TOLEDO-BOUND!

By Bob Totterer
Wednesday, July 29th, 2015

Wednesday, July 29th - at 6:00 AM sharp, a Cavallo Bus Lines charter swung out of the parking lot at Vianney High School and onto Lindbergh Boulevard. On board were the players and coaches of the St. Louis Metro Collegiate Dodgers, enroute to Toledo, Ohio and the 2015 NABF College World Series. You may recall that these Dodgers brought a World Series winner home in 2013 and, though well-positioned to repeat in 2014, an untimely water emergency in the city of Toledo resulted in the tournament being cancelled the morning of the quarter finals.

Well, the water looks just fine and so does the weather forecast. So is this a year of destiny? Just how good is the 2015 version of the Dodgers? We'll find out soon enough against the likes of the Long Island Gamecocks, the Michigan Rams, the Oil City Stags and a host of other college summer teams, each of which won a qualifying tournament or a competitive league such as ours to earn a berth in the NABF World Series.

Pool play begins on Thursday, as the Dodgers square off against the Long Island Gamecocks in a contest at high noon, followed at 3:00 PM with a game versus the Creekside Crocodiles. Play within that bracket will conclude on Friday with a 9:00 AM game against the Toledo Hawks. Both the quarterfinal and semi-final brackets are scheduled to play on Saturday, with the Championship game slated for 11:00 AM, Sunday. If they make it to the Championship, the boys in blue will have played six games in four days. In the height of the summer, that's a grueling course to follow.

Still, the Dodgers are the hardest working team in the Metro League. They proved that fact in the oppressive afternoon heat on Tuesday, when they conducted a team workout in preparation for the tournament. Ladies and gentlemen, if any team has the stamina and the will to fight hard to the end, it's these guys. And they certainly have the talent to go all the way.

On the bus, prior to our departure this morning, manager Gus Lombardo leaned forward and tapped me on the shoulder. As I looked around, he said, "We're going to win this thing." He didn't blink and he didn't stammer. By golly, he meant it. You know what? I don't doubt him and I wouldn't bet against his Dodgers team; not this year.

Stay tuned, folks, it's going to be a wild ride.