Taylor Stewart is helping the Rutland Hurricanes in multiple ways.
"She's young. She is a sophomore, but she has a couple dimensions. She can play several different positions -- right now, she's playing 2nd, and pitches," Rutland softball head coach Amanda Maddox said.
But Taylor also thrives in another role, and even as a sophomore, she's not shy about the type of player she wants to be.
"The age doesn't matter -- like, seniority is a thing, but it doesn't really matter -- you should always want to be a leader," sophomore Taylor Stewart said.
But it's not just her softball skills that make her a dominant force for the Lady Hurricanes, it's how she steps up to the plate not wanting to strike out on the field that really matters -- her academics, posting a 3.7 GPA.
"Academics can get you, like, a really good scholarship and it can, like, get you somewhere in life and softball can, too, but it's not as important," Stewart said.
"Starting as a sophomore in the classroom, everything, it's important to go ahead and start young instead of waiting, trying to wait until your junior or senior year, and it maybe pushed the upper classmen to do well also," Maddox said.
And Taylor seems to be ahead of the curve,
"A lot of people don't just look at you as a softball player, they look at you as, like, what school do you go to and who you are representing, and if you represent it well, then your school is known well," said Stewart.
And there is no doubt with students like Taylor, Rutland's reputation will grow both on and off the field.