Still working her way back from a broken foot, Chesterton softball shortstop Lila Miller plays her first two games, a lopsided win over Michigan City and a one-side loss to LaPorte

Tom Keegan
Onwardtrojans.com

Most would agree that temperatures in the low 40s and wind mph counts in double digits made for lousy days to play softball Tuesday and Wednesday.
So, why was Chesterton junior Lila Miller sporting a wide smile so much of the time? Because when you love the game as much as she does and you suffer an injury that threatens to wipe out your entire season, there is no such thing as a bad day to play softball.
Pain has been a steady companion for Miller since injuring herself practicing sliding in the fieldhouse on Jan. 27, when her left foot “got caught underneath of me and rolled under.”
She fractured the navicular bone, defined by theskeletalsystem.net as “a short, irregular, boat-shaped bone in the midfoot region that connects the ankle and the cuneiform bones.”
A fixture at shortstop since her freshman season, Miller said she was on crutches for four weeks, in a walking boot for three weeks, had the boot removed two weeks ago and continues to undergo physical therapy sessions.
“I’ve had to get two steroid shots in my tendon and my nerve down there because they’ve been inflamed as well, so it’s been a long road,” she said.
She was not yet cleared to play in the opener, a 10-7 loss at Hobart, and made her return in Tuesday’s 17-1 win at Michigan City, shortened to five innings by the mercy rule. She also played in the 10-0, five-inning home mercy rule loss to LaPorte. Mia Maxel pitched a no-hitter for the Slicers.
Miller would like to report that the injury is completely in the past, her left foot feels just as it did before she broke the bone, and her timing already is fully restored, but that’s not the case. There still are painful reminders.
“Not as much pain now,” Miller said. “It definitely has gone down a lot, and I feel better and more confident in my foot, but there still are some steps where I’m like, ‘Oh, I felt that!’”
She said there were times when she was wondering if she would be able to make it back at all this season: “I was, especially with the prolonged pain, but I’m really glad that the steroid shots have helped, and I’m just really excited to get back. It has been a test of my patience, but I’m putting my faith over my fear, so hopefully I’ll be back.”
Miller went 2 for 3 in the Michigan City game and said she felt fine running the bases.
“I think adrenaline got to me and I didn’t feel anything,” she said. “It’s tested my patience and it’s been a long road, but I’ve been working at getting stronger and doing what I can to get back.”
The loss dropped the Trojans to 1-2 in a season that already has had multiple games cancelled. They have used three pitchers, in order: junior Hannah Florian, freshman Payton Cherep and sophomore Ava Vagner, but have not yet identified a staff ace.
The cold, wet weather and subpar play doesn’t appear to have dampened the team’s spirit.
“I think we’ll be good,” Miller said. “We just have to keep working hard. We have to keep preparing for sectionals because we really do have a chance. I have high hopes for this year.”
The day didn’t go as anybody had hoped, but the postgame thrilled the future Trojans who came to the game. As part of Liberty Rec Night, youth softball players were given posters and encouraged to have current Trojans sign them. Several young players wanted more than posters signed and had players autograph their jerseys and gloves in what amounted to a fun experience for ballplayers on both sides of the Sharpies, not to mention a nice temporary distraction for the varsity players from the game’s outcome.