MONTICELLO  The challenge has shifted during the past three days for Monticello''s softball team. The Sages'' pursuit of excellence started this spring with an all-time area-best 28-game winning streak. The original mission was to win every game, an accomplishment never before achieved by an area school in softball. That quest ended Thursday with a one-run loss at home to Clinton in the championship game of the Okaw Valley Conference tournament. The Sages had beaten Clinton earlier by one run. Monticello''s emphasis now is to avoid a losing streak. The task might not be an easy one. Next up for coach Buster Chumbley''s team is the state''s top-ranked Class A team, Olympia, a once-beaten squad from the Corn Belt Conference that travels Monday to Monticello to start the final week of regular season play for small schools. The Sages plan on bouncing back, but they aren''t changing their tactics because of the setback. "No loss should motivate you to work harder because you should be working hard all the time," said senior pitcher/first baseman Molly Lawhead, who plans to walk on at Illinois next year. "I give 200 percent every time I step on the field, be it practice or a game, and I would hope my teammates do the same." St. Joseph-Ogden coach Randy Wolken and Blue Ridge coach Wayne Brown understand the difficulty of trying to complete a regular season schedule unscathed. Wolken has guided four of his teams to the state tournament, but all had losses before the start of regionals. Brown''s 2002 Blue Ridge team was a one-run loss (to Fisher) away from a perfect regular season. "In our case, we didn''t have the overpowering pitching that Monticello seems to have," Brown said. "We had to rely more on defense, and if a ball takes a bad hop, it can make it very difficult. You have to put it together on a nightly basis." Tough teams abound Wolken said scheduling is the primary factor for the elite teams suffering occasional losses. Compared to a nine-game football regular season, softball teams can play more than three times that number of games before entering postseason play. His philosophy has been to schedule the best nonconference opponents, regardless of the possible outcome. "It''s almost impossible for us to go undefeated playing the Mount Zions, the Chathams and the Caseys in a doubleheader," Wolken said. Beyond those traditional softball powerhouses, area programs have improved significantly in the past decade. "There are so many teams nowadays that have a good pitcher, it''s hard to go through a season undefeated," Wolken said. That''s what Monticello discovered. The pitcher who beat them, Clinton''s Kamren Ferguson, is 21-1. She leads the area in victories and strikeouts (232) and has an ERA of 0.23. "I''d rather see as good of pitching as we can down the stretch," Chumbley said. "That''s what we''ll see when it counts." Monticello senior center fielder Elizabeth Piatt, a Northwestern recruit, realizes the importance of playing quality opponents. "We don''t exactly play an easy schedule, and this will prepare us and make us a better team as a whole, a well-rounded sufficiently prepared team for postseason play," Piatt said. "If we cruise through a season where our team would virtually be unchallenged, we would not only be ill-prepared for postseason play, but we would be hurting ourselves by not playing to our potential. "If we don''t play with the best, we can''t beat the best. It''s vastly important to continue to challenge ourselves as a team, then we know strengths and weaknesses, which will tell us what we need to practice to become a better team." Chumbley has seen no signs of pressure intensifying on his squad. "I don''t sense any pressure, no more than usual," he said. "I don''t believe pressure comes from winning streaks. During the season, pressure comes from expectations. "Because of our streak, everyone expects us to win every game. If we lose, we lose. It''s no big deal as long as it''s before the postseason." Brown recalls specific instances when he saw pressure within his Blue Ridge team. "It''s not too bad if you have the lead," he said, "but as soon as you get behind, there seems to be more pressure. In softball, when you put more pressure on yourself, it gets tougher." Lawhead expects the Sages to regroup from the Clinton game. "Just because a team has a few losses on their record doesn''t mean they aren''t as good as an unbeaten team," Lawhead said. "Who you play is just as important as your won-loss record. A bunch of wins doesn''t mean anything if you don''t play a competitive schedule." In the past Monticello committed three errors in its loss to Clinton, a pattern that has not