John's Journal: New Site, Four New Softball State Champions

I admit it. I was just a little bit skeptical about holding softball state championship games at the University of Minnesota’s Jane Sage Cowles Stadium. I wasn’t concerned about the stadium itself, but I had worries about fans being able to find parking, I was worried about road construction on the campus, I was thinking about the lengthy walk some fans – including grandparents – may face in getting to the stadium, which like the baseball and track and field facilities is wedged between two railroad lines.

I also admit that I love Caswell Park in North Mankato. It’s a softball showplace, with six fields, a grounds crew that is world-class, terrific concessions and lots of green space under shady trees. It’s a very pleasant spot and North Mankato is a terrific host city.

As things turned out, I’d like to think we now have the best of both worlds in Minnesota high school softball. Playing quarterfinal, semifinal and consolation-round games at Caswell Park is a tradition that needs to continue, and moving the four championship games to Minneapolis worked out great Saturday.

Those opinions were affirmed as I left the softball stadium on Saturday night after a stellar day. The crowds were big and enthusiastic, the softball was excellent and the stadium is everything anyone could want. There were some glitches in the university’s online ticketing system but those kinds of things can be worked out in the future.

Saturday’s games were split into two sessions. Things started with the Class 4A title game between Champlin Park and Bloomington Jefferson at 9 a.m., followed by the 3A contest between Rocori and Byron at 11:30. Champlin Park won 6-0 and Rocori took home a state title with a 9-3 victory.

After that the stadium was cleared and there was a break before the final two games. In a contest that started at 4 p.m., St. Cloud Cathedral beat Hawley 7-2 in 2A, and the day ended with a 6:30 first pitch in a Class 1A final that saw United South Central slip past Badger/Greenbush-Middle River 2-0. The final out came at 7:41 p.m.

That capped a somewhat wild week of softball. Storms washed out what would have been the first day of games on Tuesday, resulting in a long day with two rounds of games on Wednesday. Third- and fifth-place games were held at Caswell Park on Thursday before the big show at the university on Friday.

And it was indeed a big show. Once fans found parking and followed the signs to the softball stadium, everyone settled into comfortable seats and cheered for their hometown kids. I will admit some sadness at seeing the long and glorious tradition of fans watching from lawn chairs become a non-thing at championship games, but that’s OK.

There certainly have been some strong dynasties in high school softball over the years, but this season ended with four first-time state champions. Champlin Park and United South Central had never even played in a state tournament, Rocori won it all in its 11^th state appearance and Cathedral won its first championship in its fifth appearance.

It’s hard not to feel bad for Badger/Greenbush-Middle River, which has been to state 12 times and was the state runner-up in 2015, 2016, 2019, 2023 and now 2025.

The best name in the softball tournament belongs to Hawley pitcher Eagan Hastings. Makes one wonder where her parents grew up.

The big roadblock for the BGMR Gators on Saturday was USC pitcher Mariah Anderson. She was the star of the tournament regardless of class, throwing three shutouts in three games, facing 62 hitters and striking out 52. She threw a perfect game with 13 strikeouts in a five-inning quarterfinal win over Blackduck, struck out 20 against Braham in the semifinals and fanned 19 on Saturday.

“Trying to score two runs off her can be tough,” said Badger/Greenbush-Middle River coach Kent Christian. “She's a good one, and you start doing a lot of praying in the dugout.”

—Anderson’s 20-strikeout semifinal game tied a record for the most strikeouts in a non-extra-inning state tournament game. The others to fan 20 were Rhiannon Sauter of Pine City in 2007 and Marah Hulke of Nicollet in 2022.

—The tournament record for strikeouts is 55 by Danielle Schmidt of New Life Academy in 2009. Anderson finished three short of that mark.

—The single-season record for strikeouts is 435 by Whitney Johnson of Lake Crystal-Wellcome Memorial in 2009; Anderson had 407 this year.

—And the state career record for strikeouts is 1,642 by Maddie Damon of Kasson-Mantorville from 2010 to 2015. Mariah finished the season with 1,373, and here’s the kicker … she has one more season remaining in her high school career.

(I wrote about USC and Anderson twice during the regular season. The first story was posted on April 11 and can be found here: https://shorturl.at/4ARFC. USC’s biggest win of the regular season came at home against defending 2A state champion Randolph on May 12. That story is here: https://shorturl.at/63m71)

United South Central came close to a state tourney bid last year, losing to eventual state champion New Ulm Cathedral in the Section 2 playoffs. The Rebels went 23-3 last year and 26-1 in 2025, losing a one-run game to Martin County West in the double-elimination section tournament before beating MCW 6-0 to earn a trip to state.

The Rebels will tell you that narrowly missing state last season was a large motivating factor this year.

“When we got the two seed in our section last year and we had to go through New Ulm Cathedral, we beat them in the first game and that was when I was like, ‘Wow, this team is for real,’ ” said Anderson. “But we didn't finish the deal last year, and then New Ulm Cathedral won the state championship.

“And the whole offseason our girls believed that they were going to state this year. They said, ‘We're gonna do it. We're gonna get there and we're going to win it.’ Last year we came up and watched the state tournament and went out to eat afterwards, and that's all we talked about.”

Anderson is almost an anomaly. Standing just 5-foot-3, she isn’t the typical long-armed, long-legged pitcher who windmills in the circle and fires darts from different angles. Mariah’s story is also interesting because she is a national-caliber gymnast. Her school is too small to have a gymnastics team but Mariah has been training at a gymnastics center in Mankato since she was very young.

The first time I saw the Rebels play this season, it seemed like folks figured Mariah would pursue gymnastics in college. Part of that reasoning was that college coaches would not waste time on an athlete who may not even want to play softball past high school.

After USC beat Randolph I asked Mariah where she stood on that question. She smiled and she said, “I may send emails to some softball coaches.” After the championship game, the question came up once more, including the insinuation that college softball coaches would have to be nuts to not pursue her.

Mariah said, “Well, after this it's hard to say no to softball. But we'll see.”

She didn’t have her best stuff right away in the state championship game. But once she settled in she was her usual dominant self. Badger/Greenbush-Middle River’s Quinn Vacura drew a bead on two of Mariah’s pitches, hitting two singles as the only Gator to reach base. Other than the 19 strikeouts and Quinn’s two hits, Anderson allowed one fly out to right field and one pop out to second base. The Gators managed to hit 14 foul balls.

“She didn't have her good stuff right away,” said USC coach Todd Schmidtke. “Her velocity was a little bit down but I think in her mind she was just saving a little bit, and then she started to bring it and it was very fun to watch.”

That encapsulates the entire day. Very fun to watch.

--Follow John Millea on Bluesky at @minnesotamillea.bsky.social. Contact John at [email protected]