DESERT SWARM

Edgar Esqueda of San Fernando High thought playing baseball in Las Vegas would be an adventure. But he had no idea how difficult it would be just to get here.

Esqueda’s expectations of a fun-filled week took a wrong turn when the transmission failed on one of the Tigers’ new vans Thursday morning at Stateline, Nev., during their four-hour drive.

“I was so excited for this trip [because] we’d never gone anywhere before,” said Esqueda, a senior catcher. “Then I’m wondering if we’re even going to make it on time for the game.”

The van was repaired and San Fernando made it to Chaparral High in time for its 3 p.m. game, joining a growing number of baseball teams who consider road trips during spring break a rite of passage.

Many coaches from the region use spring break as an opportunity to travel to tournaments throughout California and the Southwest. No destination is more popular than Las Vegas.

Five teams from the region played in the Durango tournament earlier this week and 12 are playing in the Bishop Gorman tournament, which concludes today at eight sites with backdrops as varied as snow-covered mountains and the Stratosphere Hotel, which rises 110 stories above the city.

This is their story.

For many teams, getting there is half the fun, and most of the entertainment centers around Stateline.

When two Birmingham players balked at going on the roller coaster at Buffalo Bill’s, a Stateline resort and casino, Coach Rick Weber offered to pay for the whole team if everybody went. They all did.

“It was a good team-bonding thing,” senior Joey Rubin said.

Some teams, like Granada Hills and Highland, spent the night at Stateline before driving the final 40 miles the next morning to Las Vegas.

For the Highlanders, that meant a 5:30 a.m. wake-up call, then playing a doubleheader at 9 a.m.

It didn’t help when a stranger inexplicably walked into Dan Seidman’s room at 2:30 in the morning.

“I think he was just trying to check the room out,” said Seidman, a junior outfielder. “Just walked in and out.”

A lack of sleep might have had an impact. Granada Hills lost its opening game to Las Vegas Eldorado, 5-2, before defeating Salt Lake City West, 12-10.

The Highlanders didn’t get to Las Vegas Boulevard--The Strip--until 4 p.m.

Some schools took a more direct route. Burroughs started spring break later than the rest, so the Indians left after school Wednesday, arriving in Las Vegas around 10:30 p.m. Knowing his team wanted to explore the city, Coach Jose Valle gave the players a 2 a.m. curfew, latest of any team.

Burroughs played in Las Vegas two years ago, but a trip to San Diego last year didn’t go as well.

“There just wasn’t as much for them to do,” Valle said. “They just stayed in the hotel a lot.”

A few Burroughs players stretched their curfew to the limit, finishing a buffet at 1:40 a.m. before jogging back to the hotel.

It helped that Burroughs didn’t play until 3 p.m. Thursday. The Indians beat Pleasant Grove, Utah.

Chaminade had a 9 a.m. game Thursday. After an early curfew, Chaminade committed three errors in the first two innings, fell behind, 10-0, to La Habra and lost, 12-4.

“I don’t know if playing early meant anything,” Chaminade second baseman Chris Martinez said. “We didn’t take a good infield and it went from there.”

But loads of free time in the afternoon brought new experiences. Seniors Martinez and Bruce Greenwood tagged along with Chaminade Coach Scott Drootin, selling industrial light bulbs.

“I know the whole sales pitch now,” Greenwood said.

Drootin kept a promise to freshman Jason Urquidez on Friday. Urquidez got his first varsity hit, so Drootin, with the permission of the player’s parents, taught Urquidez how to drive.

“It’s the desert,” Drootin said. “I’ll take him out in the middle of nowhere.”

Nearly every team planned activities. Most attended a Las Vegas Stars game. Chaminade watched former Chaminade catcher Ryan Hamill play for Nevada Las Vegas against Air Force.

Several Burroughs players raced simulated motorcycles Thursday night in the Sega Virtualand at the Luxor hotel, and most players wandered awe-struck among the lights and hotels lining the strip.

Gambling is prohibited by anyone under 21, but it didn’t stop Littlerock junior Adam Fabela from losing $10 in a three-card monte game near the Lobos’ hotel.

Even with many activities for kids, some players felt caught in the middle.

“We’re too old for the arcade and too young to gamble,” Birmingham senior Rick Hooper complained.

No matter how adventurous the players get, they’ll have a tough time matching Littlerock Coach Bernie Kyman.

After a doubleheader Friday, Kyman drove from Las Vegas to Billings, Mont., for a family function. Sunday, Kyman will drive from Billings back to Littlerock, hopefully making it in time for the Lobos’ practice Monday--a round trip of 3,000 miles in 48 hours.

Las Vegas is a town where anything can happen, but Kyman admits he might be overdoing it.

“I’ve done 24-hour drives before, but not two so close together,” he said. “As long as it doesn’t snow, I should be OK.”