Forest Lake softball aims for another state tournament run

Through the first half of the high school softball season, the Forest Lake Rangers looking nearly unbeatable.

The Rangers won their first 11 games, doing so in convincing fashion. Senior pitcher Avery Muellner, in her sixth season as a varsity pitcher since making her debut with an appearance in the state tournament as a seventh-grader, was dominant on the rubber.

Led by catcher Karianne Drury, the offense averaged 11 runs per game. The defense, led by infielder Bella Dowdell, was sharp in the field.

Then the Rangers lost twice in one day in a tournament they hosted, falling to Rogers 2-1 and Bloomington Jefferson 3-0.

While he strives to prepare his team for success, coach Sean Hall acknowledged that losses can be valuable.

“When you’re winning, it’s easy to overlook certain things that may need to be corrected,” said Hall, who recently won his 500th career game. “Losing makes you take a look in the mirror.”

Hall is still satisfied with the team he puts on the field. He praised, for example, the work ethic of Drury, calling her “the hardest-working player I’ve ever had the chance to coach.” He raves about the leadership of Muellner, the ability of Dowdell to rise to the occasion and the ascension of freshman Annika Antonson, both on the rubber and at the plate. The Rangers are still, in Hall’s mind, one of the top four teams in the state.

“We’re very similar to the teams I’ve had for the last few years,” Hall said.

Forest Lake has made five consecutive trips to the state tournament and in 2022 won the Class 4A title. The Rangers’ focus is reaching the tournament this season.

“We have to worry about getting to the state tournament before we can think about what we do when we get there,” he said.