REDFIELD – The Redfield Muskrats hope to finish off the season in the same position they have been in all spring: on top.

The 15-0 Muskrats will face Winner-Colome in the final opening round game of the State B High School Baseball Tournament at 7:05 p.m. Monday in Sioux Falls. Other opening round matchups have Dell Rapids vs. Parkston-Tripp-Ethan at 12:05 p.m., Platte-Geddes-Dakota Christian-White Lake vs. Madison at 2:05 p.m., and Dakota Valley vs. West Central at 5:05 p.m.

“There’s a handful of teams that could win this,” said Redfield coach Tommy Gregg. “The field is loaded.”

The Muskrats faced Winner-Colome last season so they are somewhat familiar with their first-round foe.

“They’ve got some good-sized kids. They hit the ball well,” Gregg said. “Obviously, we’ll probably see their best pitcher. Historically, they run the bases very well.”

The Muskrats feature plenty of firepower of their own. The squad is coming off back-to-back 10-run rule victories in regional play and have only had a few close calls this season.

The team has a solid pitching crew led by Peyton Osborn and Fehi Faolenua, who complement each other with their contrasting styles.

“We feel like Peyton is as good as it gets. He’s more of a finesse guy. He’s sneaky. He knows how to pitch. He’s been through a lot of battles,” Gregg said. “Fehi, he’s our power guy. He can go out and get after you. He’s got a good fastball and he’s got a good breaking ball.”

Redfield is also potent at the plate with a variety of hitters throughout the lineup who can do major damage.

Gregg said what makes his hitters so tough is that they are not afraid to look at a few pitches and go deep into the count.

“I think our lineup is good enough, you might get us one time through, but these kids are smart enough to make adjustments,” Gregg said. That means quality at-bats throughout an entire game. “You’re not going to see us go up there and just swing at one or two pitches. We feel like our hitters are good enough to hit deep into counts.”

The key, according to Gregg, is when those hits come. Often, a timely hit can make the difference in tight post-season contests.

“It’s all about opportunities and I think in each game you’re going to have a couple or three opportunities,” Gregg said, “and whichever way they go, the team that gets more of those breaks is probably going to win.”

For the Muskrats, timely hitting, effective pitching and solid defense will play key roles in the push for a potential state championship.

“If we’ve got a guy on second or third with two outs, we’ve got to get him in,” Gregg said. “Our pitchers are going to have to be good and we’re going to have to play good defense.”

Redfield has set down every foe to date and is now just three victories away from achieving the ultimate goal of a state title (the American Legion squad finished runner-up last season and the Junior Legion won the state championship). Gregg believes in his players, but knows they will have to play well to accomplish the goal of winning the high school state crown.

“We’re going to have to put together three good games. The kids are all excited. We’ve got good momentum going down there,” Gregg said. “We’re living in the present. We’ve talked about goals all year long. It would be great to send these guys out on top, but it’s going to take three very good ball games, we know that.”