At the helm for all six Class 2A softball state tournament appearances in the past eight years, St. Anthony Village coach Lamar Brendemuehl thought he had seen most everything.
That is, until his Huskies battled back through the section playoffs losers' bracket and won the championship in walk-off fashion. Both were firsts in Brendemuehl's successful tenure.
The path of most resistance led St. Anthony back to the state tournament. The Huskies (21-6) open at 9 a.m. Thursday at Caswell Park in North Mankato (19-5) against LeSueur-Henderson.
Once reliant on dominant starting pitching, this Huskies' outfit "needed offense to support our pitchers," Brendemuehl said. They got plenty. St. Anthony Village scored 241 runs in 27 games (8.9 runs per game). Rosie Robberstad clubbed a program-record 10 home runs this spring.
The Huskies proved adaptable in the playoffs, winning twice by 2-1 scores, including the deciding game against Visitation.
Coming to bat with the score tied 1-1 in the bottom of the seventh, St. Anthony received singles from Emma Bradt and Maija Beguhl. A wild pitch moved them to second and third. After an intentional walk to Kelly Lawson, Robberstad came to the plate with one out.
Her shallow fly ball was scooped up by Visitation's charging left fielder. But Bradt tagged from third base and slid home safely for the victory.
St. Anthony Village and Visitation played five times this spring, splitting two regular-season games before renewing pleasantries in the Section 4 playoffs. Visitation dispatched the Huskies to the loser's bracket but they refused to relent.