By Catherine Garrett | [email protected]

Second-year head coach Jeff Eure said his Corner Canyon High baseball team focused on strength and conditioning to prepare for the season following a third-place finish in Region 7 last year. The Chargers returned some key players from a year ago and have others “ready to step in and contribute,” according to Eure.

Just prior to the season, Eure said, “I’m excited to see this team work together this season. We have worked really hard to prepare for the season. The success of our team will depend on teamwork and consistency.”

The preseason was a little rough for Corner Canyon with five losses to 5A and 6A teams before junior Noah Garff pitched the Chargers to a win over Viewmont 4-3 March 27. In that game, Corner Canyon came back from a 3-1 deficit heading into the sixth inning to score three runs over the final three innings to win by a run. Junior outfielder Luke Cahoon had a key RBI in the win. The next day, the Chargers got another win with a 7-3 victory over Murray. Senior Jack Roundy drove in three runs while senior outfielder Kody Tidwell and senior first baseman Keaton Morf also had an RBI each. Sophomore pitcher Jeremy Tilby recorded the win on the mound.

Corner Canyon struggled a bit offensively in the early going of region play with being outscored over its last four games 46-5 in a loss to non-region opponent Roy and then three losses to Cottonwood. The Chargers then turned it around against Timpview in three dominating wins in mid-April by a combined score of 40 to 10. Against Brighton April 23 and 24, Corner Canyon defeated the Bengals 9-3 and 11-1.

“We just started region play and the team is off to a slow start,” Eure said. “But, we will keep battling!”

Senior catcher Timmy Goodwin said this season has been a true test for each player and as a team overall. “It’s tested us by forcing us to learn from our mistakes and to move on to the next pitch with the mentality ‘I’m the best person for this job right now,’” he said.

And though the season hasn’t quite started the way senior second baseman Preston Winget pictured, he said there has been a lot of learning through the challenges. “We have grown together as a team and we are all bonding as brothers,” he said. “Each of us have learned a lot and we’ve all been tested in our own unique ways.”

The Chargers, who currently sit in third place in Region 7 at 5-3, are also scheduled to face Brighton April 26, Jordan April 30, May 1 and 3, and Alta May 6, 7 and 8.

“The focus for the rest of the year is to play with purpose, and to stick together as a team and keep playing to our best potential,” Winget, who leads the team with six doubles this season, said. 

Also on the Corner Canyon 2019 squad are pitcher Bentley Arndt, pitcher/utility Derek Astin, pitcher/utility Robert Gallo, pitcher Sean Garrick, outfielder John Glavin, pitcher/outfielder Randen Grimshaw, pitcher/catcher Corbin Haycock, shortstop Kayson Lewis, first baseman/designated hitter Jackson Light, catcher Jett Meine, pitcher Mattias Osthed, pitcher Matthew Phillips, pitcher Easton Putnam, pitcher Davis Reese, pitcher/third baseman Tate Staley and pitcher Trenten Werts.

“We have all bonded really close and we all have each other’s backs and we take accountability for the mistakes we made,” Goodwin said. “The focus for the rest of the year is taking each pitch like it might be our last.”