Cheyenne Mountain baseball: Always persevering

If any baseball coach in the state is qualified to tell his team to stick it out when the going gets tough, it's Cheyenne Mountain (Colorado Springs) head man Mark Swope.

Over the past few seasons, his team has morphed from a middle-of-the-pack 4A squad to one of the stalwarts of the classification. And the road has always been rocky.

The Indians believed they were bound for a seed in the No. 10 or 11 range in last season's state tournament. When the bracket was unveiled, they were No. 23. The designation appeared too difficult to overcome and perhaps unfairly challenging for a team that had several quality wins in a 13-6 regular season and boasted one of the state's finest all-around players in Austin Darby (now at Nebraska).

But a few weeks later, after several twists, turns and momentum swings, the Indians were hoisting the championship trophy for the second time in three seasons. The lesson once again reinforced was: No matter how bleak things appear, there always is a way to persevere.

"Oh, absolutely," said left-handed pitcher/first baseman Jack Stimple, a senior this season. "As long as we're in the tournament, we know that we can get hot at any time and make a run for the championship. It also lets us know that even if we're a high seed, we can't underestimate anyone."

Fast-forward to this spring. The Indians suddenly are starting to be perceived as a traditional power after winning two championships in three seasons. Fresh off a spring-break trip to Las Vegas, the Indians have put together a solid 5-3 start as they return home for league play. It begins Wednesday against Sand Creek.

While Darby is gone, the Indians still have many mainstays back from last season, namely Stimple, senior shortstop/pitcher Bret Helton and burly 6-foot-2, 230-pound junior third baseman Michael Levar. Now the expectations and the overall vibe surrounding the program have completely shifted.

"There are a lot more people who want to be a part of the program now," Stimple said. "When I was in middle school, the program was just starting to come on the rise. They'd make a few playoff runs, but never get too far."

Now Cheyenne Mountain has two postseason runs that are the stuff of legends.

The Indians' poor seed last season mostly was due to finishing fifth in the Colorado Springs Metro League tournament after dropping a 6-5 decision to Coronado and talented pitcher Dylan Settle in the opener. The CSML is one of the few leagues that stages a tournament at the end of league play to determine its seeds, and the result essentially undid the Indians' efforts throughout the bulk of league play.

To compound things, the Indians dropped a 5-1 nonleague decision to Valor Christian in the regular-season finale and sank to a seed typically reserved for teams that narrowly sneak into the postseason.

"I think we knew we were a good team last year, but the way the system was set up, we knew we weren't going to get a good seed," Swope said. "But it was something we certainly fed off of."

The Indians quickly advanced to the final eight of the 32-team bracket, where the tournament shifts to a double-elimination format. They beat Valor twice in the tourney, including 13-7 in the semifinals to avenge the regular-season loss.

Cheyenne Mountain parlayed the momentum into the title game, where the Indians ransacked Wheat Ridge in the first inning en route to a 12-0 win. They had lost 11-1 to the Farmers in the opening rounds of the final eight.

But if the Indians weren't going to pack it in after garnering a No. 23 seed, they weren't going to do so after being pushed to the brink of elimination.

"It seemed like that first game had taken place quite a long time ago by the time we faced them again," Swope said. "We felt like we were playing our best ball on the last day of the season."

Perseverance became the theme for the Indians in 2009. Their title that season was earned by virtue of a spellbinding 9-8 comeback win against Mountain View, in which Swope was an assistant under Bernie Moncallo.

Now comes the tough part: Sustaining. Some say the Indians' success can largely be contributed to Darby, a rare can't-miss specimen who starred on both title teams. This season, the Indians are eager to prove that they can keep it going while Darby continues to hit in the .340 range for the Cornhuskers.

"Of course we'll miss Darby. He was almost a sure win every time he stepped out on the mound and a very reliable hitter in the three-hole," Stimple said. "But now we're fully confident that other people will step up and we'll get some production out of them. Expectations have risen around here."

Swope, a former longtime coach at Doherty, also feels it. He believes his team has struck a nice balance with acknowledging past success while focusing on the present.

"We're in a pretty good spot with a whole lot of returners from last year's squad," Swope said. "We feel pretty good about where we're at right now. But we have a whole lot of getting better to do. We'll get exposed against some good teams if we don't play very well, but we've got a lot of postseason at-bats on this roster."