It took longer than he had hoped, but Royce Bollinger has become a certified star for the Chaparral Firebirds, who take on Cactus tonight at Tempe Diablo Stadium in the semifinals of the state 4A baseball playoffs. Bollinger missed the first half of last season with a knee injury and battled mononucleosis last winter. But he has persevered and has provided consistent home run power for Chaparral. The result is a 23-6 record for the Firebirds and an opportunity to win heir eighth state championship.

"We're good enough to win and we expect to win," says Bollinger, who stands strong at 6-foot-2, 190 pounds. He has the bat speed to send the ball deep on a regular basis. This year, he has hit six homers - a very impressive number in Chaparral's big ballpark where every four-bagger is earned. He also has 24 runs and 40 RBIs to go along with a .415 batting average and a .691 slugging average, numbers that will make him All Region for sure and most likely All State. In two playoff games so far, he has led the way for Chaparral with six RBIs, three of them that came on a bases-clearing double in the left-centerfield gap at the critical junction of Chaparral's 15-5 quarterfinal victory over Prescott. It was 2-1 when Bollinger's hit broke it open in the third.

"I just work as hard as I can to get better and help the team, says Bollinger, who has earned a scholarship to play baseball next year at Gonzaga University in Spokane, WA. Chaparral Coach Jerry Dawson says that Bollinger, a right-fielder with Major League arm-strength right now, will be very difficult to replace and that his best baseball is ahead of him. "Gonzaga got a gem," says Dawson. "He is just now starting to blossom. This year, he has been our most consistent RBI guy, which, along with runs, is the only stat that matters because it changes the scoreboard. Royce is a guy any coach is most happy to have at the plate when runs need to be scored."

Bollinger's performance is even more impressive when his age is taken into account. He is a year younger than most of his classmates and could be a junior had he started school at the traditional time. But, as Dawson says, Royce is big and strong and has the capability to compete at a high level. If he hits tonight like he has been hitting and gets just a little help from his teammates, it might be enough for the No. 1-seeded Firebirds to advance against No. 4 Cactus, especially with ace lefthander Danny Coulombe on the mound. Chaparral won an earlier meeting 4-2. Cactus will counter with its ace lefty, Ryan Carpenter. The Cobras are clearly playing their best baseball right now. "It will definitely be a challenge," says Bollinger. "But it also will be a lot of fun. These are the best kinds of games." Bollinger and his teammates should be smiling after tonight and getting ready for the winner of No. 2 Sandra Day O'Connor and No.6 Catalina Foothills out of Tucson in tomorrow afternoon's (3 p.m.) state championship game.

Notes - Dawson believes that the four teams left in 4A are the best teams in the conference and that with 5A Hamilton comprise the best five teams in the state. The winners tomorrow - regardless of who they are - all face a formidable challenge on Saturday. "The reward for winning on Friday is a major headache on Saturday," says Dawson. He believes the winner tonight will come down to the pitching and whichever team makes a mistake last. If Chaparral advances, the next in line to pitch is Chase Brewer, the winner against Prescott. But Brewer would be going on three days rest, one fewer than normal. In that scenario, it would be interesting to see what Dawson decides. Also available are seniors Jordan Holle and Cody Yount and junior Oliver Craig, who nearly had a no-hitter against Apache Junction his last time out. The would-be final hitter blooped a single to left. Chaparral has close victories against all three of the remaining teams in the tournament, a fact that at this point remains interesting but has absolutely no meaning in terms of outcomes.