Mountain Pointe (Phoenix) baseball coach Brandon Buck knows that national rankings are an arbitrary endeavor, especially in the preseason, but it doesn't take away from that fact that one publication had the Pride as the sixth best team in the country.
"We were very excited," Buck said. "It's an honor regardless of what happens or what it means. We have a great group of kids this year and we hope we can do it justice."
Mountain Pointe went 3-1 the first week in the Scottsdale Quarterback Club tournament. The team is expected to be one of the better teams in Class 5A Division I after making it to the state title game last season with mostly underclassmen playing prominent roles.
"We really do bring back almost the entire of core of that team and I think that is why we were singled out," Buck said. "Add that to (Texas Christian commit) Kevin Cron, who I think is the best hitter in Arizona and might go down as one of the best ever from our state, and I can see why we are getting some national attention."
Cron tied the state record with 22 home runs last season and was named a MaxPreps All-American as a catcher after hitting .491 with 52 RBIs.
But he isn't the lone bat in the lineup, as the team hit .371.
The Pride return just about their entire pitching staff other than closer Joey Rocha and have the added bonus of getting a healthy Jordan Kipper, who didn't throw last season because of an arm issue after being the team's ace as a sophomore.
"It's a good mix and we should be contenders," Buck said. "We are not concerned about it right now. If we play like we are capable of then the wins will take care of themselves."
While the Pride failed to make the
MaxPreps Xcellent Preseason top 50 baseball rankings presented by the Army National Guard,
Hamilton (Chandler) and
Saguaro (Scottsdale) were pegged as 37th and 38th, respectively.
ON DECKThe track and field season begins to get serious with several well-respected invitational marking the unofficial start to the year.
The Toro Invitational at Mesa Mountain View, Rotary Track Invitational at Chandler and Gatorade Track and Field Invitational at Laveen Tolleson High are just a few of the bigger events on tap.
Jason P. Skoda, a former Arizona Republic and current Ahwatukee Foothill News staff writer, is a 15-year sports writing veteran. Contact him at jskoda1024@aol.com or 480-272-2449.
