Success on the baseball diamond is nothing new for Ron Powell. In 13 seasons since founding the Cary Bulls American Junior Legion team, Powell has accumulated four state championships since 2002, collected more than 400 wins, and seen 53 of his players go on to play collegiate baseball including eight drafted to play professionally.

This year’s Bulls team is no exception to the success and talent of Powell’s past teams. As of Sunday, with four regular season games remaining, the Bulls boast a 35-2 overall record and a perfect 12-0 conference record and have clinched the conference championship heading into this weekend’s Eastern Qualifier Tournament held at USA Baseball Complex.

Though that regular season record is among the best Powell has coached, he and his veteran players know that the regular season success means nothing without the hardware of a state championship.

“There’s only one thing we worry about winning and that’s the state championship,” Powell said. “We’re a developmental program. What we do in the regular season is irrelevant as far as wins and losses. We don’t discuss it, we don’t talk about it. It’s not our goal. Our goal is to develop these young men as baseball players and also to give them some insight about what might be expected from college baseball.”

This year’s Bulls team will have to overcome the superstitious notion that the Bulls can only win championships in even years, as their four championships have come in each even year since 2002. More concerning to Powell than the superstition is that his team will be able to put individual accomplishments aside for the good of the team, a problem that he has noticed throughout the season.

“The thing about this year’s team that has been slow coming is they have not been a real good team, they’ve been [a] talented group of individuals,” Powell said. “That has worried me. I’ve said all along that my most talented teams to do not win [championships].”

Powell has ways he has tried to bring the team together and to think less about individual accomplishments. One rule he has is that no player can wear gear that represents their respective high schools.

It doesn’t matter who you played for or what you did in the past when you play for the Bulls. Powell also has pool parties and cookouts to help players and their families bond outside of baseball.

According to Joe Pistacchio, a rising senior at Green Hope High School, the close nature of the team off the field will reflect in a more selfless approach on the field when it counts.

“We’ve worked on that throughout the season. We’ve hung out together. We’re with each other all the time and we kind of look out for each other more than we did at the beginning of the season,” Pistacchio said. “We all really like each other, which translates to success on the field.”

Egos aside, the success of the Bulls this season has come from a dominating and deep pitching staff.

According to Powell, the Bulls boast six pitchers with ERAs of less than 1.00, all of whom who have pitched over 25 innings.

Powell said he can see as many as nine of his players going on to play Division-I college baseball. The main question facing the Bulls is whether they have been tested enough in the regular season and will be ready to sacrifice individual glory for the good of the team when they face better competition.

The fact that a handful of players from last year’s team, including Pistacchio, have won the state championship before should help answer those questions.

“Last year, I was just like [the younger players], not really knowing what the big deal about the state championship was and looking out for myself a little bit,” Pistacchio said. “But once you wear that ring, it’s a different sense of pride and it’s something you’re going to have forever. You never forget the feeling.”

The State Championship Tournament is set up similar to the College Baseball World Series, where this weekend’s East Qualifier Tournament is similar to a regional tournament. The Bulls, as conference champions, have received an automatic bid to the 12-team double elimination tournament Friday through Sunday and will look to advance to the State Championship Qualifiers in Asheboro.

Friday and Saturday’s games will be held at the USA Baseball Complex in Cary, an exciting facility for the young players, according to Powell.

If the Bulls have one of the top two records from Friday and Saturday, they will play in the championship at Athens Drive Sunday at 10 a.m., as the USA Baseball Complex did not secure a field for Sunday, though the venue is not hosting another event.

“It’s a great opportunity for baseball fans and people in Cary to come out and see some good baseball at a great facility,” Powell said.