Excuse the Eureka and Troy softball teams if, at some point Friday morning, they look around the Killian Softball Complex at Springfield and break into a big smile.
They've earned it.
Eureka (23-5) and Troy (27-4) will meet in the Class 4 state semifinals at 10 a.m. Friday. Webb City (28-3) and Blue Springs (23-8) will play in the other semifinal, also set for 10 o'clock Friday.
The championship game is scheduled for 10 a.m. Saturday. The third-place game is at 1 p.m. Friday.
Eureka is No. 4 in the STLhighschoolsports.com large-schools rankings; Troy is No. 5.
"We know that getting there is half the battle," Eureka pitcher Maddie Krumrey said. "This was a hard sequence for us to get to state. Now at least we can say we got there. Nobody expected us to make it this far. We've just got to play our game and we'll do pretty well I hope."
Eureka is playing in the final four for the first time since 1999.
Eureka made it to the semifinals by virtue of a 5-3 quarterfinal win Saturday at Seckman. The Wildcats bring a nine-game win streak into Friday's game.
Eureka has been led by Alana Hester (.442 batting average, 20 RBIs), Allie Craft (.431, 16 RBIs), and Jamie Fowle (.431, 28 RBIs).
Krumrey owns a 13-3 record and a 1.62 earned run average.
Eureka coach Mark Mosley hopes his team remembers to smell the roses this weekend.
"Going to state there will be that pressure, but it'll be a lot of fun, too,” Mosely said. “Obviously the girls will still feel the pressure and they'll be tight a little bit, (but) this is exciting for them. I'm really happy for them."
Much like Eureka, there's a sense of fulfillment in Troy's march to the final four. The Trojans locked up their spot in the finals by beating St. Joseph's 10-0 in six innings in Saturday's quarterfinals.
This is Troy's first trip to the final four.
"It's going to be very rough (sleeping) before state," Troy first baseman Ashley Murphy said. "This is wonderful, and I love it.”
Troy has been led by the one-two punch of shortstop Emily Crane and pitcher Liz Wiegand. Christa Reisinger and Morgan Oliver have played key roles.
Crane is hitting .558 with five triples, five home runs and 26 RBIs. Reisinger is hitting .457, and Oliver adds a .416 average, 6 home runs and 32 RBIs. Wiegand owns a 20-3 record and a 0.91 ERA.
Troy coach Lance Richardson expects Eureka to be a tough test Friday. But he adds that he likes Troy's chances of making a grab at the title.
"This tournament is full of teams that are just as good as us or better," he said. "With the way this team plays, I think we have just a good a shot as any of the other three teams down there."
The championship game is set for 10 a.m. Saturday.
The two teams that fall in the semifinals will play in the Class 4 third place game Friday at 1 p.m.
Mike Elder contributed information to this report.
