ANOTHER TOURNAMENT RUN?

From the outfield grass at Jane Sage Cowles Stadium in Minneapolis, the sting of losing a state championship game was still fresh, but the sentiment was clear for Byron softball players and coaches.
This was only the beginning.
“I think it just really proves that we earned our spot here and we made it this is the best we’ve ever done as a Byron team in state…this is the best we’ve ever done and we should be really really proud of it we will be back next year,” sophomore Kaydence Fjerstad said after the game.
Fjerstad said a couple of years ago, their team lost to Winona in the section championship game.
A former coach told the team “we’re not done, we have a mission.”
Last week, after making it to the Class AAA state tournament for the first time in school history Fjerstad said it was a major milestone for the team’s history.
“Knowing we made it to state is a huge thing,” she said.
Head Coach Jacob Harmon, said this year’s team was young, and never experienced a state tournament run.
The team only graduates four seniors this year, meaning much of its key players from this year’s roster will be back.
“I would expect we will be right back in it next year, there’s no reason not to… our core is juniors and sophomore. I’m hopeful that we’ll bounce back and see if we can make another run next year,” Harmon said.
Junior Tallie Behrens told reporters after the game, Byron plays in a very competitive HVL conference. This past year, Kasson-Mantorville and Byron were co-champions. But Behrens said playing in a tough conference is also a positive, making each team better and better each week throughout the regular season.
She hopes a tough conference will help the team next year in the playoffs.
“If we can do this we can do more next year,” Behrens said.