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Show ) Page 10 OREM TIMES Thursday, June 19, 2008 Nelson Continued from Page 9 said Timpanogos coach Kim Nelson. "We had just come off losing two to American Fork and we needed a win to make sure we got into the playoffs and get going. He threw a shutout shut-out against Spanish Fork, went 4-for-4 and it a home run. He is a tireless worker and there aren't many I've ever coached that work harder during dur-ing the season or in the offseason. offsea-son. He's very good that way and the best thing about it is, he's a junior." Nelson reached aD but one of his goals this season. His first and No. 1 goal was winning a state championship and he did that. He wanted to go undefeated on the mound and he did that. The only thing he didn't accomplish ac-complish was his ERA goal. Last year it was 2.21. This year he wanted to lower it under un-der 2.00, but he finished with a 2.03 ERA. At least now there's still one goal still left to work on. "I think there is a lot more to accomplish. Two state cham-pioaships cham-pioaships are a lot better than Owlz Continued from Page 9 own to tie the score. The Owlz continued to threaten with the bases loaded and one out, but the top of the order struck out twice to continue the action. The 1 1th followed the script of the rest of the marathon competition as the Owlz never led. The Ogden offense opened the scoring with a pair of runs in the fourth. The Raptors added a third run in the top of the sixth as centerfielder Nick Buss walked, made his way to third, then scored on a single byOrr. NWMHMMitMMii i.'. If f 10-40 OFF On All In-Stock and Special Order Items 20 OFF All Accessories i f f U KM I TV R t Wwt Gmt 7$$rJ798 one," Nelson said. "I know we don't have a lot of experience back, but we do have a lot of talent. If winning a state championship cham-pionship feels this good, I can't imagine what it feels like to win two. I can't even comprehend that that would feel like." Nelson credits his success to his family. In fact, when handing hand-ing out praise to his family members, mem-bers, he was adamant about not leaving anyone out. "I owe all of my success to my father (Scott). He's been positive with me and has pushed me when I've need to be pushed. My mother (Julie) has a PhD social psychology. She's a big believer in visualizing. She's taught me to take time before a game and for me to visualize having success," Nelson said. "I have two older sisters (Whitney (Whit-ney and Karley) and a younger brother (Scooter) who will be a sophomore next year." It's his brother Scooter that will help motivate Nelson for next year. This isnt one of those brother rivalry, deals. These two are best friends. "He catches all of my bullpens and he always has. It was great having him in the dugout. He would tell me that I need to get my curveball down or that I Although the home team had been racking up some hits, it had all been for nothing until the bottom of the sixth when Ivan Contreras led off with a single, then scored after a pair of defensive lapses. The Owlz tied things up in the bottom of the eighth after right fielder Angel Castillo got on base on a double, advanced to third, then came home on a sacrifice fly by designated hitter hit-ter Donato Giovanatto. Neither team could score In the ninth, sending the first game of the year into extra innings with 4,2ll fans largest larg-est opening day attendance in Owlz history enjoying the drama. 5mm Hundreds' of Dollars on a Neui Centml RJu System , 6 months No InterestNo Payment Financing Available o.c v.dii I A I II" A TILIi" flAlvYCT rltAI irHVi www.harveyheatingandair.com 489 - ..'-& --foe&.-X .. ..Vj Own a small business? Ready to start one? Discover why so many Utah County businesses use Western Community Bank. With every capability you need, we stand ready to serve. Call 222-9006. 'J..i v year - -7 CRAIG DILGERNorth County Rhett Nelson pitches against American Fork on April 29. wasnt pausing long enough. Things like that," he said. "I like to have his input. He's smarter than I am. He has a really good baseball mind. It would be great to have him catch me next year. I think that would be the highlight high-light of my high school career." The title defense for next year has already begun with the beginning of summer ball. Even tliough the new season is underway, under-way, Nelson is still riding the wave of emotion from winning the state tournament. "It's been a dream come true. CRAIG DILGERNorth County Orem Owlz third baseman Luis Jimenez, left, tags out Pedro Baez of the Ogden Raptors on Tuesday. luudy rui n neeivu v.um CMinime A 1 In A'NkirMTINkllkl' 2!; AnU AIK vsrlll I IVrllNvj ifwf, - , iTfianiftii: 615 acre recreational estates underground utilities electric, phone state-of-the-art water system restrictive covenants architectural review committee well-maintained roads round access call 801 368 8272 soldiersummit.com y- 0. - -rzm , t v.'VJ!" J It's hard to explain it," Nelson said. "To do it (win a state championship) with guys who are my best