An amazing run for Denton Ryan ended on a bitter note last year.

After setting a school season record for wins with 35 and winning its first district title, Denton Ryan lost, 7-3, to Boerne in the Class 4A state championship game.

The team was down, and players were shedding tears. So after the game, coach Aimee Foutch took her players to dinner at ... Chuck E. Cheese's.

"We were depressed," senior infielder Whitney Haynes said. "It was not a fun time at Chuck E. Cheese's."

Foutch said something positive came out of that loss. Now her team believes it is capable of winning a state title and is hungry for another chance.

"You can always use that for inspiration," Foutch said. "I think you always want in the back of your mind a redo."

Denton Ryan lost only three starters. Senior pitcher Brysten Luster, who was 25-5 with a 1.03 ERA, returns. Haynes, who batted .328 with 28 RBIs, and Jessie LaMonica, who had a .302 batting average with 19 RBIs, are back for their senior years.

Players said they overcame the loss in the final but haven't forgotten how it felt to play in that game.

"Seeing the fans stack up and hear people cheering your name and your team, it was awesome," Luster said. "I can't wait to get back. I get goose bumps just talking about it."

Garland will try to accomplish something no Texas team has done since softball became a UIL sport in 1993: win three state titles in a row.

"What a great accomplishment that would be for the kids and for Garland High School," coach Cindy Mosteller said.

But don't expect any inspirational speech from Mosteller about going for the three-peat. She wants her team, the 2006 and 2007 Class 5A state champions, to focus on the task at hand.

"We kind of enforced that the past can't tell the future, and we need to make our own future," Mosteller said.

She learned that from a former roommate at Baylor, Keller Fossil Ridge coach Laura Moore. Moore coached a Crowley team that fell short of a three-peat after winning 4A titles it in 2003 and 2004.

Garland has a record of 106-12-3 over the last three seasons, including 38-9-2 last year, and the team has played in three consecutive 5A state title games. Garland is No. 1 in the preseason 5A state rankings, and it has six returning starters, led by senior pitcher Tomi Garrison. The Sam Houston State signee was 26-6 with a 0.53 ERA and 305 strikeouts in 2007.

Garland lost its top three hitters from last year but has plenty of offense left with Garrison (.323, 33 RBIs), outfielder Rose Stubbs (.295, 27 RBIs) and Texas State signee Fra'Shekia Knight (.330).

Garland will be tested in District 10-5A. Rowlett tied Garland for first in 10-5A and reached the regional quarterfinals in '07, and Rockwall won more than 20 games each of the last four years.

Even during the chilly days this preseason, Waxahachie senior first baseman Sherri Polanco said she didn't miss the sunny California weather.

"It's not as good as you think," she said. "I lived there my whole life."

Polanco moved from Lathrop, Calif., in the middle of her sophomore year so her mother, Ginger, could be closer to her uncle. They landed in Waxahachie because that's where a realtor found the perfect six-bedroom house for Polanco and her four siblings.

Polanco has signed with Texas Woman's University. She was named District 15-4A MVP last season after hitting .633 with 15 doubles, 10 triples, five home runs and 44 RBIs.

"She has made everybody else step up their game," assistant Jim Miller said. "She was good for them, and they were good for her about making her feel at home."

Miller took over the team after coach Joni Vaughan went on maternity leave. Vaughan should be back sometime next month.

Having third baseman Jocelyn Roberts (.446, 35 RBIs) and catcher Brianna Banda (.423, 37 RBIs) around Polanco provides a solid middle of the batting order for Waxahachie.

Waxahachie was 27-6 and won the District 15-4A title last season, but it lost in the third round of the playoffs to Arlington Seguin, a team it beat twice in district play. This season, Waxahachie looks for a longer playoff run with eight seniors and all but one starter returning.

"I don't expect anything less than state," Polanco said.

Not only did McKinney North's best pitcher, Kristen Adkins, graduate, but the team also lost its head coach, Debbie Evans, who went to Allen to be an assistant.

Adkins, who is now playing for Florida, set team season records for wins (33) and strikeouts (323) in 2007. And Evans led McKinney North to its first trip to the state tournament, losing in the Class 4A semifinals to Denton Ryan.

After a couple of major changes, you would expect players to have some concerns. But at least during practice, no one could tell with the music blasting from the speakers and the players singing during drills.

"It's going to be a really fun team to play on," said team captain Kathy Shelton, a junior who has orally committed to Baylor. "We have a lot of fun being goofy, but at the same time being intense."

When coach Dan Sedgwick took over, he said he didn't change a successful recipe and relied on assistant coach Laura Brent to help him get to know the team better.

"I tried to come in and keep the status quo," he said. "I don't want to make them feel uncomfortable with a bunch of changes."

Senior Ashliegh McLean and junior Lindsay Collings will fill the void at pitcher. They should receive good run support with a lineup that includes Shelton (.368, 36 steals) and Louisiana Tech signee Amanda Parsonage (.300, four home runs, 24 RBIs).

"I think we'll be OK," Shelton said.

— Greg Riddle

— Greg Riddle

May 1-2: SPC tournament, Fort Worth

May 8-10: TAPPS state tournament. Semifinals in Waco, finals in Belton

May 29-31: UIL state tournament, Austin

— Greg Riddle