After belting two mammoth home runs in the District 6 Class AAA softball final, Bellefonte’s Vanessa Cooper fielded a lot of questions about her great day.

But when all was said and done, Cooper wanted to give the credit for the 8-1 win to something bigger than her two mighty swings.

“We’re playing Bellefonte softball the way it is supposed to be played,” the sophomore catcher said.

Bellefonte softball: You hear that term a lot when you’re around the 2010 PIAA champions.

They’ll begin their quest for another PIAA crown tonight, when the Lady Red Raiders (18-4) face Big Spring (20-4) at 7 p.m. at Penn State’s Nittany Lion Softball Park.

What is Bellefonte softball exactly?

Ask different players and coaches and you’ll get some variation, but the theme remains focused on the team.

“It’s a different brand of softball,” said Cooper, who is a perfect 5-for-5 in the postseason. “It’s the dedication. It’s waking up at 5 a.m. to lift weights during school. There’s nothing else like it. I love all of these girls and we’re capable of anything.”

“We play together,” added Vanessa’s older sister, pitcher Hannah Cooper, who improved to 15-2 with a two-hitter against Huntingdon. “We don’t let each other down. We look each other in the eye. We know that we’re not going to let anything stop us. We’re going to keep pushing forward and we’re going to stay together to get the job done. That’s Bellefonte softball.”

Coach Gregg Kohlhepp likes to point to the tradition of softball at the school. He recently had a player from the school’s first team speak to his players about the bonds that were forged more than 40 years ago.

And, there’s the tradition of winning. Bellefonte has won all but one of the District 6 Class AAA titles since 2003. They won a state crown two years ago and advanced to the semifinals last season before falling 1-0 against eventual champion Valley.

“We like to see that tradition carry on,” Kohlhepp said. “It’s an intense focus on playing every play hard. It’s being about the sense that it’s bigger than you. I love the fact that our kids aren’t into individual accolades. It really is about the team.

“Even when they get down, they stay together,” he added. “That’s the greatest compliment. As coaches, we are inspired by these kids every day. We’re honored to be working with them. ... The fact that they do this as a unit and as a team, we couldn’t ask for anything more.”

The Lady Red Raiders are hot. They’ve won seven straight and haven’t lost in more than a month.

“I feel like we’re playing really well,” junior shortstop Erica DeVinney said. “We’re playing as a team. We’re starting to get things going together. There’s a lot of work to be done, but it’s looking good.”

“Our defense is phenomenal,” senior Hannah Cooper said. “Our hitting is pretty strong. We’re hitting line drives. We’re not making easy outs. We’re making it hard for other teams to do things.”

The Lady Raiders have made a habit over that last moth of scoring in bunches. They had a pair of four-run innings in a 9-1 semifinal win over Hollidaysburg and scored all eight in one inning against Huntingdon in the finals.

“We’ve had a lot of games where we’ve been two-out dangerous,” Kohlhepp said. “... There’s a never-say-die belief that they can do that.”

They’ll get an opponent that’s fresh off a big inning. Big Spring scored six runs in the third inning to snap a 2-2 tie in its 10-2 romp over Northern York in the third-place game in District 3. Brittany Wagner’s grand slam highlighted the outburst. Pitcher Taylor Mansfield tossed a three-hitter.

Catcher Ashley Baker, a dangerous hitter, pitcher/ outfielder Calli Pastor and shortstop Morgan Paynter are all Mid-Penn Colonial Division first-team all-stars.

The Lady Raiders say they’re not worried about who they’re playing but about those two words that are so important to this team.

“As long as we come out every day and play that Bellefonte softball, this team can beat anybody,” Vanessa Cooper said.

Walt Moody can be reached at 231-4630. Follow him on Twitter @wmoodycdt