Come playoff time, no one's afraid of a team that wins only three region games. In another region, Desert Hills might not have been in the postseason at all.

But that didn't mean the Thunder didn't belong: Their tear through the 3A tournament all the way to the cusp of the title game was a testament to coming together at the right time. And the players admit it might not have happened if Jerry Beck hadn't been at the helm.

The stunning run with a team that started up only three years ago makes Beck The Tribune's baseball coach of the year.

"He's a good guy who is loyal to his players," senior Darwin Johnson says. "He's not afraid to start players who are hot and make changes — he gives everyone a fair chance."

For a time, it seemed that all the lineup adjustments in the world couldn't help Desert Hills, which struggled to string wins together despite some impressive victories.

"There were glimmers of hope, like when we beat Skyline in the preseason," Beck says. "At that point, I saw the potential was there."

But potential didn't translate, and losses piled up. After Snow Canyon took down the foundering Thunder, Beck took a step back, too, but in a different way. Instead of yelling or getting in anyone's face, he gave the team a practice to itself, to figure out what it needed to work on.

The next day, Beck outlined the fundamentals and skills he wanted to work on, and from there, Desert Hills churned away. The Thunder rocked the postseason, beating Bear River, Delta and Carbon before succumbing to eventual finalists Juan Diego and Canyon View.

Not bad for a team no one would've picked to get close.

kgoon@sltrib.com