Gamble paying dividends

Coach Tim Chambers went into August not knowing if his ace right-handed pitcher was coming back to College of Southern Nevada.

Colby Shreve, drafted in the eighth round by the Atlanta Braves, went back and forth both to work out for the club and in contract negotiations.

When the Braves, who offered a $125,000 signing bonus, didn't meet Shreve's asking price of about $200,000, Chambers relaxed.

He had taken the chance of holding Shreve's scholarship.

"You don't want to hold on to your money, but I did," Chambers said. "I just said, 'I guess we'll just eat it.' That was a tough summer for him, and it was tough on us waiting."

Now that Shreve is back, Chambers is convinced the 6-foot-5-inch, 220-pound sophomore will be a likely second- or third-round pick in this year's major league baseball draft.

"I think I made the right choice to come back," said Shreve, who went to Bonanza High School. "I've gotten a lot better, and hopefully it works out this year."

Baseball America lists Shreve as the nation's No. 2 junior college prospect, and Perfect Game Crosschecker has him at No. 4.

"I hate to use that name, but he's a Roger Clemens-type pitcher," Chambers said. "He's a big man, a big man. We haven't had anybody that looks like that pitcher here ever. I know other teams say it when they come in here: 'That's what big league guys look like.' "

Shreve possesses a fierce fastball, which sometimes hits 91 to 92 mph and occasionally reaches 95. Chambers said he expects the fastball eventually to get even faster, possibly 97 or 98 mph, and maybe sometime this season.

Now Shreve has made his curveball and change-up effective enough to make opposing batters aware.

"I was kind of a one-pitch pitcher last year, but both of my offspeed pitches have really improved," Shreve said. "It's a lot easier to pitch with three pitches instead of one."

The early results this season have been promising. Through two outings, Shreve is 1-0 with a 0.75 ERA and 11 strikeouts in 12 innings.

On Friday against Chipola College (Marianna, Fla.) at Morse Stadium, Shreve allowed three hits and one earned run in six innings, inducing 12 groundball outs.

"He's one of the hardest workers to ever come through here," Chambers said. "He takes care of himself. He takes care of his body. He knows how important it is to be in the best shape that he possibly can.

"We don't have to watch him. He's a very low-maintenance guy. We don't tell Colby what to do. Colby does what he knows he's supposed to do. Because of that, that's why he's having the success he's having."

• CSN SPLITS -- Braeden Schlehuber went 3-for-4 with an RBI, and Cody Fierro drove in two runs to back Shreve's pitching in a 5-1 win over Chipola in the Coyote Classic. CSN, ranked No. 1 in two polls, improved to 4-2. Chipola (3-2) is ranked No. 2 by Perfect Game and No. 3 by Baseball America.

Earlier Friday, CSN lost 4-3 to Arizona Western.

Contact reporter Mark Anderson at manderson@reviewjournal.com or (702) 387-2914.