The softball regular season has come to a close, and four area teams are aiming to make some postseason magic. Here’s a look at how Chaska, Chanhassen, Holy Family and Southwest Christian stack up heading into the final weeks of the season.
Section 2AAAA
Chaska (8-11) has a chance to play spoiler once again in the postseason after pulling off two upsets in last season’s section 2AAAA tournament.
Juniors Corina Coppersmith and Ava Blake have helped the Hawks’ production at the plate. Coppersmith leads the team in home runs (four) and RBI (23) and has a batting average of .456 while Blake leads the team in batting average with .476. Coppersmith has also been Chaska’s top pitcher with a 6-2 record and 28 strikeouts.
Production at the plate has been key for the Hawks throughout the season. Chaska has averaged 9.3 runs per game in seven wins and 4.3 in its 11 losses.
Chaska has a 3-5 record against section 2AAAA opponents, with wins over Eden Prairie, Waconia and Chanhassen in April and losses to Minnetonka and Bloomington Jefferson twice including falling to the Storm and Wildcats in the respective rematches. Chaska will likely be the seventh seeded team in a deep section tournament field.
After winning the section 2AAAA crown the previous two seasons, Chanhassen (6-11) will have a more difficult path to try and win a third.
Senior Karina Tollberg has a .467 batting average, 15 RBI and three home runs to lead the Storm while senior Maren Browning has a .342 batting average. Fellow senior Greta Christensen has the most innings pitched with a 2-9 record and 34 strikeouts.
Despite an eight-game losing streak in the middle of the season, the Storm have won three of their last four games, averaging 9.25 runs per game. Chanhassen has a 1-4 record against section foes, losing to Bloomington Jefferson twice, Waconia and Chaska but also beat Chaska.
The Storm have regularly been one of the top teams in section 2AAAA but will likely be the eighth seeded team in 2023. The field is deep with six of eight teams sporting a winning record.
Section 5AA
Holy Family (11-8) has bounced back to secure a winning record for the first time since 2012 and now are looking to carry that success into the postseason.
Junior Sydney McGuirk leads the Fire with a .484 batting average, 27 RBI and six home runs. Senior Melanie Stewart-Hester is close behind with a .452 batting average and 18 RBI.
In the circle, juniors Phoebe Johnson and Tamara Mackey have been splitting pitching duties. Johnson has thrown more innings while Mackey has a 6-2 record, 41 strikeouts and a 3.72 ERA.
Holy Family started out on fire with a 6-2 record and has worked its way to second in the Wright County East Conference standings. The team has a 2-3 record against section 5AA opponents, beating Southwest Christian and Spectrum while losing to Maranatha Christian Academy, Providence Academy and the Stars. Holy Family is currently seventh in the standings of a 13-team section.
Despite a sub-.500 record, Southwest Christian (6-13) has not sustained a losing streak longer than three games this season, and now the Stars are aiming to string together some wins in the postseason.
The Stars have found success at the plate. In 18 games, Southwest Christian has averaged 7.1 runs and scored nine runs or more seven times.
While the team has not had long losing skids, Southwest Christian’s longest win streak was three games in early May when the team beat Jordan and then Mayer Lutheran twice in a double header.
The Stars have a 1-3 record against section 5AA opponents, beating Holy Family in the second meeting between the teams and losing to Spectrum, Watertown-Mayer and the Fire. Southwest Christian currently is 12th out of 13 teams in the section 5AA standings.
Section tournament play begins May 22, with games running through May 31. The state tournament will take place June 8-9 at Caswell Park in Mankato.