BY DANIEL SCHMIDT
THE OBSERVER
AUBURN — In the predawn chill of an Arkansas marsh, a good duck hunter relies in awareness and patience until the moment they’ve waited for arrives, suddenly and without a second chance.
At Lee-Scott Academy’s softball field, those same instincts belong to senior center fielder Karlee Baker.
They also showed a Dadeville High School player who tried tagging up from third base what happens when a hunter sets her sights: a throw from center, a tag at the plate and a runner who never stood a chance.
A waterfowl enthusiast off the field and an outfielder by happy accident since age 7, Baker said the recognition for her senior season has been more than worth the years of work.
“I put a lot of hard work into [playing softball], and it’s finally starting to pay off, so it means a lot,” said Baker with a Southern drawl. “I was way more relaxed this season and didn’t put nearly as much pressure on myself, so I just went out there, played the game with my teammates and tried not to think about everything.”
Baker’s road to being named The Observer’s Outfielder of the Year was a gleaming capstone on a storied prep career.
In 112 at-bats, the senior knocked down 51 hits for a .455 batting average, one home run, 46 runs, 34 RBIs and 11 stolen bases.
Defensively, she was nearly flawless with a 97.2% fielding percentage and just two errors on 72 total chances.
Entering her final season in a Lady Warriors jersey, Baker had a checklist of goals she wanted to achieve: make the regional tournament, bat .350 or better and commit the fewest errors possible.
Mission accomplished.
“It was a lot of fun, just being out here with all of my teammates,” Baker said. “We didn’t know what we were going to do, but we just wanted to do the best we could, and I think we did.”
However, Baker’s path to becoming one of East Alabama’s top outfielders was not straightforward.
When she first slipped a glove onto her right hand, her natural speed and athleticism caught her coaches’ eyes, and a defensive move away from the bases was inevitable.
After some initial resistance, Baker eventually gave in to their professional opinions and poured herself into playing in the outfield.
Yet her reservations didn’t fully go away until her seventh-grade season, when a diving catch at the AISA state tournament — one that sent her crashing into the outfield padding — cemented her love for the position.
While Baker’s talent had been clear since her Little League days, playing at a program like LSA required something extra.
The biggest leap in her game didn’t come in the batter’s box, but rather in center field, where Baker credited Lady Warriors head softball coach Tina Deese for her development.
“She always wanted us to be better, and we had to run a lot,” Baker said. “She really made me the outfielder I am. We had this one practice where none of us could hit our cut, and we just had to take off running every time. That’s what made me start throwing better.”
Deese said Baker has been the kind of player she’ll miss most, noting her scrappy nature and willingness to come to the team’s facilities early and stay late.
“Karlee is all about getting better, giving 100% on the field, knowing that she needs to lead and representing with actions versus just telling people what to do,” said Deese. “Every day we spent time together here after practice, and she was the last one I ever saw on the practice field for the last six years. She’s a real special character, and I’m going to miss her. She’s a fighter, that’s probably what I love most about her.”
For Baker, a Lady Warrior since kindergarten after following her dad — who is an assistant softball coach — and siblings to the school, the year closed a long chapter.
Having recently graduated, memories of team dinners, lighthearted conversations in the batter’s cage and listening to Lynyrd Skynyrd, George Strait and Zach Top before games are now left behind.
Moving forward, Baker will attend Northeast Alabama Community College, where she’ll continue in the outfield while pursuing a degree in physical therapy.
As she prepares to leave, Baker said she believes her class’s collective crowning achievement was helping lead LSA into a new era as an Alabama High School Athletic Association member school.
“All the seniors, we left it better than when we got here,” Baker said. “I think we’ll be remembered. I hope we’ll be remembered.”
