Coyotes’ staff starts with righty Roach

GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. -- If the choice were his, Donn Roach would be pitching somewhere in the minor leagues and on the long road to the majors, possibly with the Los Angeles Angels.

Instead, he was on a 525-mile bus ride Thursday to Colorado for the Junior College World Series. And that twist of fate is OK with him.

Roach, a sophomore right-hander, will start for the College of Southern Nevada (49-14) when it plays Pitt (N.C.) Community College (41-11) at 6:30 p.m. Saturday in the first round of the 10-team, double-elimination tournament.

With the experience of winning two state championships at Bishop Gorman High School, Roach is familiar with high-stakes games.

''I can't wait. I love it. I always want the ball,'' he said. ''You've got to win the first game. It's a rough road from there if you don't, so it's pretty important.''

Roach, drafted by the Angels in the 40th round in 2008, said he was ready to go pro out of high school. His parents, Donn and Julie, had other ideas.

''I wanted to sign and get drafted. My parents wanted me to go to school, so they won that battle,'' he said. ''But it was a good idea to go to college.

''I matured a lot. It was hard to be on my own for a year. You've got to motivate yourself because no one is there pushing you.''

As a freshman at Arizona, Roach struggled to find the motivation necessary to succeed. He traded the Pac-10 for the Scenic West Athletic Conference and headed home to attend CSN.

''My freshman year in college was just a hard year for me,'' he said. ''I got lazy and my work habits went down. I was just slacking. I wasn't doing everything 100 percent. I was still doing it, but I was just going through the motions.''

Roach, 11-3 with a 2.70 ERA, is on the right track as the Coyotes' ace. It is expected he will be selected in the first five rounds of the major league draft, which begins June 7, and the Angels are still on his trail.

With a fastball that touches 94 mph and an effective curveball and splitter, Roach has a school-record 131 strikeouts over 103 1/3 innings. He's also a workhorse with a resilient arm. In his two postseason starts, Roach has totaled 248 pitches.

Roach is followed in CSN's rotation by right-hander Joe Robinson (9-1, 2.62 ERA), left-hander Bryan Harper (10-1, 2.18), lefty Chasen Shreve (4-1, 5.75) and right-hander Kenny McDowall (5-1, 4.71).

The team's closers, Aaron Kurcz and Tyler Hanks, are hard throwers and highly rated prospects.

Coyotes coach Tim Chambers won the national championship in 2003, and he rates this pitching staff as his best.

''The depth is not even close (to '03). This team has got eight guys who throw 90-plus (mph),'' Chambers said. ''That doesn't mean because you throw hard you can pitch good, but it's a really good staff.

''They are also a pretty close-knit group of guys.''

Most of CSN's pitchers faced off in high school. Roach and Harper, who went to Las Vegas High, have been friends for almost 10 years. The 6-foot-5-inch Harper, who has 88 strikeouts in 57 2/3 innings, played for Cal State Northridge as a freshman.

Robinson (Green Valley), Shreve (Bonanza), McDowall (Spring Valley) and Kurcz (Durango) also were local prep standouts.

''I think it helps the chemistry,'' Roach said. ''Getting to know each other is a lot easier, and there's a lot more conversation material.

''Our pitching is definitely deep enough. We've got the talent and we've got the right guys, so we've got a good chance.''

Contact sports reporter Matt Youmans at myoumans@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2907.