THIS YEAR’S BEST
Mountain View senior overcomes injury, seven-month rehab to return to elite form
Bailey Carlson named Softball Player of the Year for 2020 season
When suf fering an illfated setback, one must refrain from dwelling on the distance to which they’ve stumbled while instead focusing on the heights they’re still capable of climbing.
It’s safe to assume most athletes agree with this notion. However, programming the mind is often easier said than done –– particularly in extreme cases like Bailey Carlson’s, where the sudden crack of a bone plummeted the pitcher back to square one after standing atop Colorado prep softball’s summit only seconds prior.
As an immediate ace, Carlson capped a dominant freshman year in the circle upon claiming a complete-game victor y in the 2017 4A state championship. Amounting to an incomparably brilliant underclassman tenure, she then spun a sub-3.00 ERA for the second consecutive season as Mountain View finished
as state runner-ups in 2018.
Despite vir tually standing on top of the world with half of her career ahead, adversity subsequently struck when Carlson broke her shoulder the summer before her junior year –– spiraling the star into a seven-month rehabilitation process.
“It was just really stressful,” she said. “There were points where I thought I wasn’t coming back or that I was never gonna be the same again. But I stayed motivated because I knew that Mountain View needed me, and I wanted to be there. I wanted to play for them so bad.”
Justifiably so, Carlson occasionally worried about the future difficulties that might be in store. But the veteran didn’t sulk over her career’s trajectory. Nor did she lose hope. Rather, the Fort Hays State signee exerted her time and energy into finding a way to return better than ever.
And after shaking off the rust throughout the latter stages of her junior season, Carlson truly reached the elite form she desired in 2020. Now, in light of a magnificent campaign both as a lethal ace and superior bat in coach Randy Felton’s lineup, the resilient senior deservingly seizes RH AllArea softball player of the year honors.
“It took a little while to get her going as a junior, and then this year she came back completely healthy,” Felton said. “She had a lot of guts this year, and she rebounded well. She took advantage of the situation. She never mentioned the injur y. She never was scared that she was gonna get hur t again. You could just see how confident she was.”
Carlson’s enhanced confidence and ability to wholly place the injury in the rearview mirror resulted in some pretty eye-popping numbers.
The rejuvenated pitcher constructed a 2.57 ERA in the circle, hurling the second-most total innings in the 4A realm with 100 2/3. Paying the shortened cam- paign’s statistical constraints no mind, Carlson accumulated a career-most 104 strikeouts while surrendering a mere 26 walks.
At the plate, the senior caught fire early in the season and never slowed down en route to posting her best stint in the batter’s box by a vast margin. Namely, Carlson finished fourth in 4A’s home run title chase with seven dingers. She also utilized her newfound slugging prowess to push across 22 RBIS and record a .500 onbase percentage through 64 plate appearances.
In addition to restored health, the all-around prosperity represented a byproduct of improved, veteran knowledge of the game.
“This year, I could see her learning and paying attention to all the details that are too big for young players,” Felton said. “She was looking for cer tain pitches at the plate to slow the game down. I could hear her talking in the dugout saying, you know (the opposing pitcher) is throwing this first pitch every time and things like that. She did the same thing pitching. She had a lot more success knowing she can set up hitters too. She just got a lot smarter, and the biggest thing was everything slowed down for her.”
Slamming her high school journey’s door on a wellearned high note, Carlson launched an 11th-inning, walk-off grand slam to lift MV over Riverdale Ridge 5-4 in her final home game as a Mountain Lion.
The Sept. 29 victory marked the end of Carlson’s inspiring tenure and upperclassman comeback. However, it wasn’t as if her approach against Riverdale Ridge dif fered from the previous fragments on MV’S abbreviated 2020 schedule.
Carlson’s past experiences generated a refined mindset in which she attacked every opportunity on the diamond, knowing an unforeseen setback could await her –– or any athlete for that matter –– at any turn.
She left no stone unturned upon re-ascending toward prep softball’s summit yet again.
“My injury gave me a much bigger appreciation for the game,” Carlson said.
“All I wanted to do was play, and that’s all I thought about when I was recovering. I wanted to play it so much more after I got cleared too. It really just put in perspective that you never know when your last game is gonna be. Like if I knew one of those games could have been my last during my sophomore year, I would have played so much harder. But now, after that, I play ever y game like it’s my last, all the way to the fullest.”
1B Riley Eberhardt –– Upon taking over at first base this season, the Loveland sophomore constructed an imposing .449 on-base percentage while driving in seven runs and stealing five bases.
2B Lilly Reed –– Amounting to her second consecutive All-area honor, Mountain View’s second baseman amassed 29 knocks in only 16 games as a junior. Boasting an overall prolific stat line, Reed hit .468 at the plate while gathering 14 RBIS.
SS Gracie Flores –– Representing one of the area’s most prolific seasons in recent history, Berthoud’s sophomore slashed a ridiculous .600 batting average along with a .980 slugging percentage. The do-it-all underclassman accumulated 18 RBIS, nine stolen bases and didn’t strike out once in 57 plate appearances.
3B Kendall Bender –– The MV senior seamlessly managed the hot corner while hitting .414 at the dish and posting 11 RBIS en route to her first All-area selection.
C Emma Duran –– After obtaining All-area distinction as an outfielder last year, the LHS senior experienced no issues when becoming the squad’s primary backstop. She also notched a .508 OBP, mashed three home runs and tallied a team-most 20 RBIS. UTIL Kammrie Bakovich –– Operating as one of LHS’ key power specialists, the junior led coach Mike Felton’s squad in extra-base knocks (10), slugging (.706) and OPS (1.207). The shor tstop/second baseman’s 14 RBIS and .500 OBP weren’t too shabby either.
OF Ellie Heiser –– LHS’ agile sophomore dashed her way to the area’s highest stolenbase total, successfully nabbing either second or third base on all 12 of her attempts. The outfielder accrued nine extra-base knocks with a .476 OBP to her name as well.
OF Ellie Yuska –– The Spartans’ senior power threat slugged .902 upon clubbing four home runs and two doubles as her 18 RBIS finished tied with Flores for the team-most. Yuska also manufactured a .489 OBP during an emphatic breakout campaign.
OF Emma Case –– Alongside steady reliability in the outfield grass, the LHS sophomore collected nine extrabase hits and drove in double-digit runs behind a .408 batting average.