One of the state’s oldest baseball programs played old school ball.

Its starting pitcher entered the game with a new found confidence.

The result was a state championship.

The Bisbee Pumas just needed Tempe Diablo Stadium’s infield to take control early, when they bunted safely three times. While Bisbee was moving runners over and scoring, Jose Mendez was in control on the mound during his team’s 7-2 victory over 2A’s No. 1 seed Phoenix Christian.

Saturday’s achievement was a couple of years in the making. The Pumas won just six games in 2020 and 21.

That’s when Bisbee sought coach Todd Hammett to return to the program he had coached at since 2001 but left in 2021. With Hammett on board, Bisbee then rebuild the program, winning its first title since 2008, when legend Mike Frosco was its head coach.

Frosco recently was inducted into the state’s High School Athletic Coaches Hall of Fame. This season, Bisbee, which won its sixth title in its eighth state title appearance, certainly returned to prominence.

The Pumas put pressure on 26-3 Phoenix Christian from the outset, when a Horacio Olivarria triple and Anthony Molina suicide squeeze scored two runs in the first inning.

After two bunt singles, Bisbee’s leadoff hitter, Sebastian Lopez, brought in two more runs with a single in the second inning. In total, Bisbee (13 hits) attempted five bunts, with four of them going for hits.

“The seniors that we have this year,” Hammett said, “there are only three of them that stayed when we won (six games). For those seniors to stick around and to buy in to this program, and to buy in to what I was asking them to do, like tonight play small ball and give yourself up, the seniors bought in first and brought the rest of the guys with them.”

Lopez eventually replaced Mendez, a senior who pitched a solid 6 1/3 innings while scattering eight hits.

But before stepping off the mound, Mendez received some well-earned congratulatory hugs from teammates as the song You’re the Best was aptly played at the stadium.

He held the 2A runner-up to a season low in runs. 

“I’m crying because of all the excitement,” said Mendez, who also went 2-for-4 with an RBI. “At first I was struggling at the start of the season. But for this state title game I had to give it my all for my last high school game.”

Mendez’s batterymate, Bryan Martinez, went 3-for-4 for Bisbee, the No. 3 seed, which finished with a 23-6 record.

Kevin Palafox, Mason Inman and Xavier Gutierrez each had two hits for Phoenix Christian. Bisbee and Phoenix Christian will return a majority of their starters next season, so this might not be the last time they see each other.