Norwalk never got too low in historic season

Everything was in place. After years of inconsistency and losing seasons, the Norwalk High School softball program had a purpose. The 2023 season had gotten off to an 0-7 start, but finished strong with a 12-12 record. The Truckers had just one senior and returned their ace pitcher in the circle for 2024. "We had a lot of momentum, and we knew we had a lot of players coming back," senior McKenna Ames said. "Everyone was confident in what we were going to do." But things didn't go to plan. Norwalk didn't just lose its first three games to quality opponents, Shelby (17-7), Crestview (17-7) and New London (16-6). The Truckers were outscored 32-3 in 19 innings. Despite all the talent returning, a rough start no one envisioned left Norwalk searching. Were they a team that was going to not finish with a winning record for a seventh straight season? Or, were they really a team with aspirations of making program history? "What made this team different was there was no panic," senior outfielder Emily Skeel said. "I think we were still confident in our team and trusted our underclassmen — we just had to focus and put it together." The Truckers did that in a big way, and find themselves still playing in the middle of May. The 0-3 start was quickly forgotten with 10 wins in an 11-game stretch. Now, Norwalk (15-8) takes the field at 5 p.m. on Tuesday in a Division II district semifinal vs. Clear Fork (15-7) at Willard with the first winning season since 2016 — and an even bigger first. The Truckers shared the Sandusky Bay Conference Lake Division championship with Clyde, marking the first league title in program history. How it happened and why it was the 2024 team that broke through directly tied to the struggles of the past. The first win When the Norwalk players left the field on March 29, the Easter holiday weekend meant a slight break. Then the weather went bad. The Truckers didn't return to the field until six days later, and the time off proved critical. "We had a kids clinic, and it brought us together a lot," senior outfielder Tyra Corbin said. "We definitely changed our mindset. We weren't playing the way we were capable of playing." The night before an April 4 game vs. Bellevue — which was relocated to Sports Force Parks in Sandusky because of the field conditions — the team had a gathering. After talking some things out, the message was simple. "We need a win, right here, right now," senior infielder Callie Helton said. "Let's get a move on, because we had a rough first week and now it was a league game. Coach Julie (Schmidt) pushed us really hard that week to get a win." All six seniors agreed the 5-3 win over Bellevue was where the season turned. But it wasn't as much to do with it being the first win of the season as it was the opponent. Though the Lady Red had a 'down' season by their standards, it was still the red and white of Bellevue in the other dugout. The Lady Red had owned the former Northern Ohio League and the SBC Lake Division most seasons, including the past three seasons as league champs. "It turned the season around, right there," senior pitcher Haley Gockstetter said. "When we beat them, our whole team dynamic changed, and it was really cool to see." Gockstetter's view of the program is a unique one. She had been a team manager since the fifth grade. She was in the dugout for the 1-18 season in 2018, and the three losing seasons that followed. Gockstetter kept score of the games for the team back then. But she also saw first-hand how far the program needed to go. "I saw all their setbacks and the game, and just how different it is at the varsity level verus travel ball or the school league some of us had played in," she said. "I think all of us have gone through something that made us stronger, and it pushed us. "We've all seen adversity in our softball careers, and as a team we've faced a lo. We had all done tougher things in our lives, and we put that to the test on the field and really took off." Genuinely authentic After the Truckers saw their six-game win streak snapped at Margaretta (17-10) on April 16, they showed why this season might be different the very next day. Norwalk went to Perkins and claimed a 5-2 win, then won a wild slugfest at Bellevue, 21-12, on April 19. The next morning, they went to Western Reserve and outscored the Roughriders, 30-4, in a non-league doubleheader. In about an 18-hour span, the Truckers had scored 51 runs and had taken control of the SBC Lake race. "There has been a lot more drive from every single person on this team," senior Hailee Smith said. Smith and Skeel will be co-salutatorians at NHS graduation on June 1. "The energy on this field, the encouragement of everyone … we don't let each other get down on one mistake," Smith added. "We come right back. After that first week, it hasn't been a never-ending spiral when we mess up." After tight losses at Lexington (20-2) and Clyde (19-7) by scores of 2-0 and 5-3, Norwalk responded with wins at Sandusky and Tiffin Columbian to claim their league title share. But then came another crossroads. The team took an 8-3 loss at Mansfield Madison on May 2, then stumbled in the first inning of a 4-3 loss vs. Perkins on May 3. That loss on Senior Night cost the Truckers an outright title. Two non-league wins at Danbury and Firelands later, Norwalk was tasked with going to Shelby in a sectional title game to face the same team that started their season off with a resounding 8-1 defeat on March 25. The Truckers trailed 5-3 and were down to their final three outs in the seventh inning against the Whippets on May 10. But four straight hits tied the game, and a sacrifice fly off the bat of CJ Bennett tied it. In the eighth, another freshman, Emma Gebhardt, hit an over-the-fence home run — and Gockstetter did the rest in the circle in the bottom of the inning to seal the 6-5 win. "Even on the days we've lost, our energy hasn't dropped," Skeel said. "We don't let it get to us this year. We're able to reflect on what happened in the games we lost, then we come back for the next one ready to play. "This team trusts each other, and that's a big part of it." The contributions of freshmen Bennett and Gebhardt; junior centerfielder and leadoff hitter Mya Prochnow; and junior catcher Audryn Ott — have complimented the six seniors to perfection. "A lot of these seniors are four-year letter winners and have had the experience to adapt into the culture we're building, and the expectations we have as a coaching staff," Schmidt said. The eighth-year coach said the willingness to go the extra mile has paid off. Several players show up to school at 6 a.m. to put work in before practicing later in the day. Schmidt also said assistant coach Brian Preston is a huge piece to the puzzle, as are the families who have bought in to the commitment. But more than anything, Schmidt said the 2024 Truckers have shown a willingness to be as excited for someone else's success as they are their own. "That is rare on a team," she said. "And to see a team that is genuine, and authentically happy for their teammates, created a dynamic that opened the door to breaking that glass ceiling this year." When asked why it was this team that made history with a league and sectional championships, Helton laughed. "That's easy," she said. "The energy, the passion — the team dynamic is like nothing I've experienced before. We have sleepovers almost every weekend, we are best friends who laugh and talk about everything together." Corbin said her teammates helped her become more social. In turn, the group was able to push through any distractions or setbacks to be the first team to add a year to the previously blank softball banner in the NHS gym. "We don't have the time to worry about any drama between each other," Corbin said. "It's been amazing; a great escape. The best four years of my life have been on this field with this team."