STEPHENVILLE - Tarleton baseball head coach Bryan Conger knows a thing or two about pitching, but his current role is one of teaching those skills to future players.  Tuesday night will see a former player of Conger's Stephen Fife make his major league debut for the Los Angeles Dodgers against the Philadelphia Phillies.

Fife, a 2008 third-round pick of the Boston Red Sox, played for Conger during his stint as the pitching coach at Utah.  Since then, the Boise, Idaho native has gone through the minor leagues, making his way to the Dodgers. 

While learning the ins and outs of the game himself, Fife spent time at Tarleton working with and mentoring some Texan players.  Each year, he would make his way to Stephenville to work with more Conger pupils on their development.  It gave the young players at Tarleton an example of how hard work and dedication could pay off.

Coach Conger talked about those experiences.

“This is a neat deal for a lot of our players who have gotten to know Stephen over the past couple of years," said Conger.  "He has come down and worked out with us a couple of times before spring training and has worked with our guys as well.  It's always fun when he is here because I turn the pitching staff over to him and let him work with our guys and show them things he has learned and picked up along the way.”

Fife will not have an easy first start though as he faces former Cy-Young winner and potential Hall of Famer Roy Halladay.  The two hurlers will battle it out at 7 p.m. in Los Angeles.

“I couldn't be more proud or happy for Stephen and his family," said Conger.  "This is obviously a dream come true and one that he deserves and is ready for.  Stephen is one of the hardest working young men I have ever coached and is a true testament to the fact that if you work hard and do what's right, things will work out for you.  It has been neat to track his progress as a professional and  even more special to watch the bond he has developed with our kids.  I was teasing my son this morning that there aren't too many kids his age who get to text back and forth with two big leaguers constantly.”

Coach Conger has had 30 former players drafted into the major leagues, including Tarleton's Ryan Turner in 2011. 

Though he was never a Texan, Fife will have plenty of fans in Stephenville rooting for his sucess, especially at the Cecil Ballow Baseball Complex.

For more information regarding the Tarleton baseball program, check out TarletonSports.com.