Messenger photo by Britt Kudla: Payton Bradley of St. Edmond reacts after scoring a run in a Class 1A regional final.

The foundation for the St. Edmond softball program to return to state was laid down the moment Bill Shirbroun took over as head coach.

Starting four years ago with a desire to create structure and accountability, Shirbroun has helped elevate the Gaels to the promised land.

St. Edmond (23-11 overall) will face top-seed and No. 1 Martensdale-St. Marys (25-6) Tuesday evening in the quarterfinal round on Diamond 1 at Rogers Park. First pitch is set for 5 p.m.

“When I came in, we put in place a plan and a way for each and every kid to get better throughout the offseason,” Shirbroun said. “We gave them the opportunity to work on their skills so that we could become a program that competes with the best in the state.

“We have a handful of people who stay faithful in helping, and that has been so great. Without that support, we could never have reached this point.”

The Gaels are back in the elite eight for the first time since 2015 and the sixth time overall in school history. The 23 wins are just one short of the mark they set last year, which was the most since that last state appearance.

Expectations remained high after graduating just two players while reaching the regional semifinals and sharing for the North Central Conference. And despite playing a schedule loaded with ranked teams and fellow state qualifiers, St. Edmond reached its goals.

“Honestly, I woke up (after the regional final win vs. Newell-Fonda) and felt a sense of relief,” Shirbroun said. “Our goals were to win the NCC and qualify for state. We’ve done that. Now, we just have to win three straight games, which is something we’ve done several times over the last four years.

“I told the girls we are as good as any team in the 1A field and we can beat anybody if we do what we need to do to be successful.”

It has not all been easy for the Gaels, who struggled through a seven-game losing streak after starting the year 14-2. St. Edmond did finish strong, winning nine of 11 and six in a row.

“I never felt like they were frustrated,” Shirbroun said. “Even through the losing skid, we always preached for them to learn something from every game and every experience. We were going to compete regardless of the end result until the final out and I feel like we did that.

“The attitude of this team has been very positive.”

As a team, the Gaels rank second in 1A among state qualifiers in steals and third in walks and strikeouts. They are fourth in batting average, on-base percentage and slugging, with the third-best fielding percentage and fourth-best batting average against.

While he remains focused on this final week of the season, Shirbroun can’t help but look ahead to the future.

“The bar has been set,” he said. “From here on out, the bar for St. Edmond softball is qualifying for the state tournament. We’ve set the tone for the younger kids to strive for and for the others to constantly stay involved in the program.

“That’s just the reality of softball; you have to practice and invest in it to remain relevant.”