The ADM softball team enjoyed a magical postseason run last year that ended with a disappointing thud. Despite significant roster turnover, the expectations being espoused by both players and coaches remains the same: win state.

The Tigers lost five seniors off last year’s 25-11 team that made it all the way to a regional final, when the ADM’s suffered a gut-wrenching 4-3 loss in which they lost the lead late. That group of departed players includes Jessica Wyant, who lead ADM with a .389 batting average, and catcher Hannah Tiffany, who helped junior pitcher Molly Jacobsen develop into a First Team All-State honoree.

ADM does have several strong returning starters, lead by Jacobsen and Second Team All-State selection Kenzi Sutton, a senior committed to play at DMACC next year. Sutton was ADM’s best offensive piece last season, hitting .361 with team-highs in both on-base percentage (.466) and slugging (.577).

Still, some young players will have to step up if ADM is to maintain its level of play from last season. Taylor Boorn is the team’s only other senior, and the rest of the roster is filled out with six juniors, five sophomores, three freshmen and six 8th graders.

Head coach Rick Dillinger is confident the Tigers can reload with young talent and again compete at a high level this season.

“Well we’re sure hoping so,” Dillinger said. “We’ve worked hard. We had kids hit 5,000 hits, so we did some of that. We’ve been pitching and catching in open gym situations, so the kids have made the effort to improve. We’ve got a lot of kids that are gonna be young, that are gonna step up, that is going to be [for some of them] their first-time experience, but we’re pretty confident in what they’re going to do.”

The Tigers open the season at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at home against Des Moines-Roosevelt.