been prevalent this year. "When young kids my age get into tough games, sometimes you can''t avoid mistakes," Piatt said. "Sometimes, it''s just about making fewer mistakes than your opponent." She said the Sages will look ahead, not behind. "We would find motivation in that loss, but you can''t dwell on past games," Piatt said. "You have to keep up, learn from your mistakes and fallings and play the next game better. "Every game we play is a new beginning." Of the Sages'' first 28 victories, seven were against opponents who have won at least 75 percent of their other games. Monticello''s triumphs include ones against Little Okaw Valley champion Arthur-Lovington, Sangamon Valley leader Paxton-Buckley-Loda and Illini Central Conference runner-up St. Joseph-Ogden as well as seven other wins against Class AA schools. The ultimate goal of any high school team is to survive the rigors of three rounds of tournament play (regional, sectional and super-sectional) to qualify for the Elite Eight and a berth in the state tournament. A loss wasn''t necessary to get the team redirected before the team starts regional play in Gibson City. "People say a loss opens your eyes to your mistakes," Lawhead said. "I don''t feel a loss serves any purpose." One advantage Monticello has is that seniors like Lawhead, Piatt, catcher Kelly Baxter, shortstop Montana Willamon and pitcher/first baseman Ginger Reeser have been members of teams coached by Chumbley for nine years, counting a summer traveling team that four of them plan to return to next month. Wolken sees benefits to having played for the same coach for so many years. "Girls can be sensitive if you say something to them critically," Wolken said. "They know (the coach), and he knows them. When you''ve coached kids that many years, they know what to expect from him and it''s not a surprise if he makes a (lineup) move or says something to you." Chumbley said the team camaraderie is such that "I can get in their face and they don''t wilt. I can say things to them comfortably that maybe to a new player I couldn''t. I have two daughters at home, and I say things to them and they get mad, but they get over it." Experience has taught the Sages the value of consistency. "You can hit the cutoff man 99 out of 100 times, and that one time could cost you a game," Piatt said. "Being consistent for that 30-game regular season is about hard practice and putting it all out on the diamond. "Teams have good days and bad days and sometimes, a team can''t be awesome every day." Seniors maintain focus In years past, a common complaint from spring coaches who have senior-laden teams is that focus is often lacking as the athletes anticipate prom, graduation, summer vacations and going away to college. Though five seniors start for Monticello, the squad has remained mentally sharp. "Monticello has a much different situation than most high school teams," Lawhead said. "We have four seniors who are continuing their softball careers beyond high school. "There are five of us who have been playing summer softball together for nine years. Softball has just become a way of life. We''ve played softball on prom day, family wedding days and we always survive. We have learned to be versatile, yet stay focused when it''s time to play ball." Now that Monticello''s bid for an undefeated regular season record has been thwarted, Wolken doesn''t see any other possible candidates in the near future. "Because the parity in our area is so good, I don''t see anybody doing it," Wolken said. "You play so many games and mentally you have to be up for every game because everyone is shooting for you. If you''re down mentally, you don''t play sharp." Not since 1985 has an unbeaten and untied team captured a softball state championship in either Class A or AA. The last to do so was Freeburg. Wolken said what Monticello has accomplished this school year is significant. Several of the Sages started on a volleyball team that won 18 games, a basketball team that won 17 games and/or ran on the cross-country team that advanced to state. "To do this in the spring season, in their third sport when they can be mentally tired after the other two is really impressive," Wolken said. Though softball is the last sport of the school year for Baxter, Lawhead, Piatt and Reeser, it is far from the bottom sport on their list of priorities. "We play competitive softball six months out of the year, and the other six months, we practice on our own," Lawhead said. There''s still plenty of season left for the team to achieve its ultimate goal of postseason success. You can reach Fred Kroner at (217) 351-5235 or via e-mail at fkroner@news-gazette.com.