Exuding control, determination under pressure

WILSON, Wis. — When 4-year-old Kenzie Midtling first picked up a softball glove at a T-ball game, she could not have imagined how the sport would impact her over a decade later.

“It’s a game I grew to love,” Midtling said. “A lot of my friends played, so it was fun. But then as I got older, I found out it was something I was really good at.”

Midtling resides on her family’s 50-cow organic dairy farm in St. Croix County with her parents, Brad and Tina, and brother, Colton. She enjoys working with her family’s herd of registered Jerseys at Townside Jerseys near Wilson, where she handles milking and calf care chores regularly, along with other farm tasks and working with her show animals. After college, she would like to return to the farm and continue working alongside her family.

As a pitcher, Midtling enjoys the high stakes of her softball position.

“I love the pressure of it,” Midtling said. “You have your teammates counting on you; you have to perform for everyone. They get to stand there and make each play, but you have to throw each pitch. I like being in control of the game.”

Headed into her senior year at nearby Baldwin-Woodville High School, Midtling has built an impressive resume that includes a first-team all-state selection and Middle Border Conference Player of the Year by the Wisconsin Fastpitch Softball Coaches Association in her junior year.

Midtling found a knack for pitching several years ago.

“When I was playing youth softball, I played around, a little in the infield and outfield and I pitched some,” Midtling said. “At my first 10-year-old tryout, when you go from rec softball into a summer league, there was a pitching spot, and I decided to try out for it.”

Her pitching tryout turned some heads, and Midtling was encouraged to pursue the position.

With encouragement, Midtling turned her determination towards becoming the best pitcher she could be.

“In my pitching lessons, I learned control,” Midtling said. “I learned to throw curve balls, drop balls, changeups and things like that. I have to work at a rise ball, because naturally my balls drop; they go low, so the rise ball is harder for me.”

Midtling also attends lessons in the Twin Cities to help perfect her craft.

“My dad catches for me when I practice,” Midtling said. “He sits in on my pitching lessons; that way, when we pitch,
he can help correct things he sees. Both my parents are really supportive of my softball, of everything, really.”

Most who know Midtling are surprised at the fierce competitiveness that gleams in her eyes when she is on the mound.

“It actually surprised me a lot, how much I liked pitching, when I tried it,” Midtling said. “I’ve always been quiet, laid back, a little shy. But softball just brings out the boldness in me.”

As she transitioned from T-ball and recreation softball, Midtling played two years each of 10U and 12U, and one year of 14U in the Baldwin-Woodville Youth Ball Association. For her second year of 14U softball, Midtling tried out for Minnesota Magic Softball, based in Woodbury, Minnesota. This year marked her fourth year playing for the team.

“I’m pretty much playing softball year-round,” Midtling said. “I play with my high school team at Baldwin-Woodville in the spring, then with the Minnesota Magic summer team through the beginning of August. There’s a 2-week break and then the second week of August there are tryouts and whatever team you make, then that fall you play with that team. I also have winter training all winter.”

In addition to her high school schedule, Midtling said she usually plays in five tournaments with her summer team and 3-5 additional tournaments with her fall team. Most of those tournaments involve travel and include multiple days of games. This summer found her traveling to tournaments in Colorado, Kansas City and Tennessee, as well as playing in tournaments throughout Minnesota.

While she is laser-focused on softball, Midtling enjoys playing basketball and running cross country for fun as well.

Improving her game while protecting her shoulder and arm can be a delicate balance, Midtling said.

“One of my top things is staying in shape,” Midtling said. “I run, which helps in all my sports. I’m a pitcher, so my shoulders can get sore. I go to the chiropractor or use ice to keep on top of things. We don’t pitch at practices, so we have to pitch on our own time, so I do, but not every day to give my shoulders a break.”

Midtling said on average, she tries to pitch 3-4 days a week during the off-season. In season, it depends on the number of games her team is playing.

There are four pitchers on Midtling’s high school varsity team, but she is on the mound most of the time.

“I pitched every game this year, except for five innings,” Midtling said. “High school baseball has a 100-pitch rule, and then you have to sit, but softball doesn’t have that.”

Midtling said the hardest thing she has experienced so far in her softball career was an anterior cruciate ligament tear, suffered during the winter of her sophomore year, that had her sitting on the bench that spring.

“I had surgery in January 2025 and it was that November before I could start pitching again,” Midtling said. “That was so hard, sitting there. I was a wreck, not being able to play, because softball is all I know.”

In hindsight, Midtling said she feels the injury made her a better player.

“I’ve done the hardest thing — not playing,” Midtling said. “It made me tougher, made my mental game stronger. I have more control now.”

As she has progressed as a pitcher and taken on more farm responsibilities, Midtling said she has developed leadership skills that she never expected.

“It’s hard to be a leader of people your age,” Midtling said. “You wonder if they hate you for saying that we need to run or actually stretch before practice. But as you gain confidence in yourself and in your skills, when you learn to believe in yourself, that becomes leadership. People will respect you if you are honest and put in the work yourself.”