The Sharyland Rattlers are taking on the state diamond on Friday.

The baseball team is now hours away from the 5A, Division 2 state championship game. The Rattlers are the fifth baseball team from the Rio Grande Valley to ever make it this far.

A water bottle shower fit for a champion, but for Santiago Soto and his teammates, the icy water was proof that the impossible is now reality.

"It's incredible. It was a dream like three years ago. It was a dream," Soto said.

To get to this point, it took more than just talent. It took a culture built on surviving the pressure and now he and his teammates are ready for the biggest game of their lives.

"We know the type of team we have and we're not nervous at all," Soto said.

At the center of the success — and the lineup — is Soto.

The team's cleanup hitter and leader in RBI this season. A force at the plate who carries the weight and the pride of his entire community on his jersey.

"A different type of grit. The 'I'm going to get the job done no matter how it's done.' Whether it's starting a rally or getting that RBI. It's a different baller kind of grit. The 'no matter what, it's possible.' Even if they're not feeling good, there's a way to find things to get good and it's going to be done," Coach Andrew Arteaga said.

Next stop, Dell Diamond, but as they pack their bags for the state championship game, the mindset remains strictly business. 

"Next week we're going to Round Rock. It's incredible, but we need to be humble and we need to be doing the same stuff that we've been doing that helped us win this game," Soto said. "Keep working and keep training. We need to keep doing the thing that we always do. The chemistry and always helping the teammates."

When asked what it would mean to become a state champion, Soto had this to say.

"Oh it's a dream and we know we can make it. Nothing in this life is impossible. We thought this time it was impossible and now we made it. I think we can become champions," Soto said.