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"It was an unbelievable experience," Burroughs said. "The community of Grand Junction was so supportiveof all the teams. In the championship game, of the 10,000 or 1 1,000 people there, I think about 9,000were rooting for us because we came in the underdog."Cowley defeated Seminole State of Oklahoma 4-2 inthe championship game. Cowley had clobberedSeminole in a fall 1996 doubleheader, then lost 9-0 and 2-1 during the spring season. And as if that weren'tenough for revenge, some Seminole players taunted Cowley prior to the World Series finale."We really didn't need that kind of incentive, but it just fueled us more," said Grant Bergman, pitcher.Cowley reached the 10-team World Series by defeating Hutchinson in a three-game series May 16-17. Itwas the third consecutive year Cowley was in the Region VI championship game.In Grand Junction, Cowley opened the tournament with a 10-7 victory over Central Florida. That was followedby an 11-6 defeat at the hands of Indian Hills Iowa. But then the string began. Cowley eliminatedWallace State of Alabama 12-8, Indian Hills 15-9, and Scottsdale, Ariz., 9-6, setting up the showdown withSeminole.Right-hander Aaron Akin was named to the NJCAA Division I Baseball All-America first team, while firstbaseman Travis Hafner was a third-team selection and was named most valuable player of the World Series.Burroughs was named NJCAA Coach of the Year.Burroughs assembled one of his best teams ina 51-13 record and finished the regular season ranked ninth in the nation.1997, a difficult task considering the 1996 Tigers amassed"You start work for Grand Junction in August," Burroughs said. "It's hard to work on it then, and it's hardto work on it in February, but you've got to."While Cowley has been dominating this season — 33-3 in the Jayhawk Conference East Division — therewere times when the bats went silent. Pitching, however, was impressive throughout."Our pitching has carried us all year long," Burroughs said. "It carried us through the sub-region tournamentand showed flashes of brilliance."Cowley's top pitcher is Akin, a sophomore transfer from the University of Missouri. He mowed down hittersall season and had 102 strikeouts in 92 2/3 innings pitched with an earned-run average of 2.03.Akin's consistent 90-miles-per-hour fastball had pro scouts frothing at the mouth. The Manhattan, Kan.,was the No. 12 pick in the amateur draft June 3 by the Florida Marlins. His signing bonus was reportedlyaround $1 million.Offensively, Hafner was a force. The sophomore from Sykeston, N.D., hit 17 homers and drove in 82 runswhile batting .410. Pro scouts also looked at Hafner as an early draft pick, but instead he signed with theteam that drafted him last June, the Texas Rangers.Burroughs said as many as 1 1players from this year's team were draft possibilities.Oi