COEUR D'ALENE — Highland found shade under a tree and formed a circle.
The Rams breathed in for six seconds before holding the air in their lungs for two seconds. A seven-second exhale capped the exercise, which the squad performs before every game. Before the season, assistant coach Becky Walls bought the team's five seniors a book written by Jason Selk — the director of mental training for the St. Louis Cardinals — and told the group to share their findings with the team. One of the takeaways was Selk's mental workout to help minimize nerves.
The pregame tension was left behind, and Highland took the field and battled its way to a 2-1 win against Kuna at Coeur d'Alene High School on Friday in the opening round of the 5A state tournament.
"This first win has been the monkey on our back for Highland softball," Highland coach Tisha Coverdell said. "To get this win, I hope this pushes them forward. We did a good job and kept our composure."
When Ashlyn Winn stepped to the plate in the bottom of the third inning, her highlight tape replayed in her head, a technique she learned from Selk's book. The Rams' senior third baseman added another crucial play Friday, as her sacrifice fly to left field scored Jordan Frasure, giving the Rams a 2-1 lead.
That was all Kiara Grover needed, as she allowed four hits and struck out five batters in the complete-game win in the circle.
After Kuna's Rylee Newman tied the game at 1 in the top of the third, Grover tallied four strikeouts and surrendered three hits against the final 14 Kavemen batters. Grover also threw 19 first-pitch strikes against the 28 batters she faced.
"Kiara is a great pitcher," Winn said. "She shuts them down most of the time, but we know they are going to hit her, especially the better teams up here. So we are that wall behind her, and she knows that we have her back."
Friday morning's win was Highland's 21st consecutive victory, and the team has allowed five runs in its eight games this month.
The winning streak continued thanks to Winn's clutch hit, Grover's arm and the Rams' opportunistic offense.
In the bottom of the second inning, Highland's Andrea Sprague singled, which set up a bunt opportunity. Jayden Benson laid down the sacrifice and beat the throw to first base, while Sprague used her speed to advance to third. Veronica Bosquez brought home Sprague with a seeing-eye single to right field in the next at-bat.
"I was impressed with how we played," Winn said. "We came in a little tight and nervous, but once we settled in, it was good. We kept it close and won."
Highland (24-2) finished the game with six hits, and the team has outhit its opponent in every game except its 6-3 loss to Layton, Utah, on March 10.
The Rams' consistent bats have paired well with the team's pitching, as the combo has created a code most team have not cracked.
Highland is averaging 12.7 hits per game while surrendering 4.6 base knocks to its opponent. Grover has a 1.03 ERA in 136 1/3 innings and of the 12 Highland players that have appeared in at least half of the games, eight of them are batting .400 or better.
"We executed the game plan well," Coverdell said. "That helps a ton to see that everything is working the way we wanted to."
Highland faces Lake City at 3 p.m. Pacific Time at Coeur d'Alene High in the quarterfinals of the state tournament.