LEANDER -- Youth may have been a problem for the Bryan softball team at times during the regular season, but the Lady Vikings made the state playoffs look like kids' stuff Thursday night.

Shrugging off their struggles during district play, and with six players making their first playoff starts, the Lady Vikings thumped Leander 7-2 in the opener of their bi-district series at Lady Lions Field.

The best-of-3 series will shift to Bryan for Game 2 at 6:30 p.m. Friday with Game 3, if necessary, to follow.

Bryan, which was third in District 13-5A, improved to 20-11. The Lady Lions, who finished in a three-way tie for the 14-5A championship and were seeded second, dropped to 18-10.

The Lady Vikings never trailed and never looked awed by being in the postseason. Bryan got steadiness from playoff veterans in pitcher Michelle Stratta and catcher Calli Wood, and the new kids came through at the plate and in the field.

Bryan's players making their first playoff starts combined for eight hits, including three each by sophomores Ashley Lara and Jennifer Kasper. The new crew also produced three runs batted in from Jennifer Saxby and good defensive plays by Amber Binder, Allison Ricke and Kasper.

"We talked in pregame that every time you put on the uniform there is Bryan tradition," Bryan coach Enrique Luna said. "It doesn't matter who's out there or what grade they're in. There's been a lot of ladies before us that set the standard."

Leander committed three errors that led to four unearned runs. The Lady Lions made two miscues in a three-run third, when Lara and Kasper had RBI singles for a 4-0 lead.

Leander kept Bryan's fans from relaxing by scoring two runs in the bottom of the third, but the Lady Vikings responded by scoring twice in the fifth when Stratta and Lara singled then scored on Saxby's double.

In the bottom of the fifth, Leander put runners at second and third with one out. The Lady Vikings had a brief conference, then Stratta (13-6) enticed the next two batters to pop out on two pitches.

"That was huge,"Luna said.

Bryan added an insurance run in the seventh, which began with Wood extending her school record for triples with her 11th of the season. Pinch runner Jessica Cooke scored on Stratta's suicide squeeze bunt.

Bryan 7, Leander 2

Bryan 013 020 1 -- 7 12 2

Leander 002 000 0 -- 2 7 3

Lauren Derting and Alyssa Barry. Michelle Stratta and Calli Wood. W -- Stratta, 13-6. L-- Derting. 2B -- Bryan: Jennifer Saxby. 3B -- Bryan: Wood (11). Time -- 1:51.

• Larry Bowen's e-mail address is larry.bowen@theeagle.com.