Never look past an opponent.

Lane Tech learned that lesson the hard way last season in the city semifinals.

The Indians, who had won four straight city titles, stumbled and lost to a surprising Taft squad just days after Lane lost a heartbreaker to New Trier in the regional championship.

"As much as we hate to admit it we kind of took (Taft) lightly," Lane Tech junior Daniela Torres said. "Our warm-ups weren't the best and they played better than us. We want to come back and redeem ourselves. We're excited about the season and we think it's going to be a great year."

The pair of losses served not only as a wake-up call but also a reminder of how the Indians can compete with the state's best programs. While the loss to Taft was disappointing, the way the Indians played against the Trevians was downright amazing.

New Trier topped Lane Tech 1-0 and then went on to capture fourth place at the IHSA Class AA state finals.

"People look at our loss to Taft and say last year was a down season but I think we got off to a good start, slowed in the middle and played real tough against New Trier," Indians head coach Brent Bradish said. "What I'm telling my girls is that we have to build off that."

Former Niles North pitcher Christie Christopoulos was spectacular on the mound for New Trier that day.

"We had beaten her twice when she was at Niles North but she just pitched like she never pitched before," Bradish said. "She pitched backwards. If it was the right count for a fastball she threw a curve. If she should have thrown a curve she threw a fastball."

Still, Lane knows they can get over the hump.

"We know we have the talent to (beat them)," Torres said. "We have our whole infield coming back. We know we're capable of winning, it's just putting all the hard work into wins."

Lane Tech has plenty to build with. Sophomore Jazzy Camacho returns as the team's top hurler but there are also a pair of freshman ready to step in if needed.

Jackie Manrique and Samantha Nikolich have plenty of experience pitching on traveling softball teams giving the Indians some spare arms, and that's always a good thing.

Without a doubt the team leader is Torres. She's considered one of the best softball players in the city and Bradish knows just how much she means to the team.

"I can't say enough good things about her," Bradish said. "She can hit for power and hit for average. She can bunt and I've never see someone put her body on the line like she does on defense. She plays her heart out."

The Indians have only two seniors on the squad: Denise Bilski and Diana Karouzos.

"We have a lot of fresh faces and we're going to be a young team," Bilski said. "But we just have to stay together as a team and be strong mentally."

Bradish is looking for his team to get off to a fast start. Not only to build their own confidence, but to let everyone know the Indians are a dangerous team. "We want to come out strong because we want to make a statement in city that even though we lost last year we're back," Bradish said. "But we also want to be a ranked team and we have to beat up on the suburban teams to do that."