Apaches News
Thu, May 3, 2007 - [Baseball]
By Joe Buie, Staff Writer, Tyler Morning Telegraph
The Tyler Junior College Apaches proved last weekend how dominating they could be as the second-ranked team in Division III.
Now, the Metro Athletic Conference champions will try to maintain that hot streak as the No. 1 team in the land.
Now, the Metro Athletic Conference champions will try to maintain that hot streak as the No. 1 team in the land.
The Apaches (39-11) regained the top spot in the national poll, released Wednesday, after sweeping previous-No. 1 Richland (37-17) in a three-game series to win the conference title.
"We've got a group of guys that really play the game the way I like it to be played," said head coach Jon Groth, coming off his first conference championship at TJC. "They play hard, they stay focused. These kids don't quit. (If) we get down, we get back up."
TJC was voted No. 1 in the first regular-season poll on April 5, but the Apaches dropped to No. 2 on April 18 after losing a game to Eastfield.
Richland is now No. 4, followed by No. 5 North Arkansas (35-19), which will compete this weekend in the District C Tournament along with the top three teams from the Metro Athletic Conference.
Ridgewater College (31-4) out of Minnesota moved up to the No. 2 spot in the final poll of the regular season. Joliet JC (38-12) out of Illinois is No. 3.
The Apaches, in the midst of their best season since restarting the program 15 years ago, have benefited from back-to-back stellar recruiting classes.
Being ranked No. 1 should only help TJC continue to bring in talented baseball players.
"At the college level, recruiting is everything," Groth said. "Without question, good players want to go to good programs. I think success can be defined in a lot of ways.
"For a lot of people, the bottom line is winning championships. We won one this year, and we want to (win two more). I think it does help recruiting."
The Apaches will play Eastfield at 6 p.m. Friday in McKinney in the first round of the district tournament. The district champion will advance to the NJCAA Division III World Series in Tyler.
Original Link to Article: http://tylerpaper.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070503/SPORTS/705020348/-1/SPORTS
"We've got a group of guys that really play the game the way I like it to be played," said head coach Jon Groth, coming off his first conference championship at TJC. "They play hard, they stay focused. These kids don't quit. (If) we get down, we get back up."
TJC was voted No. 1 in the first regular-season poll on April 5, but the Apaches dropped to No. 2 on April 18 after losing a game to Eastfield.
Richland is now No. 4, followed by No. 5 North Arkansas (35-19), which will compete this weekend in the District C Tournament along with the top three teams from the Metro Athletic Conference.
Ridgewater College (31-4) out of Minnesota moved up to the No. 2 spot in the final poll of the regular season. Joliet JC (38-12) out of Illinois is No. 3.
The Apaches, in the midst of their best season since restarting the program 15 years ago, have benefited from back-to-back stellar recruiting classes.
Being ranked No. 1 should only help TJC continue to bring in talented baseball players.
"At the college level, recruiting is everything," Groth said. "Without question, good players want to go to good programs. I think success can be defined in a lot of ways.
"For a lot of people, the bottom line is winning championships. We won one this year, and we want to (win two more). I think it does help recruiting."
The Apaches will play Eastfield at 6 p.m. Friday in McKinney in the first round of the district tournament. The district champion will advance to the NJCAA Division III World Series in Tyler.
Joe Buie covers sports. He can be reached at 903.596.6293. e-mail: sports@tylerpaper.com
Original Link to Article: http://tylerpaper.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070503/SPORTS/705020348/-1/SPORTS
