Wide open. 

That is the way Columbia Falls Wildkats coach Rick Lawerence sees this year’s Class A state softball tournament entering Thursday’s opening round in Hamilton.

“I honestly think there’s eight out of the 12 teams that could win it all,” Lawerence said. “There’s nobody that truly stands out to be the best.” 

Columbia Falls enters as one of the tournament’s top contenders after a 15-5 regular season, earning a first-round bye. The Wildkats have surged offensively late in the year, powered by one of the state’s most dangerous lineups. 

“We’re hitting the ball really well right now,” Lawerence said. “They’re seeing it, and they’re attacking it, hitting the ball hard.” 

The numbers back it up. Columbia Falls is batting .449 as a team with a .530 on-base percentage entering the postseason. Onnika Lawrence leads with a .623 batting average and .671 OBP, while Kylie Gjesdal-Davis owns a .579 average and .649 OBP from the middle of the lineup. 

Rick Lawrence said the growth of the roster beyond the team’s stars has helped separate this year’s group. 

“We had four seniors last year that played a huge role,” Lawrence said. “To see some of these girls move into spots defensively that they hadn’t played, and a few ladies step up in the leadership role, it’s been really good to see this team grow.” 

Meanwhile, the Libby Loggers enters State carrying confidence after a 13-5 season.

That includes two wins over first-round opponent Ronan, including a 15-0 victory on May 19. 

Still, Libby coach Kellen McDonald said the Loggers are not overlooking the Maidens entering Thursday morning’s opener at 11 a.m. 

“We’ve played Ronan enough to know that they are a team that, if they get to hitting, they’re really hard to stop,” he said. “So we’re going to go in there with all guns blazing right out of the gate.” 

McDonald believes his offense can challenge anybody in the bracket. 

“Offensively, we’re an extremely powerful team,” he said. “Once the girls start scoring runs, they don’t really stop.” 

The Loggers have also embraced growing expectations entering the postseason. 

“I feel like if our team plays its best softball, we’ll be in that championship at the end of the state tournament,” McDonald said. “If we are playing at our best, I don’t know that there’s a lot of teams that can beat us.” 

Meanwhile, the Polson Lady Pirates enter state 10-11, though their coach Jami Hanson believes their record does not fully reflect the talent in their lineup. 

“We are extremely young but very talented and we feel that we can hit with anyone,” he said. 

Logan McCrea has helped lead the offense, batting .603 with a .662 on-base percentage and 13 triples entering the postseason. 

Hanson said leadership has continued to emerge from Ahri Rushing, Opal Nash and Maddie Turner as the young roster gained experience. 

“If we can make the routine defensive plays and execute on the offensive side, we are as good as anyone,” Hanson said. “We have a tradition of competing at the state tournament and we are willing to come and compete again.” 

Polson opens tournament play against Laurel at 1 p.m.