When Janna Walker looked around the gym in preseason practice, she didn’t see anything about the team that said, “championship.”

Nor did coach Jon Porter, or probably anyone else at Southern Aroostook of Dyer Brook.

“I figured we’d have a pretty good season but I never thought we’d go this far at all,” Walker said. “When I realized we could be contenders was when we beat Jones-port[-Beals in the semifinals].

“We thought we would do all right in the playoffs but I don’t think anybody thought we would get this far.”

Walker wasn’t exaggerating. The Warriors will climb onto a 7:30 a.m. bus to make the 253-plus mile trek for Saturday’s 4 p.m. Class D state softball championship at St. Joseph’s in Standish.

Southern Aroostook (14-4) takes on two-time Western Maine champ Monmouth Academy (14-1) in an attempt to capture its first state title.

The Warriors-Mustangs contest is the day’s last state softball game.

Winslow will kick off the day at St. Joseph’s in Standish with a noon game against 18-1 Scarborough for the Class B crown.

The Black Raiders, frustrated for the last two years by Western Maine champs, will be attempting to capture their first state title since 1993.

Searsport faces a tough 3 p.m. game Saturday against Western Maine Class C titlist Madison at Brewer’s Coffin Field.

The undefeated Bulldogs have claimed the last three straight state titles while Searsport makes its only appearance since 1993.

The contest will boil down to a pitchers’ duel between Searsport’s junior ace Sarah Webster and Madison senior Denelle Surman, who has thrown a pair of two-hitters to earn the Bulldogs 1995 and 1996 state titles.

Messalonskee of Oakland makes a second run at a Class A state crown in the 11:30 a.m. game against defending state champion Edward Little of Auburn at Coffin Field.

Southern Aroostook has seen its share of self-destruction this year, including a period of adjusting to each other.

“We started off, we were doing good but it wasn’t to our full potential,” said senior co-captain Darcy Chambers. “We started talking more and finally got it together. We just started thinking because our heads weren’t in the game. We finally got it together.”

Near disaster struck in the regular season’s last week.

Starting outfielder Jayme Smith burned two fingers on her throwing hand in a science lab.

Chambers, the starting pitcher, injured her shoulder and hasn’t thrown since.

“It all seemed to come at once with Darcy and Jayme getting hurt,” Porter said. “But we overcame it and I was pleasantly surprised.”

Amanda Brewer, a junior, wound up taking over for Chambers and won all three playoff games with a solid just-throw-strikes style.

“She’s pretty strong,” Chambers said. “I knew she could do it. She’s handled it a lot better than I would.”