Mountain Pointe baseball beat odds, reached semis

The Mountain Pointe baseball team was never supposed to make it this far. Not as the No. 14 seed in the Class 5A-Division I state tournament.

Shoot, the Pride had clawed their way to a berth into the postseason on the final day of the regular season, bumped into the field by virtue of a few teams winning that they had played earlier in the season.

Yet MP was, one of four 5A-I teams left last Thursday, facing off against No. 15 Gilbert Mesquite. And though the Pride would go on to lose, 7-1, to end their season, simply making it to the semifinals for the second time in school history - the first trip since 1995 - provided some solace.

"To get in ... where you didn't even think you were going to get in," said coach Brandon Buck, "and then make the run that we did, that said a lot about these kids and the character of these seniors. We ride their backs every year. If you have a good group like we did, you can do some damage and have a lot of fun."

Guys like C.J. Cron, who had two home runs in the first round win over No. 3 Chandler Basha. Or Jordan Madison, who almost single-handedly willed the Pride to two wins, throwing a total of 13 innings and giving up only two runs. Or Brayden Falk, whose defensive prowess at shortstop kept MP in games it had no business being in.

"It's been the best year of my entire life," Falk said. "I think we had it all year, but we just couldn't come up at the end. But I had a great time."

Along the way, the Pride played at three professional facilities, including Tempe Diablo Stadium and Phoenix Municipal Stadium.

"We were one of four teams in 5A-I still playing," Buck said. "It's an amazing feeling. It's been so much fun being here, the intensity and the excitement, and screaming and yelling. Obviously you want to win every single game, but to see the kids out diving, and trying hard - giving them an opportunity to play out here is great."

"This is something that they'll remember forever, and that's something that we try to instill a lot in these guys as far as becoming a team," Buck added. "And when you leave, always staying in contact, because when it comes down to it, you've got your families and your friends and your experiences. That's the biggest thing."

A number of seniors will continue to play at the next level, most notably Cron, who is headed to Utah.

But the Pride return a core group from this year's team, like ace Ryan Klem and leadoff hitter Jake Waldren, who should help the group make another run deep into next year's tournament.

"We thought we were going to win the whole time," Cron said. "When it didn't happen, we were just shocked."