It was an unfortunate ending to a great year as Camp Verde baseball fell 9-0 to Scottsdale Christian on Friday, May 10.
With the loss, the Cowboys end the season at 22-7-1 and 11-1 in sectional play.
“I will remember this team for having a great season and a great bunch of kids,” Camp Verde coach Will Davis said.
Davis spoke on the Cowboys season and what is in store for the future.
Why would you consider this season a success?
I would consider it a success because everyone enjoyed themselves out on the field this season. We all had a great time coaching and playing this year, and I believe that spells success more than wins and losses do.
What was your favorite aspect of coaching the Cowboys?
They were a lot of fun. The always came to practice, worked hard and really enjoyed themselves.
The players really enjoyed the game of baseball
and that helps the coaches as well.
What were some highlights of this past season?
Winning the regional championship was a high point of course, as well as playing in the second weekend of the playoffs. Coming away victorious in our first two playoff wins was a huge accomplishment.
It was the first time I had accomplished that as the Cowboys head coach and it was extremely exciting.
What did you tell them team after the last game?
I told them to hold their heads high because they had a great season. They need to be proud of themselves and not worry if anyone else tells them something different.
How will you remember this senior class?
There were a few that standout that I will
probably compare players to as the future rolls on. I will compare kids to Dakota Battise because of his work ethic and natural leadership abilities. Dakota is one kid that you will always remember and talk to future kids about how hard he worked as both a pitcher and a hitter. Dominiq Bruno is just a natural talent and I will tell future players how special he was on the field. Dominiq and Dakota are two players you will never forget and I also will not forget the bond the seniors had. All of our seniors got along extremely well and I would attribute a lot of our success to that.
What lessons can the younger players learn from the seniors?
Hopefully, they take away how hard the seniors worked and how to remain focused and mentally tough. High school baseballis not easy, you are going to have to some ups and downs like at any level of baseball. The worst team can beat the best team on any given day, so having that mental toughness to bounce back from a strikeout or loss is important. I think that is going to be the biggest thing and hopefully every year the younger players take from the older guys.
What was your coaching staff’s biggest contribution this season?
I would have to say just the way everyone stepped up when another coach was not available. Coach Nate Jackson was a big help in calling pitches so I could focus on overseeing the defense. On offense, Coach Pelfrey prepared everything and always made sure the team was ready to go.Coach Kevin Thornhill is always available early in the morning and on weekends in case our players wanted to get in extra practice. We got a lot of help from all of the coaches this season and it was great. We work together very well. Everyone on the coaching staff gets along and that is good for our young players as well.
Which younger players do you anticipatemaking a bigger impact next season?
The two big ones that have probably stood out the most are Mason Rayburn and Cole Gillespie.
Both of them are underclassmenand they will be very good ball players as they start to mature physically. They already have the natural talent so look out when they put it all together.
One of the juniors that is going to make a huge impact next season is Coke Bast.
