A year ago, Kaylee Marshall decided to do something she has not done since elementary school – play softball.

“I wanted to do something different because I stopped playing other sports,” the Wellsville-Middletown senior said. “I was like, ‘Well, I miss softball and I played it in P.E. one year. I really wanted to get back into it.’ So I did. I enjoyed it.”

After just two years, Marshall was a valuable player for the Tigers. This fall, she enjoyed a strong season in the outfield and the plate and helped her team get its first wins since the 2018 season.

“She was such a team player and it was great to see,” first-year W-M coach Taylor Sewell said. “All of the girls looked up to her. She was very teamwork oriented and she was great. For having two years of softball experience, she came in and got some doubles and got some singles. She was a solid outfielder. She can catch the ball and she can rocket it home. She had an arm. I have all of my faith in her. I have no issues with Marshall.”

On Sept. 26, the Tigers celebrated Kaylee Marshall Day in their home game against Van-Far as Marshall was the only senior on the team. She was recognized along with her parents after W-M lost 20-3.

“It was good,” Marshall said. “The girls gave me a lot of stuff. The game could have gone a lot better. I wasn’t thrilled with it and we definitely weren’t bringing our A-game that day. But it was good for me. I enjoyed it at the end. I never experienced anything like it.”

Last year, Marshall was one of 10 girls who played softball at the high school level for the first time. It was the first time she played softball since fourth grade.

This year, she led a W-M squad that had a combined six freshmen and sophomores.

“I really enjoyed my senior year as a softball player,” Marshall said. “We had two great coaches. I learned a lot more stuff this year. There were things I didn’t know. It was only my second year playing. It went well. I thought I improved a lot. I felt like I could improve even more.”

One of Marshall’s biggest highlights this season was helping the Tigers cruise to a 16-5 win over Marion County on Sept. 12 that snapped a 52-game losing streak for W-M. She finished with three hits with a double, two runs scored and an RBI.

Five days later, Marshall helped the Tigers pick up wins over Madison and Bucklin, giving the team three wins for the season.

“I was very happy with how we did,” said Marshall, who also competes in track during the spring. “Knowing that we’re small, it’s hard to get all of the wins playing against bigger schools and everything. You have to put in even more effort than what you do in just playing with a big team. You have to give it your all every time you play and every time you step out on the field. For the games we won, we were definitely all there stepping up and bringing it to the field.”

Sewell said she will miss seeing Marshall bring a positive attitude to all of the practices and games next year.

“She was just a joy,” Sewell said. “She’s always smiling. She’s always in a good mood. I can’t tell you when she was in a bad mood. There was never a frown on her face, even when she struck out or something. She picked it right up and she was good to go. She was literally the light of our team.”