The freshman from Silverado High School had reason to be concerned, according to Coyotes coach Tim Chambers.

"He was just terrible. He couldn't hit anything and he couldn't catch," Chambers said. "He wasn't going to make the team."

Then the unexpected happened. Not only did Kirk narrowly avoid being cut in the fall, he earned a starting job in February and developed into one of CSN's top players.

The second-seeded Coyotes (35-18) will play the College of Southern Idaho (31-22) in the NJCAA Region 18 tournament at 1 p.m. today in Carson City.

Kirk, 6 feet and 175 pounds, barely batted his weight in the fall, when CSN played about 50 scrimmages.

Chambers charted every at-bat and said Kirk hit about .180 while splitting time between shortstop and second base.

"I was hitting a buck-something. It was horrible," Kirk said. "When I was playing second base, I was making a lot of errors. When I would go hit, I was scared to strike out.

"Chambers was asking me a lot if I wanted to redshirt or not. That was fine because I just wanted to stay around the program. I wanted to stay no matter what. I just didn't want to get cut. I got lucky."

Kirk's second chance came when Chambers moved him to right field. He adapted quickly and started to hit, and he never stopped hitting.

"You could actually see it immediately in the body language," Chambers said. "It was probably the most unbelievable thing I've seen as a coach. I'm in shock."

Kirk leads the Coyotes with a .366 batting average in all games. He has 30 RBIs and 28 steals in 30 attempts.

Third baseman Justin Mishalow, a sophomore from Green Valley High, is third in Scenic West Athletic Conference games with a .372 average. Kirk ranks fifth, batting .367 in conference games.

Second baseman Scott Dysinger, a freshman from Bishop Gorman, batted .361 in SWAC play, but he almost was cut, too. Chambers said Dysinger hit .108 in fall scrimmages.

"Dysinger has been unbelievable, too," Chambers said. "We just hoped he would be a solid backup."

Kirk said a change of position was what he needed.

"I never really played outfield, but I like it out there. It's fun in the outfield," he said. "I sort of lost my tight ass when I went to the outfield. I knew I couldn't lose anything. I was already pretty much cut.

"But now everything is good. The first part of the season, I felt like I was hitting a beach ball. I couldn't miss it."

If not for Chambers' close relationship with Silverado's coaches, who recommended Kirk, Chambers said Kirk would have been cut.

Kirk needed surgery on a torn labrum in his right, throwing shoulder in February 2007 and missed almost all of his junior year in high school.

His only offers to play college baseball came from CSN and Western Nevada, and his stay with the Coyotes almost was cut short.

"Our coaches are great. It's very fun, and it's a good program," Kirk said. "I talked to some friends who went to college other places, and they hate it. But I love it here."

* NOTES -- Chambers said sophomore left-hander Egan Smith will start today's game. ... If the Coyotes win, they face the Eastern Utah-Western Nevada winner at 10 a.m. Friday in the double-elimination tournament.

Contact reporter Matt Youmans at myoumans@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2907.