"We don't really think about what everybody else is going to do against us," Said Outfielder Christian Parra. "We just go out there and play our game and have fun while we're doing it."
This year's team is used to being among the teams to beat in the section.
"We just keep playing hard, and not worrying about the rankings," said Shortstop Seth Moranda. "We want to beat everyone's best, that's what we want to do."
And they're used to ignoring the lofty expectations, knowing full well that rankings mean nothing until the final game of the season.
For perspective, the Buchanan baseball team needs to look no further than one year ago. Clovis West was ranked number one during the regular season, only to lose to these Bears in the valley championship game.
"Can we learn from the past? Absolutely," said Buchanan Head Coach Tom Donald. "But we've been as a team ranked high going into the playoffs as a one seed or number one in the valley, and dumped games and [got knocked] out."
Which renders their number one ranking in the state this season completely useless until after the playoffs.
"It's not something we talk about," Donald said. "It's not something that we focus on. And I think that's how we are able to sort of put it aside. Because it really isn't as important as who we are playing on Friday."
