Sophomore shortstop Taylor Schafer knows first-year Lake Central coach Brooke Baker-Runyon has “been there and done it.”
So when Baker-Runyon speaks to Schafer’s singular dedication to her craft, it carries weight.
“Her work ethic is like no other I’ve ever seen before,” Baker-Runyon said. “The kid puts in work. If she’s not in school, she’s putting in softball work. She’s practicing.
“One other thing that sets her apart from a lot of players is she’s such a student of the game. She can’t soak up enough knowledge. She’s always looking to get some kind of edge somewhere.”
Jeff Sherman expressed similar sentiments. He coached Lake Central for 13 seasons before departing to become assistant athletic director at LaPorte.
“If you want a kid who eats, breathes and sleeps softball, you have her,” Sherman said. “She’s 100% softball every day.
“She had great knowledge of the game already, but she was receptive to thoughts and criticisms and all of that kind of stuff. It wasn’t like, ‘I’m really talented. I’m not going to listen.’ She took her knowledge and at the same time also listened.”
Such diligence helped Schafer flourish as a freshman last season, when she hit a team-leading .500 with a team-high 16 doubles and 38 RBIs. It’s also a reason she’s poised to take on an even more prominent position this season.
Lake Central graduated seven players from a decorated class. Its first roster under Baker-Runyon — who pitched the Indians to a state title in 2002, was Miss Softball and the Indiana Gatorade player of the year in 2003, had a record-setting career at Purdue and guided Andrean to a state title in 2012 in the first of her six seasons as coach — includes just three seniors.
Schafer has the bearing of a senior, however.
“She’s very, very mature,” Baker-Runyon said. “She’s definitely a leader on and off the field. She’s definitely the person that a lot of our team looks to to make some decisions. Being a sophomore, that’s a pretty big role to fill. But she’s done a great job. I’m pleasantly surprised with her personality and her skill level.”
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Schafer has welcomed the responsibility.
“I look to bring good leadership, good communication on and off the field, and to be there for my teammates,” she said. “I have no personal goals. They’re all team goals. When we can put aside our individual goals and fight for the team, that’s when we’ll be at our best. We’re all going out there to win.
“Last year was an adjustment. Hitting at the head of the lineup, it was, ‘What can I look for in their pitch sequence? What do they throw on their first pitch? When they get ahead, what’s their go-to pitch?’ I just started picking up the key things. With the leadership of the seven seniors, I picked their brains and took the information from them.”
Schafer spent most of last season hitting second behind outfielder Jolie Adams, a nationally ranked junior and Auburn commit.
“She brings very, very good energy,” Adams said of Schafer. “She’s a very reliable teammate, not only on the field but off the field. She’s a very good shortstop, but she’s also a very reliable teammate off the field with anything you need. She’s always supportive.”
Schafer had an open mind entering her freshman season.
“My expectation, my goal was to see the varsity field,” she said. “Coming in, I knew Sherm had a great tendency to start people as freshmen, so I knew I was in good hands. I built a really good relationship with Sherm and the seven seniors to feel included. Then I just went from there. I went game by game. I didn’t look at the big picture. I took baby steps. And it turned out pretty good.
“I brought good energy. Coming in here, I always wanted to start. But looking up to those seven — I could not have asked for a better senior class to help me through my freshman year — seeing what they carried through fall training, all throughout tryouts, what they brought to the team, and I could just blend in.”
But not as much as perhaps initially imagined.
Sydney Doloszycki, now a freshman at Michigan State, was the incumbent at shortstop. But she missed virtually her entire senior season after suffering a knee injury in the fall.
With a healthy Doloszycki, Sherman envisioned Schafer likely playing either second or third base. Even with Doloszycki sidelined, Schafer opened last season primarily at third before making a “seamless transition” to shortstop, he said.
“Syd was one of the best players in the state, and Taylor was really excited to play with her, not necessarily replace her,” Sherman said. “She was forced to go from a really good role player to a focal point much quicker than she was going to have to, and she handled it really well.
“Offensively, she’s so incredibly talented, you had to find a spot on the field for her. She has a beautiful swing, such a nice, compact swing. She’s just an outstanding softball player.”
Schafer took Doloszycki’s injury hard. They played for the same travel program.
“Syd being so good at short, I was just looking to pick her brain,” Schafer said. “If I had the opportunity to play with her, I was just really going to focus on what I could do to become better as a sophomore.
“At the end of the day, I didn’t really care if I sat, if I was on varsity or not — I was going to take something away from her. I was going to make sure I had the time to ask her questions. Even off the field, she was great to me. She showed me so much both on and off the field.”
Schafer’s father, Doug, owns and operates the Athletic Performance Factory in Highland, where many Region athletes train, and her mother, Kim, is heavily involved. Her cousin Jordan also spent parts of six seasons in the major leagues with the Braves, Astros and Twins.
“I have a great support system,” Schafer said. “In this game, it’s huge to have a great support system. I’m blessed with people who want to work with me every day. If I ask them, ‘Hey, can you hit me ground balls?’ or ‘Hey, can you hit with me?’ they’re always willing to.
“Not only do I give them all of my effort, they give me all of theirs.”