Intelligence, athleticism, determination and experience were among the traits that characterized the Barnum girls basketball team en route to the school's first state championship last March.
Many of those same players will bring the same traits -- minus the experience -- to this week's Minnesota high school state softball tournament. But though this marks the Bombers' first state berth since 2002 -- long before any of the current members were on the team -- that doesn't mean they'll be at a disadvantage.
"This group definitely knows how to win," coach Randy Myhre said. "They've been in a lot of situations over the years and know how to get the job done."
Barnum (23-2) opens the Class A tournament with a quarterfinal game against six-time champion New Ulm Cathedral (22-3) at 11 a.m. Thursday at Caswell Park in North Mankato, Minn. The winner advances to play either Blooming Prairie or Menahga at 5 p.m.
"They're a load; New Ulm Cathedral has a dynasty in softball," Myhre said of the school that defeated Barnum 5-0 in the Bombers' lone championship game appearance in 1994. "They have top-notch hitters, great pitching and great defense. They are very, very good softball players."
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The same can be said about Barnum, which finished the season ranked third in Class A. Pitcher Katrina Newman is 15-1 with a microscopic ERA and a pair of no-hitters in the playoffs; fellow All-State selection Jessica Newman's .560 batting average leads the Northland; and Katie Myhre was equally adept at the plate or on the mound.
It's no surprise those three played key roles on the basketball team, too.
Randy Myhre says a combination of factors, from being students of the game to being honor roll students in the classroom to having a desire to train, are behind the success.
"You have a combination of skill and intelligence and athleticism that has been given to them by God but also developed in the weight room," he said.
His youngest daughter says the experience at the basketball tournament will benefit those players at this tournament.
"It helps us take a deep breath and relax and know that we have a shot at winning it," she said. "We won it in basketball, so why not softball? If we set our minds to it, we can do it."
However, a championship was expected from the top-ranked basketball team. That level of expectation isn't necessarily the same, Katrina Newman says.
"Softball's different because in basketball we had gone to state the past three years, but it's been a while for softball (since 2002)," she said. "Getting to state was exciting in softball. In basketball we had already done that so the next step was to win it all."
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Newman incorporated an effective dropball, riseball and change-up to her repertoire thanks to the help of former Duluth East coach Stan Karich, who assisted the team this spring.
"Stan Karich came in this season and made us a lot better this season," Katie Myhre said. "He knows a lot about softball so he helps out everywhere."
With a .359 team batting average and an 8.9 run per-game average, apparently all the players benefited. That team production is what makes coach Myhre the most proud.
"One or two players can make a difference, but one or two players don't make a team," he said. "You need a solid group to get to the state tournament, and I like the way everyone is contributing at this time. We're getting great contributions from everybody in our lineup."
