10) faces first-time qualifier Florida SouthWestern State (44-15), the No. 3 seed, at 7:30 p.m. MDT in Saturday’s feature game. SLCC played in the double-elimination event two years ago, but lost a “heartbreaker in the bottom of the ninth” in its opener, according to Nelson, and then was bounced from the tournament in a one-loss bracket game.
Nelson says SLCC has lost in the district championships and fallen a win or two short of making it to Grand Junction a half-dozen or so times during his tenure, but this team is different. This is a team that has the potential to win it all, he said.
“I do think we are talented enough, without a doubt. When you get there, in that environment, you have to be talented, deep and mentally tough,” he said. “We are road-tested and mentally ready.
“I think once you kinda get through the first couple of games, you have a real shot to make a run at it. I do think we are talented and I do think we are good enough.”
In last week’s district playoffs at Cate Field in West Jordan, SLCC beat Central Arizona College 8-6, Utah State University Eastern 8-7 and then Central Arizona again, 13-11, to advance, coming from behind in each game.
“We are excited and ready to go,” Nelson said before the Bruins practiced Wednesday and then got on a bus for the four-plus hour trip. “We have an excited group that believes in each other. … It is just a very competitive group that never gives up, as it showed last weekend.”
Nelson said two elements characterize his 22nd team: Outstanding pitching, and athleticism across the board.
“Our pitching staff is really good, all the way through, and depth-wise, I think we have the best bullpen of any team we have played,” he said. “And then our athleticism all over the field is special. We are very fast, and physical. … It is fun to watch this group play defense, and put on a show out there, and then our offense follows suit.”
Righthander Gage Olsen, from Copper Hills High in West Jordan, is the Pitcher of the Year in the conference. Jaxon Grossman, a Hawaiian who recently signed with Oklahoma, will get the start Saturday.
“Olsen is consistent and executes well, while (Grossman) is a big, physical kid who will pitch it 95 to 98 miles an hour,” Nelson said.
The third starter is another Copper Hills product, Austin Taylor, while Dallin Weatherly and Darius Henderson head up the pen.
“When we start putting the ball in their hands, it gets really hard to score runs on us,” Nelson said.
Offensively, Luke Jacobs leads the #BruCru with 15 home runs and 61 RBI, while Jalen Seward (.400), Chandler Reber (.385), Jacobs (.373), Hudson Manwaring (.373), Jake Mortensen (.349), Kade Gambill (.343), Taylor Ayala (.341), Colton Stanton (.330) and Jake Olsen (.320) are all hitting above .300.
The team batting average is .334, and the Bruins have scored 416 runs in 53 games, an average of 7.8 runs per game.
“We, and our conference, use wood bats all year until last week (district championships) and World Series. For us to be top 25 in batting average and top 50 in a bunch of other stats is pretty impressive considering the rest of the country uses metal bats,” said SLCC assistant coach Glen Spencer.
Nelson said coaches are proud that they are doing it mostly with local kids.
“Our philosophy is to provide an opportunity for as many of the local guys as we can,” he said. “And obviously, they have to be talented. And then we branch out after we go through our state as best we can.”
That list of locals includes the aforementioned Kade Gambill, a freshman who prepped at Lone Peak.
This is a fun and rewarding time for the entire Gambill family of Alpine, headed by parents Tyler and Cynthia.
Oldest brother Cole Gambill played at BYU and SLCC and coaches at SLCC and is now a hitting coach in the New York Yankees organization. Second brother Tate Gambill plays for BYU and has been playing in the Big 12 tournament in Arlington, Texas, this week.
Third brother Trey Gambill played at SLCC and is now at Oklahoma, playing in the SEC tournament. And now Kade will play in the Junior College World Series.
“What a great week that family is having,” Nelson said.
The same can be said for the SLCC baseball program.
