Delgado ready for challenge at NJCAA World Series

The resume’ is clear.

It is a team with 45 wins, including a six-game win streak.

It is a team batting .320. which averages just one error per game.

It is a team with four good starting pitchers with a fifth capable of performing at a high level.

It is a team with a good closer with six saves.

The Delgado Dolphins have been a consistently excellent program and the 2023 team has been consistently excellent.

In his 33rd year, Hall of Fame coach Joe Scheuermann has taken four previous Dolphins teams to the National Junior College Athletic Association Division I World Series.

“I think we’re probably more talented than most of the clubs we’ve taken here previously,” he said. “I like our lineup one through nine. We have pitching depth. I like our club.”

Scheuermann takes his fifth to Grand Junction, Colorado at Suplizio Field this weekend in the 10-team event. The Dolphins open play Saturday morning at 10 a.m., 9 a.m. Mountain time, against Weatherford, Texas.

Delgado (45-11) is the seventh seed and, frankly, may be a tad under-seeded.

“I felt we’d be in the top five, to be quite honest with you,” Scheuermann said. “There’s not a whole lot of difference between No. 5 and No. 7. A lot of that goes with the tradition of some programs. There were three teams ranked ahead of us in the national poll. Most of these clubs have not been here before.”

Samford signee Carson Lore (6-3, 3.43 ERA), UNO signee Chris Olivier (10-2, 4.26) and Turner Toms (5-0, 4.20) are a solid starting combination while Logan O’Neill (6-2, 4.28) is very capable and Corey Cook (3-1, 3.33) is a wild card with experience and a good arm. Tyler Velino (3-1, 4.32) is capable out of the bullpen while Kaile Levatino (6-1, 2.04 ERA, 6 saves) has been an excellent closer.

O’Neill is the leading hitter at .393 with eight home runs and 30 RBI while Jhonnatan Ferrebus is batting .373 with four homers and 37 RBI. University of Louisiana signee Josh Alexander is a clutch hitter batting .303 with 10 home runs and team-best 59 RBI.

Weatherford (50-9) is the fourth seed with a gaudy record.

There are no common opponents between the two teams.

The Coyotes do have a pair of wins over perennial power Blinn College, the No. 5 seed in the tournament.

Weatherford hits. 317 as a team, led by Robin Villeneuve, who is batting .397 with 24 homers and 96 RBI.

Perhaps most impressive is Weatherford’s team ERA of 3.18.

The Coyotes have a pair of aces in Ryne Rodriguez and Robert Fortenberry.

Rodriguez is 10-0 with a microscopic 1.24 ERA while Fortenberry is 10-1 with a 2.68 ERA.

Scheuermann likes where his team is heading into the tournament.

“I think we are a very, very experienced club,” Scheuermann said. “You can’t teach experience. You can’t practice it. You’ve got to have it and this club has it. The air is very rare in the foothills of the Rockies. You will see a lot of runs. There will be very high scoring games. It will be survival of the fittest.”

Scheuermann is not thrilled with the 9 a.m. start Saturday.

“Traditionally, New Orleans guys are not very good early in the morning,” Scheuermann said. “We’re trying to acclimate our guys to the time and altitude, to get their biological clock set.”

Five wins in Colorado would get Delgado a national championship. It would also mean 50 wins on the season.

“I’ve been here five times now,” Scheuermann said. “I know what to expect. We are a mature team that expects to win. We’ve been playing as good of baseball that we can play for the last half of our season,” Scheuermann said. “The reality of winning a national title at the Division I level is rare, unrealistic. We’ve been here five times in 12 years. That says a little bit about our program.”

The final result is still to be determined.

“It has been an excellent season,” Scheuermann said. “We hope to make it an elite season. We’re relaxed. We’re footloose and fancy free. We have some pranksters on our club. We are ready for the challenge.”