CVCC stays alive in JUCO World Series

GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. — Chattahoochee Valley (Ala.) slugged its way past undefeated San Jacinto (Texas) on Thursday, 13-3, withstanding elimination in mercy-rule fashion and forcing a semifinal rematch between these two Friday in the Junior College World Series.

In a battle between the nation’s top ranked teams, CVCC — which fell, 4-3, to Iowa Western on Monday in the double-elimination tournament — powered to a convincing trump over a team that fielded some of the best JUCO prospects, including tournament MVP favorite Ryan January.

CVCC scored seven runs with two outs in the second inning and rolled behind a dominant pitching performance by right-hander Chase Burks, who tossed a complete game (seven innings for the mercy rule), surrendering three earned runs on seven hits and three walks with five strikeouts against an offense that has averaged 10.25 runs per game this tournament.

“There’s probably a thousand other guys with better stuff in America, but I don’t think there’s a better pitcher, player or just a baseball player in general that has more heart than this guy, that has more guts — we’ll call it intestinal fortitude — than he does out there on the mound,” CVCC head coach Adam Thomas said.

No moment was more paramount than with two outs and the bases loaded in the fourth, when January came to the plate. San Jacinto mounted momentum and scored three runs the previous inning, and January had entered the at-bat with four homers this week, two short of the tournament record held by 10-time MLB All-Star Kirby Puckett.

Burks answered with a strikeout of January high and in, then pumped his fist into his glove in front of a roaring 8,000-plus on hand.

“Our approach going into the game was to try to bust him inside, and I think …

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