Win or lose we’ll never forget. Forever an (Corona del Sol) Aztec.

—From a sign posted Wednesday at Maryvale Baseball Park.

Still dealing with the raw emotions of tragically losing a classmate and playing without its head coach, Corona del Sol’s baseball team took the field and battled to the very end.

Despite losing its Divison I baseball playoff elimination game, the Corona del Sol High School community should feel proud of the way its boys competed against an excellent Liberty team. That they took the field and competed the way they did a day after Marcus Wheeler, the school’s well-liked cross country state champ, took his life speaks volumes about the character of Corona del Sol’s baseball team.

The team was dealt another blow when it learned that head coach Dave Webb had to miss Wednesday’s game so doctors can find the right medication to treat a heart issue. Webb should be out of the hospital he's at in a couple of days.

In charge of Corona del Sol’s team Wednesday was assistant coach George Sanchez. Sanchez, a nine-year biology teacher at Corona del Sol, assistant coach Tanner Vesely and a school resource officer were with Wheeler when he shot himself.

“I’m doing alright,” Sanchez said. “It keeps running through my head. It was a tough thing to see, a tough thing to be around. But like I said the staff, everyone reacted amazingly. We locked the school down. Closed everything up. Everybody did what they needed to do. But it doesn’t make it any easier.”

The soft-spoken Sanchez was gracious with his time after the game as he answered questions from the media.

Coach Webb always is thinking about others and has his boys do community work.

This season, Webb and his team shaved their heads to show support for Corona del Sol volleyball player Ridge Vanderbur, who was suffering from acute myeloid leukemia.

Venderbur passed away in April. The school honored Vanderbur, releasing balloons during a ceremony at school after Vanderbur died.

“It was really a tough year for the campus as a whole, emotionally with all of the things that went on,” Sanchez said. “We are extremely proud of this (baseball) group. They did a great job and battled. They never gave up. We told them it was one of the most fun groups we’ve been around.”

Corona del Sol banged out 11 hits against Liberty in the 5-2 loss at Maryvale Baseball Park. Corona del Sol brought the tying run to the plate after two singles in the seventh inning but a fly out ended the game.

“I feel bad for them (Corona del Sol) that they had to play this game under these circumstances,” Liberty coach John Freitas said.