Tom Mauldin, coach of the Bend High softball team, has a saying that he passed along to his players in the early stages of the the 2022 season: “Boys have to win to have fun, girls have to have fun to win.”

It is a saying that will likely be repeated throughout a Lava Bears season that comes with heightened expectations as a state title contender.

“They are a little more serious about their approach to everything,” said Mauldin. “But they are going to have fun. And when they have fun, they are a really good team.”

The Lava Bears improved to 3-0 on the year with a 6-0 win over Roseburg on Saturday afternoon. They have notched wins over Ridgeview (11-0) and The Dalles (2-1) in the first week of the season.

“We are just playing one pitch at a time and trying to make the most out of our season,” said Addisen Fisher, who won the Oregon Gatorade Player of the Year as a freshman. “I’m just happy to be here. I love my team more than last year, which I didn’t think was possible.”

Last year, Bend certainly made the most of its season that was shortened due to COVID-19, winning 18 of 19 games, shutting out their opponents in 14 of those wins.

Although Bend would finish the year with wins over Sheldon, Thurston, South Salem and McNary, most of the damage was done against local competition. And without a normal schedule or postseason playoffs, gauging how the Lava Bears stacked up against the state’s top teams was nearly impossible.

“It was an abbreviated season and we were ready to go further than we did,” said junior Gracie Goewey. “We were kind of disappointed.”

That is not the case this spring with all signs pointing to a traditional year on the diamond for the first time since 2019.

With 10 of the Lava Bears’ top players returning from last year the Lava Bears found themselves ranked No. 1 in the preseason OSAA coaches poll and are considered one of the favorites to claim a state title at Jane Sanders Stadium in Eugene on June 4.

“We can’t think about that,” said Mauldin. “We want to have a successful preseason, then we want to win league. As long as we focus on the next pitch, then that will keep us from feeling pressure. I’ve played this game and coached this game a long time, and it’s always won on the field.”

But talking about what could happen in June while still in the middle of March is taboo for a still relatively young team with only three seniors on the roster.

“No one talks about June,” said Goewey. “We just have to focus on March. We don’t know what is going to happen in June, we have to focus on March.”

Still, there is a sense of enthusiasm for what is on the horizon for the team in blue and gold.

“We are here to have fun,” said Fisher.

“We play really good when we are having fun, playing loose and playing our game. That is what are trying to do and reflect in our playing this year.”

“We are just playing one pitch at a time and trying to make the most out of our season. I’m just happy to be here. I love my team more than last year, which I didn’t think was possible.”

— Addisen Fisher, Bend High softball player