Sometimes, the stars align and everything falls into place for something truly special.

In 2015, the Cascade Champion baseball team fit that description to a tee.

Competing in arguably the toughest Class 2A district after the latest round of realignment, Cascade never could seem to find its footing throughout the regular season.

In the District 12-AA tournament, something happened—a flip was switched and Cascade began what was arguably the greatest Cinderella run in school history.

That run was highlighted by the Champions' state sectional thumping over Martin Luther King.

The unlikeliest of all teams, Cascade secured its spot in the state tournament by crushing MLK 13-0, highlighted by a record night by then-senior Sam Gardner.

Gardner made sure there was no doubt the Champions belonged among the best teams in the state, competing for the Class 2A title.

He crushed three home runs and drove in 10 RBIs to send Cascade back to the state tournament for the second time in four years.

"If any team deserved this reward, it's this team. The camaraderie and the closeness, this team's got all that," then-coach Brandon Bassham said.

Cascade scored in every inning before reaching the 10-run rule limit in the fifth frame.

Gardner got the scoring frenzy started after he was green-lit on a 3-0 count, which he promptly crushed over the left field fence to put Cascade up 3-0.

"I kind of figured he had to come back fast ball, and I was right and he just put it in the wrong spot," Gardner said.

Cascade continued to find ways to put runners on base and some timely hitting allowed the Champs to build a 9-0 lead into the fifth inning.

With the bases loaded, MLK had no option but to pitch to Gardner, who had launched his second homer in the fourth inning, sent the Champions to the Spring Fling in style—a game-ending grand slam.

Gardner went on to finish the state sectional game 3-for-4 at the plate.

As a team, the Champions hammered MLK pitching for 14 hits, while senior Heath Presley kept the basepaths clear.

He took the win on the mound and gave up just two hits.

The 2015 run by Cascade mirrored the Champs' last run to the state tournament.

A challenging regular season left Cascade as the No. 4 seed in the district tournament in both runs.

But both times, Cascade was able to find a way to get hot at the right time.

In 2012 and 2015, Cascade went on to finish third in the state.

During the 2015 run, following the reclassification, Cascade was the smallest Class 2A school in the state, which Bassham said made the postseason run even more memorable.

"I think that just makes it sweeter," Bassham said. "The teams we play, sometimes we're almost doubled in enrollment."

Simply making it to the state tournament wasn't enough for Cascade.

Bassham's challenge to the team was to stay hungry and ride the wave as long as they could.

After the sectional victory, Cascade followed with wins over Lexington and Knoxville Catholic.

Following the second state tournament win over Knoxville Catholic, Cascade dropped two-straight games to the Fighting Irish.

Knoxville Catholic went on to lose to CPA in the Class 2A state tournament—the same CPA team Cascade had defeated nine days earlier in the Region 6-AA championship.

Cascade finished with a 28-14 overall record and as the third-best Class 2A school in the state.

MLK 000 00 — 0 2 2

Cascade 311 26 — 13 14 1

WP – Presley

Cascade: Sam Gardner 3-for-4, Colton Weaver 2-for-3, Seth Gardner 2-for-3, Chandler Monajjem 2-for-4, Drew Taylor 1-for-1, Brady Parker 1-for-2, Heath Presley 1-for-3, Tae Patton 1-for-3, Hayden Sliger 1-for-3.