Highland High School softball seniors lament senior season lost to coronavirus
The news hit them like a gut punch that would leave a hole in their hearts and souls.
That was pretty much the immediate and early reaction for Highland High School softball players Reagan Crask, Carlie Mettler, Nicole Knackstedt, Maddie Adolph, and Taylor Fleming. On April 17, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker announced the closing of schools statewide for the remainder of the 2019-20 academic year.
For the five HHS seniors on the 2020 Lady Bulldogs softball team, it was not just end of the season, but the end of an era that has seen the quintet bond over and play the game together as friends and teammates since their grade school days more than eight years ago.
“We all kind of knew it was coming I think, and we all are really sad and I think softball is one thing. But the teammates and the camaraderie and everything that goes along with it is what makes me the most sad (to lose the season),” said Fleming.
As softball players, Crask, Mettler, Knackstedt, Adolph, and Fleming began their playing days playing together on a 10U travel team that was started by Crask’s father, Kevin, and Mettler’s stepdad, Dusty Barr, and it was called the Red Hots.
“We’ve been playing together since 10U, “ Mettler said. “So, my stepdad, Dustin Barr, and Reagan’s dad Kevin Crask started the Red Hots, so we did not do very well (early). We only won one game but it kind of got us started and it kind of created that softball bond (we have) together.”
The quintet played with the Red Hots for a couple of seasons before teaming up with the Highland Thunderhawks and their coach John Basden.
Adolph, like the other seniors, found comfort in playing during the summer and spring seasons through club ball and high school because each player knew how to work with the other in virtually every situation.
“We all knew how each other played (in games and practice), so we could bounce back off of each other,” Adolph said. “We knew how far we could cover on the field and all that and just being we’re all best friends that helps too. We’re always there to pick each other up.”
Last summer, the Thunderhawks ended their season with a tournament championship and the last game of the 2019 campaign was a bittersweet one, as Crask, Knackstedt, Adolph, and Fleming finished their club season careers with the Thunderhawks.
“We did have our last game with the Thunderhawks season last summer and it was emotional to say goodbye to that part because we aren’t carrying on that travel ball any more, so we kind of had some closure there,” Knackstedt said.
No official closure to high school season
Proper closure is unfortunately not going to be possible for the Lady Bulldogs this spring due to the coronavirus shutdown.
That has left the seniors feeling unfulfilled and wishing they could have had one more season together on the diamond at HHS before heading off to college.
“Just the thought of that almost brings me to tears knowing that my girls and I ... we’ve been through it since the beginning and yeah we’ve grown together through all the wins and losses, we have learned so much and we were really having those senior moments as part of our book,” Adolph said.
Krask said she will greatly miss the hanging out and fun times she had with her fellow seniors on and off the softball field.
“Definitely (I’ll miss) the laughs because we always have fun at practice or playing the games, or (having) fun bus rides home and winning games, but definitely the laughs and memories (from them),” Crask said. “Hopefully, we’ll still stay close when we get in college and in touch.”
Although the Lady Bulldog seniors are not playing softball at the college level, each one is heading onto college this fall as Crask and Knackstedt will attend Southeast Missouri State University, while Fleming and Mettler will be studying at the University of Illinois and Adolph will continue he education this fall at Greenville University.
This story was originally published April 23, 2020 at 10:24 AM.