Baseball: Bowman, Clark making most of trip to Alaska

Tony Altobelli

There are a lot of unknowns when it comes to Alaska, but one thing

is for certain: some of the best summer collegiate baseball is played in

the “Last Frontier.”

Players from all over the country head up to Alaska for summer leagues to

learn from some of the best baseball minds in the country.

Great weather, very long days, beautiful scenery and intense baseball in

Alaska gives players looking to play in the collegiate ranks an

opportunity to get a glimpse of where they fit on baseball’s food chain.

For some, it’s a great to test out some repaired goods.

For 1994 Corona del Mar grad Jeff Bowman, his performance this summer

opened a lot of eyes.

When Bowman went to Alaska to play summer baseball, he had to practically

beg and plead for an opportunity to play after elbow surgery.

Now they were glad to have kept him around.

Bowman, 23, was almost unhittable for the Kenai (Alaska) Peninsula Oilers

of the Alaskan Baseball League.

In 21 appearances out of the bullpen, Bowman amassed a 4-0 record with a

team-record nine saves and an 0.66 ERA, helping the Oilers win the ABL

title and a trip to the National Baseball Congress World Series in

Wichita, Kan.

“Saving a game is the next-best thing to a game-winning hit,” Bowman told

the Peninsula Clarion on July 30. “I love the role I’m in -- it builds

character. I want to be the guy the team turns to.”

Opponents have scored only two runs off Bowman in 27 1/3 innings of work,

earning the righthander a selection to the All-Alaska Baseball Team.

Not a bad summer vacation for a pitcher whose career was a big question

mark coming off 15 months of rehabilitation following elbow surgery.

Bowman was a 1994 Daily Pilot Dream Team selection and the Orange County

All-Star Game MVP, before moving on to play at Rancho Santiago College

(Santa Ana College) and the University of San Francisco.

Bowman has already earned his undergraduate degree in economics at USF,

but still has one more year of eligibility, which he will use this

upcoming season.

For former Orange Coast College all-conference first baseman Ryan Clark,

he showed a lot of people that his sensational freshman season at OCC was

no fluke while playing with Bowman and the Oilers.

After a decent regular season in Alaska, Clark became a man possessed in

the National Baseball Congress World Series in Wichita, Kan., helping the

Oilers reach the championship game.

In the eight-game tournament, facing some of the top pitchers in the

country, the Long Beach State-bound Clark batted .533 (16-30) with a home

run, five runs scored and 15 RBIs.

Clark’s production seem to get better and better as each game got tougher

and more important.

After a 2 for 8 showing in the first three games, Clark exploded for 14

hits in his last 22 at-bats, including three straight 3-for-4 games.

Along with growing confidence, Alaska also taught Bowman, Clark and the

rest of the Oilers about handling season-ending adversity.

The Oilers were nearly eliminated early in the tournament and, in fact,

were down to their last out before scoring six runs in a 14-10 victory

over the Pueblo Chieftains in the third game of the tournament.

They took the momentum from that wild comeback win all the way to the

championship game.

“This team’s always had good chemistry,” Clark told a reporter following

a win over the San Francisco Seals. “But ever since that two-out rally,

we’ve been tighter. We all feel like we’re on a roll now.”

Unfortunately, that roll came to an end with a 5-4 loss to the Dallas

Phillies in the title game.

I have the feeling we’ll be hearing from both of them come spring time.

How many days left until the season-opener?