For Amber Petersen and the Twin Falls Bruins, it's now or never.

Since winning the state championship as a group of 12-year-olds, big things have been expected from the Bruins. That championship hasn't translated to one at the prep level yet, but this year holds as good of a chance as any for the team to get it done.

Sitting at 25-1, Twin Falls boasts the best record in Class 5A. The Bruins won a prestigious, high-caliber preseason tournament in St. George, Utah. And they have one of the top pitching talents in the state in the University of Nevada-Las Vegas-bound Petersen.

That's a good thing, considering that the team will go as far as she can take them, and her drive helps fuel the team in more ways than one.

"She's throwing well and she's as focused as I've seen her in a long time. It's her senior year and she wants it bad," Twin Falls head coach Ken Johnson said of Petersen.

But Petersen is just part of the equation. The Bruins know they need to give their pitcher some run support the next few days.

"They're starting to better understand what it's going to take to hit at state," said Johnson. "You've got to find a way to hit somebody like Amber."

Eagle hurler Joni Cook, headed to the University of Utah in the fall, fits that bill. Twin Falls hopes to meet Cook and the rest of the Mustangs in the championship, but to do that the Bruins need to get out of their half of the draw, starting with an opener against the surprise entry to the tournament: the Lewiston Bengals.

Lewiston stunned Lake City in District I-II playoff action to reach the tournament, and a hot team out of a difficult district - two-time defending champion Coeur d'Alene also calls District I-II home - will be a stern test of the Bruins' mettle. But if they can get by Lewiston there's every chance of reaching the championship, especially with tournament favorites Eagle and Coeur d'Alene both on the opposite side of the bracket.

Class 4A

Wood River, Burley hoping to surprise

Neither District IV representative has a winning record. But Wood River and Burley will take to Bruin Diamond in Twin Falls eager to prove that appearances are deceptive.

The district champion Wolverines battled to the brink with Burley for the championship, while the Bobcats took out their frustration at losing the automatic berth by beating Hillcrest in the play-in game.

Both teams will have to rely on solid pitching - Hannah Gove and Sam Engel for Wood River, and Molly Mills for Burley - to keep the run totals down and try to manufacture the offense necessary to win.

But with Bishop Kelly, which has won eight of the last 10 state championships, failing to qualify, this field is as wide open as it gets in the Class 4A ranks.

Class 3A

Bulldogs ready to defend title

Kimberly's already been at this point once before this season, and the Bulldogs didn't like the outcome in February.

But they weren't defending state basketball champions. And this is softball, where Kimberly ruled the Class 3A roost last year and has built up an intimidating 26-0 record heading into the state tournament in Coeur d'Alene.

What's more, many of the girls have the added impetus of not allowing the same collapse from basketball season, when the Bulldogs headed into state at 21-0 only to come home without a trophy of any order. But at the same time, they're not feeling any undue pressure.

"Obviously there's always pressure especially since they're going somewhere and you're undefeated. For a lot of these girls they've been there. Some of them have been on the basketball teams going into something similar," said Kimberly coach Rich Bishop. "I think if anything it'll give them a little more motivation because I know a lot of them were pretty bummed that we weren't able to complete it. Especially for our seniors it gives them a little incentive to finish it off."

The Bulldogs have three of the top teams in the state - Teton, Bear Lake and returning runner-up Timberlake - on the opposite half of the draw, but Bishop doesn't think that means it's an easier row to hoe.

They open against Marsh Valley, and Payette kicks off against Buhl.

The Indians turned it on heading into the Sawtooth Central Idaho Conference season and narrowly lost to Kimberly in the district championship game. But with two bids coming from the conference, the Tribe still got to the dance and, as they say, anything can happen.

Bishop said Buhl played Kimberly tough the last few times the two teams tangled, and the rivalry acted as more than a small indicator of what's to come at state.

"I think anytime you get to the state tournament all the teams are going to be good. The nice thing is that having that tournament of ours gave us a look at some of these teams," Bishop said, alluding to the inaugural mid-season Lady Dawg Classic. "Obviously they're going to be playing better. The nice thing is we have a lot of experience against these teams, but we know they've improved and hopefully so have we."

Class 2A

Pilots poised to better third-place showing

Glenns Ferry took some hefty lumps in the regular season, playing up against a pair of Class 3A state tournament qualifiers in Buhl and Kimberly. The hope is those challenges will pay off in the Class 2A ranks.

After breezing past Wendell in the regular season and the Canyon Conference Tournament, the 15-10 Pilots head to OK Ward Park in Pocatello intent on grabbing a second successive state tournament trophy and perhaps finding a way to go all the way this time after finishing third in 2007.

According to coach Kelli McHone, the state bracket appears will aid Glenns Ferry in its quest to reach Saturday's title game.

Now the key is for Jaclynn Ferry and company to just get it done on the field.