The Valley Christian boys baseball team has had an outstanding season with lots of big wins, the state championship was no different.  

On Monday, May 13th, the Trojans found themselves in the state championship game facing off against the #3 ranked Yuma Catholic. The Trojans had played the Shamrocks earlier in the year on April 15th at Yuma. That was a difficult game for both teams with the score being even throughout. Yuma eventually took the lead and held it until the end in that game, handing the Trojans their only loss of the season, 4-7. This set the stage for an epic rematch during the championship game. 

Both teams battled their way through the playoffs – Yuma Catholic defeated last year's state champions, Northwest Christian, in two games coming into the finals. The Trojans had just come off of a 3-game series where they had bested cross-town rival Gilbert Christian in the 3rd game to move to the finals. Both the Trojans and the Shamrocks came back to play each other in the championship game at Tempe Diablo Stadium looking to win. The Trojans were especially hungry for a win after falling to Northwest Christian on the same field one year prior. This year they were seeking a different result. The Trojans' season has been very successful up to that point, winning almost every game and ending with a regular season record of 15-1. They were ready to secure this final win. 

Sophomore Cameron Bergloff was on the mound the entire game for the Trojans and got off to a good start, retiring 2 innings with zero runs allowed. On the offensive side, junior Kyle Grier started the scoring for the Trojans with a single to left field to bring in a runner. The team would finish the 2nd inning ahead of the Shamrocks 3-0 after another run was brought in on a passed ball and junior Caleb Danzeisen doubled another runner in.  

The Trojans allowed a run from the Shamrocks at the top of the 3rd, but came back and brought in four more runs in the next inning after a pitching change from Yuma. This string of runs was started by Danzeisen, who brought in junior Kyle Grier. Carson Grier then hit a triple and cleared the bases. It was an electric inning.  

The flood gates were then open for the Trojans. In the bottom of the 5th, after scoring two more runs off of hits from senior Jake Harrison and sophomore Brock Jackson, the score was 9-1 in favor of the Trojans. Junior Carson Grier stepped up to the plate with runners on second and third. He would launch a ball over the head of the center fielder, bringing in two more runs. Fans could barely process what was happening, but that shot to center sealed the win for the Trojans, as they went ahead by 10, mercy-ruling the Shamrocks in only 5 innings. The Trojan fans in ASU Diablo's stadium were booming – the Trojans had finished what they started last year and won the state championship!!!!  

Valley would walk out of Tempe Diablo with the program's 2nd State Championship Trophy, the last one coming in 2011 (13 years ago). It was a perfect end to a nearly-perfect season. They were able to learn from their one loss and come back and destroy the team that handed it to them when it mattered most. When asked about this, senior Dylan Suzuki shared, "After playing them earlier in the season, we knew we could beat them. We knew how to play in this environment, and we knew that they had a lot of long bus rides in the last week, and we took advantage of it." 

A mercy rule in the State Championship has only happened one other time in the 3A Conference, which was Safford in 2008. Congratulations to our historic 2023-24 Trojan baseball team! 

GO TROJANS!!!!