After a rough start, the baseball team has righted their ship and is back on track to contend at the state tournament. With a section record of 4-3 as of press time, and an overall of 13-11, there are probably a few more in the loss column than anyone would want.

“Record-wise, it doesn’t show how well we’re doing. We’ve had some rough games, some rough losses, but our record definitely doesn’t show how well we play,” said senior Tommy Sacco.

This sentiment was seconded by Head Coach Damien Tippett, who added that his team “didn’t win a lot of games early and our guys could’ve gotten down and they haven’t. They actually have gotten better every day.”

A winning record in their section, against their rivals, is a key component of any state title run, and up to this point that is exactly what the Pumas have done.

The key component to this team’s resiliency may be their composition, with many senior leaders who have been in these situations many times before.

Sophomore Ryan Bleck, who referred to it as an “honor” to be playing varsity baseball, added that “when we are down in the dugout, some of the senior leaders come up and hype us back up so we end up winning ballgames.”

“These guys have been playing together since they were kids,” said Tippett, who, over the years, has worked to craft a program that fosters a sense of camaraderie and family that allows for success in times of struggle.

With big games coming up down the home stretch, this team is in the same position that this program has been for the past few years: looking ahead to the last game of the whole season.

This also attributes to the growing prestige of Perry baseball in the eyes of other Arizona programs. Sacco believes that, after being in the Boras classic tournament, “we’re still up there” in terms of the team’s ranking in the state.

Leading up the end of the season, Bleck’s mentality can be simply summed up. “You can’t let up, you can’t be too conscientious. You’ve got to go hard.”