The following article by Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle, features 2005 Puma Pre-Season All-Americans Tyson Ross, Rashad Tucker and Jeff Kobernus. Tucker and Kobernus also appeared at Team One events. The article appeared in the April 27 edition of the Chronicle. Baseball Factory wishes each player the greatest success in their future endeavors.

The Bishop O’Dowd baseball team’s stretching routine looks strikingly similar to a party.

The beat bellows out of a huddle of players in left field. One by one, a player breaks from the huddle and sprints toward the center-field fence. Each jumps into the mesh wall and the dancing begins.

The Dragons appear totally unaffected by the pressures of being undefeated.

Of course, there isn’t much pressure when your pitching staff consists of Tyson Ross, Rashad Tucker and Jeff Kobernus, the only trio in California with as many as 13 wins and no losses.

“We run into some teams that think they’ve lucked out because Tyson is not throwing,” O’Dowd coach Joel Kaufman said. “The other two can be just as dangerous.

“I’ll take my chances with any of them.”

The Dragons will put that philosophy and their 15-0 record to the test today, when they are scheduled to play Castro Valley, the only other undefeated team in the Hayward Area Athletic League.

Ross, a 6-foot-6, 210-pound Cal-designate, will be on the mound. Major- league scouts believe his 90-mph fastball and usually dominant slider make him a top-10-rounds selection, and opposing players already treat Ross as if he were a major-leaguer.

“In league play, we had one guy ask for his autograph,” Kaufman said, “and another just wanted to shake his hand.”

Team One Baseball director of scouting Blaine Clemmens received an e-mail from Ross after he pitched in one of the organization’s showcases in Arizona.

“He just wanted to say he appreciated the opportunity and say sorry for not thanking me in person,” Clemmens said. “That’s the kind of kid he is.”

Not to mention his ability on the mound.

“Someone wouldn’t get fired for taking him in the top-10 rounds,” Clemmens said. “There are more polished pitchers out there, but he’s got a quick, loose arm and can be a 93-94-mph guy with a plus slider in the future.”

At the Amador Valley-Monte Vista game in early April, scouts put down their radar guns to talk to Ross and Tucker, who were in the stands. A few innings later, the umpire turned around and joked with the duo.

“It’s nice that people know who we are,” said Tucker, a 6-3, 210-pounder who has committed to Fresno State. “It’s gotten to the point where you just focus and forget that they’re all watching.”

The left-hander, who has devastating movement on his fastball, proved his concentration in the West Coast Classic against Mitty. He entered the game with the bases loaded and Georgia Tech-bound Jason Haniger at the plate.

“His eyes were glowing like something from hell,” Kaufman said. “He was just like, ‘Here’s the fastball. See if you can hit it.’ “

Tucker got out of the inning without a run scoring, and O’Dowd won 9-6.

Kobernus, a 6-1, 180-pound junior, already has pitched in similarly stressful situations. As a sophomore, he kept O’Dowd in a one-run game against North Coast Section power De La Salle.

“He’s the one pitcher in my seven years here that I let call his own game, ” Kaufman said. “He knows how to set hitters up, and he’s one of the most intense players I’ve ever had.”

The intensity is hidden at practice as Kaufman reminds the players of their goals.

“Baseball is probably the toughest sport to go undefeated,” he said. “It’s almost ludicrous to make that one of our goals. We just want to win the league and advance through NCS.”

Then, the real party can begin.