The story hasn’t changed over the past three years in the 3A championship.

Valley Christian beat Yuma Catholic. It did so again Monday, when the Trojans won 6-5 to three-peat at Tempe Diablo Stadium. 

What also didn’t change was pitcher Cameron Bergloff getting the start—for the fourth consecutive time in the 3A state championship game. It’s a rare feat, and so is being the winning pitcher three years in a row.  

“I just want to give the glory to Jesus,” Bergloff said. “Without Him I could not have done that, honestly."

The senior pitched 6 1/3 innings and walked out to a well-deserved ovation. 

The Valley Christian baseball program also deserves an ovation, because it extended its win streak against in-state opponents to 47. But it got another battle from Yuma Catholic, the Arizona team that's come the closest to beating the Trojans in the past two-plus years.    

They have played in three one-run games over the past two seasons. Before settling down, Yuma Catholic jumped on Bergloff, scoring three runs in the first innings. 

Yuma Catholic also scored a couple of runs in the seventh before Ryan Sanchez ended the threat, striking out the final batter. Valley Christian coach Vince LaGatta showed a lot of respect to the entire Yuma Catholic team and coaching staff, saying they displayed great effort.

While Yuma Catholic’s season ultimately ended in heartbreaking fashion, head coach Judd Thrower was proud of the way his players rose to the occasion in their third straight championship game appearance. 

Yuma Catholic fought all the way to the very end. (Hayden Hartigan photo/AZPreps365)

“It’s a great bunch of kids, and they fight every chance they get,” said Thrower, whose seniors left everything they had on the field. 

When it made its final stand in the top of the 7th, Masen Urquijo got on base before Daniel Ruiz delivered an RBI double. 

A Valley Christian error allowed another run to score. The crowd inside Tempe Diablo Stadium began to recognize the significance of the moment. 

Bergloff then exited the mound to cheers from the Trojan crowd before handing the ball over to Sanchez, a junior reliever, with the tying run on base. Sanchez battled through pressure immediately, allowing a run to score off a wild pitch before walking Grayson Morris when they were one strike away from ending the game. 

However, given a second chance to end the game, Sanchez delivered a game-ending strikeout to seal the victory.

“We’ve been resilient all season long,” LaGatta said. “We just wanted to make sure we didn’t get too high or too low early in the game. Just to keep our mental approach the same. I think our guys fought and it’s a testament to our team.” 

Along with recording the save, Sanchez drove in one RBI offensively for VCHS. Bergloff pitched five scoreless innings after the 3-0 start. 

The first inning started out rough for Bergloff with Yuma Catholic coming out with all gas and no brakes. Leadoff batter Erik Topete started off by getting on base with a single before a groundout by Ruiz advanced him to second base. 

Yuma Catholic capitalized quickly after that. Jose Alatorre drove in Topete with an RBI double before Hiram Silva followed with an RBI triple to extend the lead to 2-0.  

Morris later added an RBI single to give the Shamrocks a 3-0 lead, prompting a meeting at the mound. 

But LaGatta said they knew Bergloff would settle in because of the character and fight he possesses on the mound. Bergloff immediately responded with two strikeouts to end the inning and leave two stranded Yuma Catholic runners on base.

This moment would prove to be critical. It took Valley Christian a while to respond, but in the third inning Parker Spade connected on a single before Will Waggoner walked.

The MVP of the game, Brock Jackson, then took advantage of the opportunity and ripped an RBI single through the right side to score Spade, cutting the deficit to 3-1. 

Sophomore Nate Danzeisen followed with a sacrifice fly to bring Waggoner home before Sanchez added another sacrifice fly to tie the game at 3-3. 

Valley Christian took control in the fourth inning after Derek Arold reached on a leadoff single. A bunt single and defensive error later put two runners in scoring position before Spade delivered the biggest hit of the game. 

Spade ripped an RBI single past the third baseman before a series of errors scored another run and advanced Spade to third base, giving the Trojans their first lead of the championship game. Waggoner then followed with an RBI single to extend the lead to 6-3. 

While it looked like this game was wrapped up, Yuma Catholic (24-6) kept fighting. But Valley Christian (24-4) wasn’t about to give up something it also worked so hard for.  

“What helps us is our preparation,” Bergloff said. “In August we were out there working. Our team motto this year was ‘grind,’ and we just grinded our way through every single practice and every single game. Even though we started the season off 0-3 in Houston, we all found our way back and became the winners of a three-peat.”