Elk River leapfrogged Centennial in the Class 4A coaches' poll from May 20. Now the Elks and Cougars will make their cases on the field Tuesday as to which is the better team.
Oh, by the way, Tuesday's game will also decide the regular-season champion in the Northwest Suburban Conference, as No. 2-4A Elk River and No. 3-4A Centennial are both unbeaten in conference play.
Annie Volkers leads the Elks (15-1, 12-0), hitting .525 with a home run and 20 RBIs. But she's most valuable in the pitchers' circle, where she has compiled an 11-1 record with four shutouts, a 0.78 ERA and 168 strikeouts in 81 innings. Her lone loss came in a 1-0 decision against No. 1-4A Stillwater on April 17.
Elk River's Avery Hills, who leads a powerful batting order, has seven home runs and 24 RBIs. Teammates Allie Voit and Greta Nelson have 19 RBIs apiece.
Centennial (16-1, 12-0) has pitchers Helene Krage and Maisy Dockendorf leading the way. Krage, hitting .531 with two home runs and 15 RBIs, is 6-0 with a 1.14 ERA and 75 strikeouts, and Dockendorf is 5-0 with a save and a 1.93 ERA.
Abby Lohse (3 home runs, 16 RBIs), Ella Fidler (2 home runs, 14 RBIs) and Maddy Ringen (1 home run, 11 RBIs) power the Cougars' lineup.
The Cougars last won the conference title in 2018 and Elk River shared the league title with Anoka in 2016.