April 4, 2001
| Scott Dragicevich |  | Year: Senior
Position: SS
Height: 6-3
Weight: 205
Bats/Throws: R/R
Hometown: Westlake, CA
High School: Westlake |
|
Every kid growing up playing baseball dreams of stepping to the plate with two outs in the ninth with the bases loaded with a chance to win the game. Well, Thursday night Chris ORiordan got a chance to live that dream. Heading into the ninth inning we were down 6-1 and getting shut down by the Texas Longhorn pitching staff. We knew going into the series that the Longhorn pitchers were good, considering that they had pitched four consecutive shutouts, but we had no idea that their first starter would stymie us for eight innings. However, after a couple clutch hits to start the ninth, we managed to climb back into striking distance. With the bases loaded Chris walked up to the plate with the score 6-2. In the back of everyones mind was the thought of a grand slam to complete the comeback, but none of us in the dugout dared to mention the thought out loud. Much like Kirk Gibson in Game 1 of the 1988 World Series, Chris fouled the first strike right down the line, just barely foul. However, he would not let another strike go by as the next pitch was sent over the fence. Unlike Gibson, Chris hit the ball to left field, right down the line and well over the 325 sign. The entire dugout ran out onto the field, and the faithful fans that had not given up hope erupted with excitement. Although we were not able to win the game that inning, it only took one more, and in the tenth we ended the contest at 7-6.
