As one of six teams to receive first-class treatment at Target Field last summer in the baseball state championship, Burnsville knows first-hand the benefits of making it to the final day of the spring sports season.

"There isn't any better place if you can get there," Blaze coach Mick Scholl said.

After finishing runner-up to Eden Prairie in last year's Class 3A baseball tournament, Burnsville is back with a chance to experience it all over again. The Blaze (21-3) opens state play against Bemidji (18-9) at 10 a.m. Thursday at Midway Stadium.

A victory over the Lumberjacks and one more in the semifinals, and it's back to downtown Minneapolis.

"Every kid who has put on a uniform for us this year either knows or has heard of how fun it is to play at Target Field," Scholl said.

But getting back is no lock. The Blaze is playing some hot baseball right now, yes. Winner of nine consecutive, Burnsville is seemingly on a mission since a disappointing 9-1 home loss to Apple Valley on May 10.

"Apple Valley really took it to us," Scholl said. "Our kids realized that no game is going to be easy and we have to be at our very best. No day is just another day. We have to get better individually and as a team every day."

Besides, at this time of year there isn't a single team that comes into a game feeling underprepared. Especially when they know what awaits at the end of the rainbow.

"[Bloomington] Kennedy is a great example," Scholl said of the fellow South Suburban Conference Eagles, who made it to the state tournament despite a losing record. "They got hot at the right time. Winning creates confidence and I tell ya, anybody can win."

This season, Burnsville has done so primarily with pitching.

Adam Lambrecht, Quinn Johnson, Brian Vanderwoude and Tyler Hanson all are capable of throwing more than 80 miles per hour from the mound.

"We've had many, many years where we don't have one kid throw over 80," Scholl said. "To have four of them on one team, that makes a difference. And they throw strikes."

The Blaze has also grown accustomed to scoring runs early and often in ballgames, which, Scholl said, has given his pitchers a chance to settle down.

The MSHSL altered the schedule of this year's baseball tournament to allow for Target Field to be used. That meant pushing back the championship games in all three classes four days after the semifinals, as opposed to two days.

That appears to give a pitching-rich team such as Burnsville an advantage.

If it gets there.

"The theme for this year is we have some unfinished business to take care of," Scholl said. "The kids are pretty focused. I know my guys really want to get back there. But the kids know how to keep it under control, too."