Alex Eisen/MDN Minot High's Landry Maragos rounds second base in a Class A girls softball game played last season at the South Hill Softball Complex in Minot.

The Majettes aren’t going to deny the obvious.

The Minot High School softball team put everyone on notice last season when it toppled Dickinson in the Class A softball state championship game, 4-2, to earn the program’s first ever state title. Now, with the 2019 season set to begin, a target has been placed on the Majettes’ backs. They know this.

Is that cause for concern, though? Not really, according to the team.

“You know, we haven’t even discussed it,” MHS head coach Gerard Cederstrom said. “We’re taking it day by day and trying to get better. We get to go outside and play, and that’s all we’re focused on right now.”

It’s this cool, calm and collected approach that Cederstrom has instilled in his group, as the Majettes enter the year with a focus on the present rather than the past or the future.

That present is today’s doubleheader at home against the same team Minot bested last year for the title. The Majettes will host Dickinson at South Hill Softball Complex for a pair of games starting at 4:30 p.m.

“I think starting off well is really important to kind of come out of the gates running,” senior Jaycie Rostad said. “We want to set the tone that we’re here to play and we won’t go down easy.”

The doubleheader serves as Minot’s first opportunity to get a feel for its new-look rotation in the aftermath of some key departures.

The biggest name not returning for the Majettes is undoubtedly Marisa Andrysiak.

The then-senior pitched all 21 innings of the Majettes’ state title run last season and ended the year with a 13-2 record, 113 strikeouts and a 3.27 ERA. Another pitcher no longer in the mix is Marley Foltz, leaving the team without pitchers with varsity experience.

Take away Rachel Dockter, Jessica Kessler and Rylee Terrel, all of whom also graduated this past summer, and the Majettes are left searching for new people to fill those holes.

It’s a search that will take time, says Cederstrom.

“We have a lot of questions,” Cederstrom said. “We have a lot of girls that we don’t know where they’re going to play and who is going to do what. That’s what we’re going to use these non-conference games for, just figure out the lineup and hopefully have a solid lineup by the end of the year.”

In the circle for the Majettes this year will be junior Amanda Spelhaug and sophomore Paige Ackerman, a duo that’s eager to take on a larger role in the rotation this time around.

With some youthful pitching, it’ll be up to Minot’s bats to give its two hurlers some breathing room on the scoreboard.

“We have a lot to work to do (in the circle),” Cederstrom said. “But (Spelhaug and Ackerman) have accepted the challenge, so we have a couple of pitchers that we feel are going to get out there and throw strikes. We just have to make plays behind them and score some runs.”

There to do just that is Rostad, a catcher whose “senior” classification doesn’t do her justice. Rostad is in her sixth season with the varsity team, and the veteran will look to be a calming presence behind the plate for her young pitchers should she stay in that position.

The Majettes are also returning their outfield, as senior Hailey Espe, senior Sophie Wedar, junior Jailee Britt and junior Landry Maragos are back in the mix.

For the infield, Minot has a pair of experienced players in Cambrie Pretzer at third base and senior Morgan Theis at second base.

It’s this core of veterans that the Majettes plan to lean on as they prepare for the new season. The rest of the pieces, Cederstrom says, will fall into place with time.

“Any times we can play games, it’s going to get kids reps in a live situation as opposed practice,” Cederstrom said. “We just have to grow. We’re a young team, but we just have to grow. We’ll figure it out.”

Justin Martinez covers Minot High School sports and Class B high school sports. Follow him on Twitter @JTheSportsDude.