From 1986 to 2002, the Taylorsville baseball team won 10 state championships and became a dynasty in the state of Utah. But in 2010, the Warriors sank to unfamiliar depths, posting a disappointing record of 7-14 and failing to qualify for the state tournament.

The question coming into this season was simple: Could the team restore its pride and get back to its winning ways on the diamond?

"I feel like we had a good season," said Taylorsville pitcher Hayden Heugly. "It didn't end the way we wanted it to, but we got a lot done and we improved a lot from last year."

Taylorsville's No. 1 pitcher, Dalton Carroll, agrees."It was big," he said. "We made a big improvement from last year."

Taylorsville's improvements were many this season, starting with its record.

The Warriors went 18-9 and took third place in Region 3. And while they couldn't catch eventual 5A champion Bingham or second-place Copper Hills in region play, the team made it back to the 5A state baseball tournament.

"We wanted to win state," said Taylorsville coach Jake Brown. "We set our goal at that, and we knew that was a big step, but we were confident in it. We worked real hard at it, and so there's disappointment on our end."

On the other hand, Taylorsville players and coaches were gratified to see the team make significant progress from last year's dip.

"We still accomplished our goals," said junior shortstop Dallas Carroll. "Just turning our season around from last season to this season was good. Winning more games, making the playoffs and coming together as team [are the things to remember]."

The team's 18 wins this season were the most by any Taylorsville baseball team since 2007, when the team won 22 games and went to the 5A state championship. And when you play baseball at Taylorsville High School, there's always the expectation of winning.

Still, this team didn't feel particularly compelled to live up to the school's championship teams of the past. The players were merely trying to establish their own foothold.

"I don't know if we ever looked at it as being back or getting back to where it was," said Brown. "We have some lingering memories of what the program was in the past, but most of the kids we're dealing with don't have any memory of what the program was seven, eight, 10 or 15 years ago.

"We're dealing in different scenarios than they were and we have different kids. In terms of success, we're still on that path. I wouldn't compare our success to the teams of the height of the Taylorsville baseball dominance. We don't really look at [the program] as being back, but we're on the right track."

After losing its first-round playoff game at Cottonwood, the season could have ended on a sour note if the team hadn't rallied for a dramatic win against Region 1 co-champion Davis in the state tournament.

Trailing the Darts 3-2 in the seventh inning, Taylorsville's Marc Reynolds delivered a huge three-run homer to give the Warriors the lead and eventually a 5-4 victory. Brown believes his team finally realized what it was capable of that day.

"It was a big game, it was close all the way," said Dalton Carroll. "Marc, coming through the way he did, just gave us confidence."

"It was a lot of fun," said Heugly. "It gives us confidence knowing that we can come back against one of the better teams and that we can put together some runs."

It might have been the Warriors' biggest win of the season, not only because it extended the postseason run, but the dramatic comeback win instills confidence in a team that was feeling snakebit in close games. Taylorsville was on the short end of the stick in three one-run games this season, including its controversial 5-4 loss at Cottonwood. —

Getting better

Taylorsville's baseball team won 18 games this season, the most since 2007. And despite a 1-2 performance in the 5A state tournament, the Warriors are hopeful about their future.

Taylorsville loses eight seniors from this year's team. Key losses include: first baseman Marc Reynolds, pitcher Mike Springer and outfielder Austin Guevara.

Next year's team will be built around the pitching of Dalton Carroll and the hitting of shortstop Dallas Carroll. Further, pitcher Hayden Heugly and first baseman Jackson Roper will also be important cogs on next year's team.