(ABC 6 News) — Hayfield baseball is back in a familiar spot, only three years removed from their last state tournament appearance.

And the Vikings’ track record at State is pretty good, making the state title game two out of their past three trips.

Playing in the turbulent tornado that is Section 1A has done a good job of prepping the Vikings for their return to State. What has also helped is seizing on early scoring chances as was the case against top-seeded Lyle-Pacelli in the quarterfinals.

“The main thing was just jumping on teams early,” junior pitcher Ben Nelson assessed. “Obviously, we got to the Gatorade Player of the Year (Hunter VaDeer) in the first inning, we put up three against him. The seniors do a great job of getting us prepared with what’s coming up, we’re going to be a state contender for a long time.”

And when Hayfield has to make magic late in the game, they’ve shown to be up to the task. Their comeback win in the Section 1A Championship against Southland being proof of their abilities.

“These moments don’t feel as big as they would for a typical team,” senior infielder Hunter Simonson noted. “We play in those big games, we played against those good teams. It make this — games like this — just feel like another game. It keeps everyone calm, we know what it’s like to play in that close game, dig deep, get some swings when it matters.”

The Vikings enter Wednesday’s Class A Tournament as the sixth seed and will play #3 South Ridge at 11 AM in St. Cloud.