MILTON
Milton High softball coach Rick Mussey knew he would have to depend on his only four seniors to lead early in the season.
As chaperones.
The Red Hawks traveled to Vero Beach, Florida, during the district鈥檚 weeklong spring break in March to prepare for the 2022 season. With three freshmen and six sophomores on the varsity roster, Mussey and his staff figured they鈥檇 need help keeping things organized.
Seniors Ashley Vanderhei, Grace Schnell, Haley Reed and Lydia Miller stepped up鈥攐n and off the field.
鈥淭hey kept them in check all the time,鈥 Mussey said. 鈥淭hey told the young ones the rights and wrongs, the right way to play and things like that.鈥
Those 鈥測oung ones鈥 listened.
And now, just a few months later, the Red Hawks are preparing to open WIAA Division 1 State Tournament play at 8 a.m. Thursday at Goodman Diamond in Madison.
Milton (19-8), the No. 7-seeded team in the eight-team field, takes on second-seeded Sun Prairie (27-1) in the three-day tournament鈥檚 opening quarterfinal.
While underclassmen have provided needed contributions and have set Milton up for extended success, the seniors are the backbone of the Red Hawks program.
Schnell has caught every pitch thrown by a Milton pitcher since she became the starting catcher four seasons ago.
鈥淭o lose her, it鈥檚 going to be tough,鈥 said Mussey. 鈥淪he is the leader of the infield.鈥
Schnell is batting .352 with 25 hits and 12 RBI in addition to her field leadership.
Reed was a starting pitcher throwing to her classmate, Schnell, until standout Gwen Baker arrived as a freshman to join senior Erika Reif last season. Reed moved over to first鈥攁 position she had never played鈥攁nd earned All-Badger South Conference honorable mention.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 think she has one error over there in two years,鈥 Mussey said. 鈥淪he is a leader in her own way. She鈥檚 not going to be super vocal, but she plays hard.鈥
Reed鈥檚 17 RBI rank second to Baker鈥檚 25. She has one of the three homers Milton has hit this season.
Miller started at second base to begin the season, but freshman Ella Knoble surprised everyone with her bat. Miller was moved to third and has made 21 starts.
Miller is hitting .273 and has a .907 fielding percentage at the hot corner, where she has to field against the choppers and line drives off the bats of the left-handed 鈥渟lap鈥 hitters many of the better teams employ.
鈥淵ou aren鈥檛 going to find a better kid than Lydia,鈥 Mussey said.
That is the common trait of the entire Red Hawks infield, which includes sophomore shortstop Sophie Mezera.
鈥淲e have the meekest, kindest, soft-hearted infield,鈥 Mussey said. 鈥淥ur infield is filled with the most soft-spoken girls.鈥
Vanderhei is the team鈥檚 center fielder, hitting .326 with a team-leading 19 runs scored along with Knoble, who leads the team with a .410 batting average.
鈥淪he鈥檚 just a stud out there,鈥 Mussey said of Vanderhei, who bats fifth in the lineup. 鈥淪he covers a ton of ground and has a big arm. She lasers them and gets them to where they have to be.鈥
But the standout of the team is Baker. The 6-foot-1 sophomore holds a 17-8 record. In 141 innings, Baker has allowed 107 hits and walked just 10. She has 183 strikeouts and three perfect games.
Mussey says her best is yet to come.
鈥淪he鈥檒l get stronger,鈥 Mussey said. 鈥淪he won鈥檛 get taller, but she鈥檒l definitely get stronger over the next couple of years.鈥
鈥淭hat鈥檚 going to be pretty special.鈥
The looming challenge is Big Eight Conference champion Sun Prairie, the No. 2 seed. The Cardinals are state tournament tested. This is the fifth straight season the Cardinals have made it this far (excluding 2020 when there was no tournament due to the pandemic).
The Cardinals lost in last year鈥檚 championship game to Kaukauna, which is seeded No. 1 again this year.
鈥淭hey have it all,鈥 Mussey said of his quarterfinal opponent. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e legit.鈥
But the upstart Red Hawks beat a tournament-tested Burlington team in eight innings in their sectional final. Mussey believes the pressure is all on the Cardinals.
鈥淵ou get to this point and the game doesn鈥檛 know stats,鈥 Mussey said. 鈥淪o, when you line up and play, it鈥檚 really anybody鈥檚 game.
鈥淚 super excited for the girls to get the opportunity.鈥
Especially for the four seniors.
