This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2012, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

There's a noticeable divide in the mental states of the Park City baseball team and its coaches. With a 7-1 start going into last weekend's Little Caesars Classic, coaches were doing what they are supposed to do — preaching taking each game as it comes and forgetting about yesterday no matter the outcome.

The players were doing what they are supposed to do — believing in themselves.

"We're playing so well I find it hard to believe that any team can beat us," senior pitcher Connor Lagnese said.

It's not as if Park City fielding a strong baseball team is a huge surprise. But it's not traditional for the Miners to get off to such a hot start, having gotten going so quickly only a couple of times over the past decade.

But with the elevated success comes elevated expectations. As in, why can't the Miners win the Region 10 championship? Why can't they challenge for a state crown?

"You only have to beat a team once," Lagnese said of the state 3A tournament.

Then again, there's a lot Park City still has to accomplish before the Miners start talking about the postseason. Region 10 is loaded, with traditional 3A baseball power Judge Memorial and defending state champion Juan Diego. The pitching the Miners will see along the way should generally be better than the pitching they have battered thus far to the tune of 8.4 runs per game.

Lagnese is a crafty, workhorse pitcher who can keep the Miners in seemingly any game. Senior first baseman Brae Dilley is the team's biggest bat and has committed to play for Division I College of Charleston next season. Junior Mark Trevino is a rising talent who can swing the bat and has a bright future.

The Miners also are deep with talent that is coming, starting two sophomores and a freshman. Park City is trying to build a sustainable program to foster more starts like that of 2012 in the future.

"I'm not a dummy: We're trying to play baseball in a ski town," second-year Miners coach Lou Green said. "There's a lot of hurdles you gotta jump and a lot of minds you have to change."

The successes are certainly coming in 2012. And they will likely garner attention from other teams and coaches. It may just be time for Park City to become a contender. They're playing at a high level. And the results are breeding confidence.

"I never have an expectation to lose," Trevino said. —

Fast start

Park City baseball is off to an impressive and surprising 7-1 start.

The Miners have put their bats to good use and have benefited from strong pitching in the hot start.

Park City is trying to stay grounded while building on their early success. —

Prep of the Week • Carlos Sanchez, West soccer. The senior forward pushed forward and scored two goals for the Panthers in a 3-2 win over rival East last Friday. Sanchez banged in a rebound to open scoring while West built a two-goal lead that East erased. Then it was Sanchez rising for a header off of a corner to lift the Panthers.

The Big Number • 24, the number of outs recorded by the West baseball team with pitcher Alex Espinoza on the mound in a 4-3 win over Cyprus last Friday. Espinoza earned an extra-inning, complete-game win for the Panthers. Cyprus rallied for two tying runs in the top of the sixth inning but West outlasted the Pirates.

The Big Game • Clearfield at Highland, boys' soccer, Friday, 3:30 p.m. While it may not be the game circled on most fans' calendars, it's turning more and more into a big game for Highland. The 2012 season is inching closer to an all-hands-on-deck situation for the Rams, who fell to 1-4 with a 1-0 loss to Copper Hills last week and need to get the script flipped in Region 6.