THE FRONT ROW WITH JASON ELLIOTT: May 13, 2015

The worst part of the past week for Coeur d'Alene High senior Kylie Rasmussen has been the waiting.

Waiting to get back to playing the game of softball that she loves.

No matter who she's lining up against.

RASMUSSEN AND the Vikings, who finished as state runner-up in last year's state 5A tournament, open this year's tournament on Friday at 9 a.m. at Post Falls High.

"I just love playing softball," Rasmussen said last week. "I was thinking about having a week off before state, and I just can't wait to play. Having this week off has been tough, because I'm ready to get going. I just want to play."

Coeur d'Alene was unbeaten heading into the final weekend of the regular season. The Vikings lost in their season finale against Richland on May 2.

Eagle (26-1) was unbeaten until the postseason, then was upset in the quarterfinals of the District 3 tournament by Boise 4-3. Boise failed to reach the state tournament.

"I'm really excited about playing Eagle first," Rasmussen said. "I'd rather play them right out of the gate. Hopefully we can send them down to the losers bracket."

Rasmussen was a reserve on the 2012 Viking team which beat Lake City for the state 5A championship in Chubbuck.

"I didn't get to start, but I definitely got my fair share of time at second base," Rasmussen said. "It was fun to be a part of that team."

She also got the chance to share the field with her older sister, Chelsey, that year.

"I'd always watched my sister and all of her friends play, and they're really close like this team is," Rasmussen said. "To finally be on that team with them, there's definitely a difference in playing on a team where you've known and played with your entire life."

"Kylie has been huge for us all year, and that's why she's hitting third right now," Coeur d'Alene coach Larry Bieber said. "She tends to deliver when the time is right. She's just been awesome this year."

Trailing in the third inning in the Region 1 tournament championship game, it was Rasmussen's two-run double that got the Vikings' offense going in an 8-1 win against Lake City - which came back to also qualify for the state tournament.

"These girls are probably the most competitive group of girls I know," Rasmussen said. "Bre(ana Burke), she's the most competitive person I've met. She's always got the 'I want to win, I want to beat up on these teams' mentality."

Rasmussen has played on the same team with fellow senior Jadyn Behm all throughout school.

"There's hardly ever any drama with this team," Rasmussen said. "Jaydn and I have been best friends all throughout school, and I don't think I've played a game without her. Next year is going to be really different, but I'm excited for it."

Rasmussen has signed to continue her playing career at UNLV in the fall.

"We went to a tournament down there during club season," said Rasmussen, who plays shortstop for the North Idaho Xtreme. "Their assistant coach came to one camp and they had the head coach come and watch our game, and they just fell in love with our team. I just love the coaching staff. They're just awesome people. It worked out really well."

Playing her favorite sport year-round at UNLV didn't hurt either.

"It was the perfect opportunity at the right time," Rasmussen said. "I'm excited to get to go down there and play in warm weather year-round instead of three months out of the year."

She's not sure on where she'll play for the Rebels once she arrives on campus.

"I'm thinking somewhere in the infield," Rasmussen said. "But they're going to move me to wherever they need me when I get there."

IN ORDER to train for the upcoming season, Rasmussen enlisted her uncle Bud Rasmussen to help her prepare.

"The entire offseason I went to the Ultimate Athlete Gym," Kylie said. "Before, I'd been only going once or twice a week, but I can definitely tell the difference it has made with my speed and strength. This year, I really dedicated myself and my uncle basically told me to 'pretend to make it my first year of college,' and it's been much more serious. I regret not going sooner, but I'm just glad I did it when I did."

At UNLV, Rasmussen intends to major in civil and environmental sciences.

"Math and science have always been interesting to me," Rasmussen said. "That's a good career to go into, and at UNLV, they've got some really good programs for that. I'm really excited about that."

Jason Elliott is a sportswriter for the Coeur d'Alene Press. He can be reached by telephone at 664-8176, Ext. 2020 or via email at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at JEPressSports.