If any team personifies the ability to not just rebuild but reload, it’s St. Anthony Village’s softball team.

The Huskies lost six starters from last season’s Class 2A state runner-up team, a group that set a school record with 243 runs scored, and came back to score 255 so far this spring.

Enhanced batting, combined with solid pitching and defense, have the Huskies back in the state tournament for the sixth time in the past eight seasons. St. Anthony Village (23-3), ranked No. 2 in Class 2A, opens state tournament play at 11 a.m. Thursday against No. 6 Kasson-Mantorville (22-2) at Caswell Park in North Mankato.

The Huskies hope to avenge last season’s extra-inning title-game loss to New Ulm.

“I think our returning kids wanted to set a tone that they were a pretty good team, too,” coach Lamar Brendemuehl said.

Veterans such as pitcher Sarah DeMars and shortstop Mary-Clare Couillard provided key pieces. But the emergence of juniors Kelly Lawson and Aiyana Ledwein sparked the lineup. The extra runs, Brendemuehl said, came on an estimated 20 additional hits — few of them bunts.

A title-game rematch with No. 3 New Ulm (20-3) is possible because the teams are on opposite sides of the bracket. Brendemuehl believes his team has what it takes to reach the final game.

“If we continue to be solid on the mound, play good defense and do what we know we can do at the plate, anything can happen,” he said.

 

North Suburban shines in adapted softball

Though North Suburban lost the CI (cognitively impaired) Division state tournament championship game, the Cougars left no doubt about their worthiness of being there.

The Cougars dethroned three-time defending state champion Anoka-Hennepin with authority, a 10-0 semifinal victory in five innings.

Sophomore Austin Titsworth, junior Tyler Engel and senior Kody Blatt each scored two runs, including a home run for Engel.

 

Brustuen takes Blaine girls’ basketball coaching job

Longtime assistant Chris Brustuen recently was named Blaine’s girls’ basketball coach.

In 2003, Brustuen joined Steve Reiter’s basketball staff at Blaine. Brustuen spent eight seasons with Reiter, coaching each of the lower-level teams for at least one season. He remained on staff as junior varsity coach when Michael Engelhaupt took the head coaching job.

Brustuen is married to Jessika Kappelhoff, a former all-state basketball player for the Bengals.

 

David La Vaque • 612-673-7574