Rocori’s players celebrate their 9-3 win over Byron in the Class 3A softball championship game Friday at Jane Sage Cowles Stadium. (Elizabeth Flores/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

In some ways, it was fourth try’s the charm for Rocori softball. In other ways, it was the 11th go-round. The Spartans had made the Class 3A state tournament the past three seasons, 10 times total. But they had never won a first-round game, never made it out of the quarterfinals.

Until Friday, at the University of Minnesota’s Jane Sage Cowles Stadium, when No. 5 seed Rocori capped its best season yet with a 9-3 state championship win over No. 6 Byron.

“You get the first victory in school history in the first round,” said Rocori head coach Derek Sauer, “and then you go do it two more times in a row. It’s amazing.”

For more on the Spartans' victory, click here to read this story on startribune.com.