Maplewood head softball coach Bill Singleton doesn’t know a great deal about Iroquois, the team that his Tigers will face in the opening round of the 2008 District 10 Class AA playoffs today. However, he knows enough. Coming off three consecutive District 10 titles; the Lady Braves have a reputation that precedes them.

“I know they have a record of 16-4,” said Singleton, his own team finishing the regular season 10-10. “And they’re the defending district champion and they didn’t lose everybody in a year. So I don’t really know too much about them, but they must be a quality team.”

Iroquois — this season’s Region 3 runner up — is coming into the game fairly blind as well.

“We haven’t faced them,” said Iroquois head coach Julie Parker about the Tigers. “I tried to get online and get some scores or some of the games they played, but I couldn’t find any. We don’t know a whole lot about them.”

Well, the two teams will have ample opportunity to get acquainted when they meet up in the first round of the Class AA bracket at 4 p.m. at Allegheny College’s Robertson Field.

One thing they’ll learn about each other is that that the two sides actually have a lot in common, even beyond their matching black-and-gold color schemes.

Both teams have good junior pitchers. Maplewood starts Becca Beightol who has 10 wins and 111 strikeouts this season while walking just 21.

Meanwhile, Iroquois throws junior Lindsey Phillips who has a 1.04 ERA and 177 Ks in 121 innings pitched.

Also, both teams aren’t necessarily overwhelmed by with senior leadership. Iroquois starts just two 12th graders. Maplewood has three.

The bulk of Iroquois’ talent comes from its junior class; like catcher Becky Zill who is batting a team-best .446 with 25 hits and 19 RBIs. Another junior to watch is first baseman Brittany Tombaugh who is swatting .406.

“The rest of our team is underclassmen,” said Parker, who is in her sixth season as head coach of the Braves. “We have a pretty nice mix of underclassmen and upperclassmen. We’ve got a good battery, good defense. We have a couple kids that can hit the ball. But I would say defense is our strong point.”

Two of Iroquois’ losses were to undefeated Villa Maria, this year’s Region 3 champ. The Braves also lost to Fairview. And they concluded the regular season with a 3-0 loss to Region 2 champ Cambridge Springs.

“We had some injuries this year,” said Parker. “We had some trouble getting some stability, some consistency. One senior I had played every position but catcher and second base this season.

“But we’re pleased with where we’re at now. We’ve been stable for the last two weeks. So we’re excited. We’re ready to roll.”

Where Iroquois strength lies in its junior class, Maplewood has had some surprising freshman step up and make an early impact with the program. Among them is center fielder Lindsay Hasbrouck, who is hitting .350 with a homer, two doubles and two triples. There is also freshman Stephanie Wentz who is batting .313 with a pair of doubles, and Emily Ray who is hitting .279 with a homer and three triples.