Last year, the BSM Softball team saw its season end with a loss in the third-place game of the Minnesota State High School League (MSHSL) State Softball Tournament. After a successful offseason and spring training in both Cape Coral and Fort Myers, FL, the BSM Softball team is looking to improve upon last year’s State Tournament ride.

With the season starting, it’s clear that the work level for the team will be increasing. “We did some work in the offseason and worked out with Coach [Joe] Creer. Now that the season is starting, we will be practicing every day after school when we don’t have a game,” junior captain Hattie Hoffman said.

The opportunity to go to Florida over spring break was one that will hopefully benefit the team in the long run, as senior captain Sedona Brown explained. “The opportunity to go somewhere warm where we can really play softball [was] helpful. We scrimmaged a very good team in Florida—one with a lot of past success—and I was very pleased with how we performed,” Brown said.

The team lost some key seniors last year, in Jaime Dritz, Abby Wilgers, and Lilly Johnson, but it’s how they fill those gaps that will determine their success this season. “Lilly was our best pitcher, Abby was an excellent fielder, and Jaime was a great catcher. We have some young girls that I think can step up this year and fill those gaps, along with improving their own games for the future,” Hoffman said. Sophomores Izzy Fleming and Annabelle Hilson will play key roles in filling the positions held by Dritz and Johnson, respectively.

If anything, the ladies’ toughest competition comes during the regular season, playing in the stacked Metro West Conference, with teams like Chanhassen, Bloomington Jefferson, and Chaska. “We have a really tough schedule, but it will benefit us. We play a lot of AAAA teams during the regular season—with some being some of the top teams [in the State]. Since we are in AAA, the higher competition really benefits our game,” Brown said.

With the season opener fast approaching, the team has a vision in mind for this season. “We would like to build upon our Conference performance from last year, and ultimately make it back to the State Tournament,” Hoffman said. The Red Knights will begin the season on the road, as they battle the Richfield Spartans in a Metro West Conference matchup on Tuesday, April 11, at 4:30 pm.