Sunrise Mountain baseball is now as ready as it gets for the new look double elimination 4A state baseball tournament, as the Mustangs just claimed the crown in their annual Best of the West Spring Classic.

That capped a stretch of nine games in seven days (March 14-21) between the elite Boras Classic and the solid competition Best of the West. Sunrise Mountain won seven of those, including the 6-4 victory over Mesa Westwood March 21 in the Best of the West Gold Division final.

Along the way, the team beat quality opponents in Mesa Red Mountain, Phoenix Thunderbird and Tucson and pushed Henderson (Nev.) Coronado to extra innings in the Boras Classic semifinals before falling 9-5.

"The fact that they embraced the grind of nine games in seven days says a lot. The Boras games were against really good teams in Red Mountain, Coronado and Corona del Sol," Sunrise Mountain baseball coach Eric Gardner said. "We didn’t blow anybody out and we competed with good teams."

Mustangs senior shortstop Tyler Pruitt was offensive MVP of the Best of the West tournament, while senior pitcher Caleb Thomason earned the defensive MVP.

With only Greenway looming as a challenge on the second half of the regular season schedule, the two weeks of tournament play simulated the level of play and the type of game scenarios Sunrise Mountain should see at state, assuming they get into the final eight teams with double elimination.

"I feel like we grew a lot and it’s helped us to see what we can handle in a tournament setting. It gave a lot of guys chances to step up and showed us what working as a team can do for us," junior catcher Ethan Snodgrass stated in a Twitter interview.

Gardner said he likes this team’s makeup for this style of bracket, as opposed to the single-elimination setup of recent years.

If the Mustangs start the final 8 with a couple of wins, Gardner can roll out rested ace Troy Balko for most of the tournament — like Kellis did with Adrian Salazar to win 5A last year. Balko is 3-0 with an 0.31 ERA and 34 strikeouts in 22 1/3 innings.

If they lose and have to win several elimination games, the coach likes his pitching depth. Junior Carter Krosky has stepped up as a starter, Thomason sealed the closer role and senior pitcher and Texas-Arlington signee Trevor Pruitt will be available to throw after being shut down for the last month.

Plus, this group is not as reliant on its arms as previous editions. In its 15-3 start Sunrise Mountain is batting over .400 and averaging nearly nine runs per contest.

"The offense is matching the pitching this year," Gardner said.

Instead of tagging the Mustangs as the favorite to capture their first state title, the veteran coach said 4A looks much deeper this season. Defending champion Nogales returned most of its starters and traditional Tucson contenders Canyon del Oro, Catalina Foothills and Salpointe are almost certain to be in the mix.

Despite close wins over Cave Creek Cactus Shadows and Thunderbird, Gardner expects both teams to be there at the end. Scottsdale Saguaro and Chandler Seton Catholic also have been impressive in the first month.

"I still think the thorn in the side is Nogales and the other Southern Arizona teams. I think you’re going to have to go through Nogales and they’re very good," Gardner said. "I think (4A) is a lot more balanced this year.

Last year, the coach thought his team was the one capable of knocking off Nogales. But the Mustangs had a bad quarterfinal against Tempe Marcos de Niza, as five errors contributed to a 7-5 quarterfinal loss.

This group, Gardner said, does not seem to be as weighed down by expectations as previous squads.

"They’re just different this year. They’re optimistic and go into games with that approach," Gardner said.

Snodgrass agreed, saying the team has a unique ability to stay upbeat and calm in pressure situations.