The Bellevue Christian Vikings open the 1A state baseball tournament Saturday in Eastmont which is exactly where they always thought they would be.

The route they took to get there was somewhat less anticipated.

The Vikings have endured a sometimes hellacious season that included injuries to three of their four seniors, an eight-game losing streak and a 10-run first round loss in their tri-district tournament that left them on the verge of seeing their season end well short of its potential.

Some of the bad news was expected well before the season began- BCS knew they would be without Jo Jo Howie on the mound for most of the year while the senior recovered from a surgical procedure on his elbow that involved drilling 12 holes to relieve pressure. They also knew it would be a struggle for Nat Townsend, who had the infamous Tommy John surgery performed on his elbow on the same November day that Howie underwent his procedure.

Some of the misfortune was unpredictable, like Ryan FitzPatrick’s hamstring pull, which occurred while he was rounding third base in a regular season game in early April.

And some of it was just painful, like an eight-game losing streak, which included back-to-back defeats to conference rival Cedar Park Christian, that tested their will and bond as a team.

But through all of the misfortune, the Vikings stayed together. And that is the reason they are still playing.

“I knew we had enough talent and character,” said BCS head coach Brian Potoshnik. “I wanted to know how much they believed in each other. Once they actually started to do that, it turned right around.”

Howie has recovered enough from his surgery to get back on the mound (albeit with a 50-pitch limit), tossing four innings of one-run baseball in the all-or-nothing meeting with Cedar Park Christian in the fifth place game of the tri-district tournament.

Townsend is back as well (with a cap somewhere around 30 pitches) and allowed only one base hit in three innings of work to finish off CPC and lock up the Vikings state berth. Bellevue Christian players said it was the most complete game the team has played all season.

FitzPatrick is not quite as far along, but he should be able to provide some pop at the plate for BCS in the DH role. And an entirely new cast of characters has stepped-up for coach Brian Potoshnik in the interim.

Blake Ruud-Johnson has become a viable option on the mound, freshmen Matthew Haller and Noah Holmes were both thrown into the fire with the injuries early on and have grown extensively as the season has progressed and Casey Dosch has raised his game as well, according to Potoshnik.

While Howie and Townsend know they need to protect their arms, both are also frothing at the chance to go out on top in the state playoffs after missing out entirely in 2010. Howie so much so that earlier in the season, he persuaded Potoshnik to put him in the outfield despite still being unable to throw. When a fly ball was hit to him, Potoshnik said Howie made a clean catch, dropped his glove to the ground and threw the ball back into the infield with his non-throwing right arm.

Waiting for Howie, Townsend and the rest of the Vikings are the defending 2A champions, the Cashmere Bulldogs, who sport an impressive 20-2 mark in 2011.

But with their pitching staff in the best shape of the season, and their projected lineup nearly back in order, the Vikings will be no easy-out in Eastmont.