Editor’s note: Leslie Harridge supplied the Softball Team photo and names.
Morrison High School Senior Madilyn Armitage has signed to play Division 2, NJCAA Softball, at Sauk Valley Community College, in Dixon, IL. On Saturday, November 16, 2024, she formalized her commitment online. On Tuesday, November 19, her family gathered in the gym for a photograph. Left-to-right are father, Dan Armitage (Jessica); brother, Owen, 10; Madi; sister, Lylah Harridge, 12; mother, Leslie Harridge; “bonus” father, Andy Harridge. Her adult siblings include a brother, Logan Petkus (serving in the Air Force); a sister, Mackenzie Petkus (teaching in Sterling, IL.)
Softball Coach Chelsea Eads joined Madi to celebrate her future athletic endeavors, as did her Fillies teammates.
Pictured left-to-right are, top row, Jayci Borman, Megan Folkers, Claire Derycke, Taylor Mackum, Hailey Kenseth, Sophie Damhoff, and Paisley VanZuiden. In the middle row are Ava Duncan, Bella Scachette, Elle Milnes, Allie Anderson, Peyton Lowery, and Caylee Bramm. At the bottom are Coach Chelsea Eads, Bella Duncan, Madi Armitage, and Emma Mackum.
Youth Tee Ball League–for youngsters ages 4-7–led her to Softball. In Junior High, she joined the Morrison Travel Ball team. She joined another Travel Ball team, the Raging Rapids, out of Rapids City, IL. “I stopped playing Travel Ball in 2022,” she said. “I miss Travel.”
“I’ve always been Third Base or Catcher. Last year I played First Base. It is very different from the Third Base [position] I’ve been used to!”
This summer Armitage had a walk-through with Sauk’s Softball Coach, Derron Sellers. “The field is being improved. He likes to stick to 11 or 12 players” on the Skyhawks team. “I met the other 2025 commits,” she reported.
In the past, she said, “looking forward, I never would have seen myself being able to…play Softball after High School. I’m excited, I get the opportunity to continue.”
After two years, Madilyn will transfer to Illinois State University, in Bloomington, IL. She plans to major in Elementary Education, with a minor in Psychology.