Bailey Leasure is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Campo Verde High School for AZPreps365.com

GILBERT, Ariz. — As Campo Verde gets ready for the baseball season, players and coaches see the team closer on and off the field than previous years. 

“There is a close cohesiveness between the team and the things they do,” head coach Shawn Dukes said. “If the kids like each other, they’re going to run through a wall for each other, and that’s just half the battle.”

In his 11th season as head coach, Dukes said this group of players is different from teams he has coached in the past and that the atmosphere differs from the last time the team made the state championship in 2017. 

“This group of kids are buddies who hang out with each other off the field, which is a big plus for us,” Dukes said. “There were some teams I coached where we had players who got along on the field, but off it, it was like having a brother you didn’t like.”

Dukes said players are doing the little things off the field to have better team chemistry this season, such as hanging out with each other on the weekends and having lunch every day. 

Campo Verde sees team chemistry as a key to being more successful this season. In 2019, Campo Verde had a record of 14-4, which was fifth in the conference. 

They made the 5A state championship tournament but lost in the first round to Sunrise Mountain, 3-2.

Players have been at work since the fall to be a more tight-knit group and get further in the tournament. 

“In previous years, we’ve been a little distant off the field,” senior shortstop Isaiah Lopez said. “We now have more of a brotherhood, as opposed to being split off into little cliques.”

The team hopes this translates to a fast start when the season begins Thursday against Ysleta (Texas) in the Cowboy Up Baseball Tournament in Tucson. 

“Having good practices every day is key to the good start we want,” junior outfielder Jayden Smith said. “We’re not messing around and we have been working hard to get ready for the season to accomplish our goal of sending our senior players out with a state championship.”

The team hopes it can make a statement in its first game of the season. 

“What we are looking for is to just play a clean game and get 21 outs with no mental errors,” Dukes said.

Hitters in the lineup will rely on small ball this season.

“Our plan will probably rely on a double in the gap or bunting a guy over,” Lopez said. “We will be looking for more small base hits this season rather than relying on home runs because we don’t have a lot of home runs guys on the team.” 

Health will be another factor for Campo Verde to be more successful this season. 

“Right at the end of last season, we got plagued with injuries and had some key guys go down before the playoffs,” Dukes said. “Staying healthy is important because we’ve got a really solid team and if we stay healthy, we’re going to do well this year.”