The Corner Canyon High baseball team, who entered the postseason as the 10th-seeded team, were four outs away from the 6A state title against fifth-ranked Lehi May 25 with a 5-4 lead before giving up three runs and losing 7-5.

“We had a heck of a season,” said head coach Jeff Eure, who’s in his seventh year. “We believed in ourselves from day one, played well and fought hard and I couldn’t be more proud.”

In game three of the best-of-three championship series, the Chargers went from being down 3-2 in the fourth inning to taking a 5-3 lead into the later innings of the game.

Sophomore Garrett Downing drove in two runs while senior Second Team All-State shortstop Ryder Florence, junior Andrew Nice and sophomore Second Team All-State infielder Nathan Horstmann each recorded an RBI in the loss.

In game one May 24, Corner Canyon lost to the Pioneers 11-1 with senior Kash Koncar driving in the team’s only run. The Chargers bounced back to take Game Two 5-2 May 25, scoring all of its runs in the first two innings and holding on to take the state tournament the distance. 

Horstmann went two-for-three from the plate with three RBIs with senior Rylan Dunn hitting a solo home run and Koncar driving in a run. Nice had a four-strikeout performance through six and one-third innings for the win on the mound.

“We weren’t mistake-free, but we didn’t compound mistakes,” Eure said. “We had some big come-from-behind innings and had contributions up and down the lineup.”

The No. 10-seeded Corner Canyon squad went up against seventh-ranked Skyridge in the 6A Super Regionals to begin their state tournament run. On May 16, the Chargers won 7-5 in game one, then lost game two 3-2 and advanced with a 14-9 win in game three.

In bracket play, CCHS defeated No. 2 Davis 8-6 May 20 behind two RBIs from Downing and juniors Logan Nordhoff and Drew Whatcott and one from freshman Jack Munson. Junior Third-Team All-State pitcher Jacob Troast recorded four strikeouts in a five-inning performance on the mound.

On May 21, the Chargers went on to defeat sixth-seeded Fremont 10-5 by coming back from an early 2-0 deficit with a seven-run second inning and then holding off the Silverwolves with three runs in the final two innings. Nice had a five-inning performance, striking out three Fremont batters, to pick up the win on the mound while also driving in three RBIs at the plate. Dunn and Florence also had two RBIs while Horstmann and Downing each brought in one.

Against No. 3 Mountain Ridge May 22, Corner Canyon lost 3-1 with Koncar bringing in the team’s only run.

In a bounce-back game May 23 against the Sentinels, the Chargers scored seven runs in the first inning to get off to a strong start and then held off a late charge by Mountain Ridge to advance to the state championship series. Lincoln Eure was the game’s winning pitcher, recording five strikeouts, while Florence and Downing drove in two runs each to lead the offense. Whatcott, Nice, Munson, Dunn and Lincoln Eure each also recorded an RBI in the win.

“It felt like a dream to be honest,” Florence said. “I knew we had a really good chance but it wasn’t gonna be very easy and we would have to compete every game. The last couple of weeks showed a lot about our team. I felt it showed how we never give up and how taking advantages of big moments can win a game.”

This season, Corner Canyon won 11 of its first 14 games, getting off to a “hot start” before facing some adversity in region play. “We knew that this was a pretty special group if the players put it together,” coach Eure said, noting that his four seniors—Florence, Dunn, Koncar and catcher Cannon Cotterell, who combined for 54 RBIs—demonstrated incredible leadership as the team’s captains this season. “They worked hard in the weight room and at practice and were the heart and soul of getting our guys to buy into our culture here.”

Florence will play for Scottsdale Community College in the fall while Dunn is headed to Southern Virginia University to compete on their football team.

Nice led the team with 27 RBIs while Horstmann added 26 on the year. The Chargers’ top aces went a combined 13-5 on the mound with 73 strikeouts.

Also on the 2024 CCHS squad who went 20-14 this season were sophomores Justin Delgrosso, Ayden Dunn, Logan Kelley, Jaxon Mccray and Tanner Mackay; and freshmen William Baik, Bowen Bodily, Lincoln Eure, Lincoln Flamm, Maddux Florence, Dane Hendrickson, Charlie Hansen, Roan Hendrickson, Kaleb Hunter, Colton Lewis, Dawson Mair, Axyl Meine, Baylor Neal, Aiden Parry, Carson Paulsen, Jenson Pollard and Porter Slavens.

“I just love that group of guys, and I’m happy that we proved a lot of people wrong about us,” Florence said. λ