Coach of West Ridge proud of team's focus

Every time West Ridge Academy's baseball team fell behind during its run to the state championship game, they inevitably found a way to get back into the contest.

That's why coach Dave Brock remained confident even when the Eagles fell behind 4-0 to Panguitch in the title tilt last Saturday.

"The kids never lost focus," said Brock. "They never let go of it . . . It almost seems like they needed to get behind to get ahead."

That's something West Ridge did all season long, and even though they weren't able to come back in the championship game (Panguitch eventually won 13-0), that trait is something Brock said he'll always remember about this 2005 team.

After advancing into the semifinals twice the previous two seasons, West Ridge made a giant leap in 2005 by advancing into the final.

"It was a huge accomplishment for us," said Brock.

Several players all stepped up for the Eagles during their season, particularly the pitching-catching battery of senior pitcher Wade Whitely and sophomore catcher Anthony Turnbull. Those two were interchangeable players, and they formed the core of the team.

Behind them, players like shortstop Alex Nelson, left fielder Fernando Hernandez and center fielder Tanner Sterling all made valuable contributions to the Eagles' success.

Getting those players, which haven't enjoyed much personal success in their lives, to believe in their ability to come from behind in games wasn't easy, and Brock heaped much of the credit for that fact onto his brother Wayne Brock, who was an assistant coach.

"I think a lot of his philosophies about working through their personal problems," said Dave Brock, "that work ethic can help on the field."

As far as the title game is concerned, it was simply a matter of running into a hotter team.

When the Eagles trailed Panguitch 4-0 last Saturday, Anthony Phothisen led off the top-half of the fourth inning with a triple. He was thrown out, however, trying to tag home on a subsequent play, and that sequence seemed to kill West Ridge's momentum.

"That was a big momentum-killer there," said Brock.

When the bottom half of that inning rolled around, the Bobcats rattled off nine runs off five hits to kill off the game. "It's kind of frustrating to watch," said Brock, "but baseball's like that."

Now that the Academy's finished with baseball, it will turn its attention to basketball. Wayne Brock will be the head coach on that team, with Dave coaching the JV squad. Several of the baseball players will be on the basketball team.

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E-mail: drasmussen@desnews.com