Softball state tournament: Final four and champion predictions for each class

It was a streak so fantastic and impossible to ignore, it could have sabotaged an entire season.

But Spectrum softball coach Rick Marberg and his assistant were shrewd in how they handled the Stings’ remarkable undefeated, unscored-upon regular season.

Until a 6-2 victory over Rockford in the Class 2A Section 5 championship game Thursday, Spectrum had won 19 games without a loss. And all were shutouts.

The victory sends the Elk River 6-through-12 charter school to the state tournament that starts Tuesday in North Mankato. It’s the first state tournament appearance for any team sport at Spectrum.

After falling just short of the state tournament in 2024, Marberg said the team had high expectations for this season. But no one could have anticipated the dominant way Spectrum went about meeting and exceeding those expectations.

“I thought the girls handled the streak really well all season,” Marberg said. “We started calling it ‘The Thing We Never Talk About.’ It was something the girls took pride in, but it was never a goal.”

The scoreless streak came to an end in the finals, when Rockford, trailing 4-0, managed to plate a couple of runners in the top of the sixth inning.

“It didn’t seem to bother the girls at all,” Marberg said. “They just said ‘Let’s go get them back.’ And we scored in the bottom of the inning.”

The driving forces behind Spectrum’s spectacular regular season are the Wallschlaeger sisters. Junior Addy is the Sting’s top pitcher, 15-0 with a 0.15 ERA and 181 strikeouts. Freshman Reagan is No. 2 in the rotation, 5-0 with an unblemished ERA and 49 strikeouts. Both are equally adept at the plate. Addy is hitting .646 with five home runs and 33 RBI while Reagan is batting .519 with 22 RBI.

“And Reagan is going to be just as good a pitcher as Addy,” Marberg said. “She even throws a little harder.”

After a regular season to remember, Marberg told the team, which was seeded No. 5 in the Class 2A bracket, that it’s time to reset.

“We hadn’t really thought much about this part,” he said of how to approach the team’s first state tournament. “At the state tournament, every team is good. A lot of us are new at this. I told the team it’s time to refocus. We know we can play with anybody. Ultimately, we just want to be competitive.”

Brackets: Click here to see all four classes

In the quarterfinals: Expect No. 1 seed Forest Lake to get past No. 8 Edina, No. 2 Champlin Park to beat No. 7 Eagan and No. 3 Farmington to ease past No. 6 White Bear Lake. The best matchup of the quarterfinals looks to be No. 5 Brainerd vs. No. 4 Bloomington Jefferson. Looks like a toss-up, with Jefferson having a slight edge.

In the semifinals: A meeting of Forest Lake and Champlin Park, the Nos. 1 and 2 teams in the most recent state rankings, is setting up.

The champion: Forest Lake is making its 21st state tournament appearance and won the state championship in 2022. Experience matters.

In the quarterfinals: No. 1 seed Mankato East over No. 8 Simley, No. 2 Chisago Lakes over No. 7 Benilde-St. Margaret’s, No. 3 Cretin-Derham Hall over No. 6 Byron and No. 5 Rocori over No. 4 Becker.

In the semifinals: Mankato East and Cretin-Derham Hall advance, setting up a rematch of the 2024 Class 3A championship game.

The champion: And like 2024, Mankato East wins its third championship in a row, thanks to power-hitting pitcher Kylinn Stangl.

In the quarterfinals: No. 1 seed Randolph gets its defense of its 2024 title off on the right foot, beating No. 8 Esko; No. 2 St. Agnes squeaks past No. 7 Jackson County Central, No. 3 Lake Crystal-Wellcome Memorial takes a close one over No. 6 Hawley and No. 4 St. Cloud Cathedral solves No. 5 Spectrum.

In the semifinals: Resilient Randolph and slugging St. Cloud Cathedral advance.

The champion: Randolph pitcher Carter Raymond, the state’s grittiest player, leads the Rockets to their second straight title and third in the past five years.

In the quarterfinals: No. 1 seed United South Central over No. 8 Blackduck, No. 2 Clinton-Graceville-Beardsley over No. 7 Faribault Bethlehem Academy, No. 3 Moose Lake over No. 6 Badger-Greenbush-Middle River, No. 4 Braham over No. 5 Wabasso.

In the semifinals: Two teams that had undefeated seasons spoiled in their double-elimination section finals, United South Central and Clinton-Graceville-Beardsley, advance to the finals.

The champion: United South Central pitcher Mariah Anderson gets her reward for a stellar season on the rubber, winning the championship for the Rebels.