friends and with our coaching staff. I've loved every second of it." In addition to Nelson's love for baseball, he also has another passion for music. Especially that of classic rock. He calls Led Zeppelin his favorite group. So what is the best way to describe what the 2008 season was like for Nelson and his teammates? Call it a "Stairway to Heavea" - 7088 rffi .... . WesterrTtjd Community Bank Life's needs. Life's bank." Wf STERNCOMMUNITYk COM MOUNTAIN ESTATES marketed through: David Cunningham Bankers Realty developed by: New Owlz team hoping to keep up the tradition Neil K. Warner NORTH COUNTY This is how it usually begins. After a debriefing, the first thing Orem Owlz manager Tom Kotchman does is send his players to their various positions posi-tions on the field and works on cuts and relays. With a bat and no ball, Kotchman calls out "No outs and no one on base." He swings his bat and even though he doesnt use a ball, the players pretend to track down a ball and come up throwing, right at the cutoff man. The first of the season begins with the basics and the end of the season usually involves a ring ceremony. This is Orem Owlz baseball. Monday afternoon at Brent Brown Ballpark in Orem, Kotchman took some time to talk about the upcoming season as part of the team's media day in anticipation the season opener open-er against Ogden on Tuesday. What makes Kotchman's job so difficult is his players have arrived from all over the country coun-try and even he needs a roster to figure out who's who. "I couldn't tell you who half these guys are if my life depended de-pended on it," Kotchman said. "Obviously that will change quick. As scon as we get the pictures taken and put the names with the faces. You put it together and study the reports as quick as you can. Hopefully we can keep our head above water early in the season and team from there." If it's any consolation there are a few familiar faces, who have returned from last year. One of those is outfielder Trevor Trev-or Pippin. When he was asked how many of the Owlz players play-ers he knew their first name, he said, "Probably half, or a little more than half. I'm doing pretty good." Pippin admitted to being disappointed dis-appointed at not moving up the minor league ladder, but plans on making the most of his time Behind this ear Ucs an engineering masterpiece Open Ear Technology is the most revolutionary development in hearing care since the introduction of digital hearing aids. Come in for a FREE hearing evaluation and give them a try with our NO OBLIGATION ROAD TEST 75 liTTTTr; Cap and Gown , Announcements Senior Pkures graduation i Yard Sjjrjt Go online now to get your personalized Graduation Yard Sign All High Schools Available Show everyone how proud you tin of ysat graduate. www.fcsutah.com "First CLASS Signs" A Local UTAH Company in Orem. "It's great to be back in Orem. It's a great place, great town, and we have great . coaches here," Pippin said. "It's tough. YouVe got to swallow your pride, but it's the best thing for me right now. I'm not going to worry about the future. fu-ture. I'm just going to play here and enjoy my time." In addition to Pippin, the Owlz return four other players from last year. Pitchers Lou Green, Francis Cabrera, Leonardo Calderon are back along with outfielders Danato Giovanatto and Rian Kiniry. The pitching staff is intriguing. intrigu-ing. Kyle Hurst, son of former major League pitcher Bruce Hurst, is scheduled to pitch on Saturday night. He's a return missionary, who played at South Mountain Community College in 2008. Another prospect to watch is Jon Plefka, a junior college pitcher and Division I basketball basket-ball player (at Texas Tech), who will no doubt be asked to tell Bobby Knight stories all year. Jose Perez got the opening day start on Tuesday. He's already made a start in Cedar Rapids, the Angeles' A affiliate. Joining Perez in the rotation figures to be Green, Hurst, Baron Short, a seventh-round pick from last year, and Jayson Miller, a 30th-round selection this year from Washington State. The Owlz will likely get a boost down the road with the addition of a few other arms. Third-round pick Ryan Chaffee is recovering from an injury, and could miss the first half of the season. The roster has the makings of a winner. Now it will be up to longtime pitching coach Zeke Zimmerman once again will join Kotchman on staff along with new hitting coach Brent Del Chiaro, who played under Kotchman in 2001, to mold this team into another winner. "With Zeke Zimmerman and Tom Kotchman you are always al-ways going to have guys who play hard and understand how to win and understand how to lose," said Owlz owner own-er Jeff Katofsky. "Our expectations expec-tations are that we'll have a winning ball club. Whether you win it all in the end you never know, but we had three out of four years. With Zeke and Kotch, you know they'll be in shape and we'll see a lot of big, hard throwing throw-ing kids with command and you'll see them hustling." 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