“For us, this game was seeing us and seeing what we have,” Centennial coach Rick Thomas said. “It’s just taking things away and getting better from them.”

Besides playing outside, each team was going up against a tough pitcher. Maple Grove starter Maddie Wihlm and Centennial’s Helene Krage went toe-to-toe through the first three innings as neither team could register a hit.

“We were pretty sure it was going to be like this,” Maple Grove coach Jim Koltes said. “This is the first time we’ve faced a quality pitcher like (Krage).”

In the fourth inning, the flood gates finally opened. Maple Grove senior shortstop Elizabeth Berry broke the deadlock with a solo home run to make it 1-0 Crimson.

“I think it gave us the confidence to come out swinging,” Berry said. “Basically, we had to just get used to (Krage) going inside and then outside.”

Later in the inning, Maple Grove’d Dani Strom came around to score on an RBI double by Sam Gustafson. Both Strom and Gustafson struck out in their first at-bats against Krage.

“I just needed to keep my hands inside and go quick through the zone,” Strom said.

Krage had a chance to redeem herself and did so. With a runner on base, the senior hit a rocket to straightaway centerfield to tie the game up at two.

“It’s good for us to see the fight in what we have,” Thomas said. “It’s exciting to see the battle and fight we have in our kids.”

The game settled down again until the sixth inning when Strom came to the plate. She hit her second double of the day and drove in what proved to be the game-winning run. Strom, who also starred as the Crimson’s goalie during hockey season, is still getting into softball season.

“She’s just a really good athlete,” said Koltes, who is also the Crimson’s girls’ hockey coach. “She doesn’t even pick up a bat until two weeks before the season and does this.”

With just a one-run lead, Wihlm locked things down. In her first year as one of the main Maple Grove starters, the junior got her chance at a big game.

“Really, until you pitch in a game like this and get a win, it’s hard to get yourself on that map,” Koltes said. “This is a big win for her. This can only help her confidence.”

Following the game, pleasantries were exchanged by both sides. While the teams are familiar with each other and friendly, that energy may change if or when they meet in the Class 4A, Section 5 tournament. It seems likely at this point as they’ve met in the section final the past four seasons.

“We have a little more fun in the regular season,” Thomas said. “When sections come, it will get more serious.”