In preparing for the Class 2A softball state tournament, Le Sueur-Henderson coach Eric Lewis talks about his team’s one-game-at-a-time approach. The Giants were runners-up in 2014.

At the same time, Maddie Damon, all-everything pitcher for defending Class 2A champion Kasson-Mantorville, isn’t about to talk about a repeat. Her message is — you guessed it — about taking things a game at a time.

Clearly, neither team is taking chances when it comes to something softball fans hope to see: a rematch in the finals between Damon, a senior who will compete at Purdue next season, and Le Sueur-Henderson’s Carlie Brandt, a junior who has committed to Minnesota.

The KoMets have shown a vulnerability this season that wasn’t there last year, when they finished 28-0. They’ve lost twice and have been without all-state catcher Cori Kennedy, who tore an ACL in her knee during the basketball season.

But they’re peaking at the right time. Damon has shut out five consecutive opponents and 13 of the last 14.

“We’re a different team this year,” Damon said. “We’re a lot younger, with less experience. All of the girls are working super hard, and I’m trying to be the role model.”

Le Sueur-Henderson hopes the gap has narrowed, having lost just two players from last year. The team has no seniors and is led by Brandt and a host of experienced juniors like outfielder Mandy Doerr, a .354 hitter with 19 RBI.

“We have six players who started as freshmen, so the biggest jump for us is what we do mentally,” Lewis said. “You see it when we go up to the plate. In pressure situations, they’ve got smiles on their faces. Mandy is a perfect example of that. When there’s someone on base, she wants to be up there. And if she strikes out or pops out, she says, ‘Get me up there again.’ ”

A rematch is far from certain, however. Visitation is ranked No. 1 in the state coaches association poll and has an ace on the rubber in senior Kierstin Anderson-Glass. The Blazers have a tough road of their own, facing New Ulm, which won back-to-back state titles in 2012 and 2013, in the quarterfinals.

“Once you get to this point,” Lewis said, “every team is good.”

 

Class 3A

Star Tribune Metro Player of the Year Sydney Smith has been pitching for No. 1-ranked Maple Grove for four years, yet the senior has yet to win a state championship. That is first and foremost on the minds of Smith and her teammates.

“This is our last chance,” Smith said. “We weren’t ready [for Lakeville South] in the finals last year. We’ll be more prepared this year.”

The bracket features Eastview, led by first-team All-Metro pitcher Kerrigan Hoshaw; Becker, which has lost just once and has a pair of pitching stalwarts in Haley Harmon and Brianna Corey; Anoka, whose only loss this season has been at the hands of Maple Grove; and Chanhassen, a group of sluggers that hit .455 as a team and clubbed 33 home runs.

 

Class 1A

Will this be the year New Life Academy returns to the top of the heap? The Eagles are making their 10th straight state tournament appearance. They won four titles in a row from 2008-2011 and have been runners-up in 2013 and 2014. Pitcher Valerie Hohol and catcher Malorie Giere make up the state’s best battery, regardless of class.