One Friday during the season, Stevenson coach India Steward strolled into a routine practice and noticed senior Michaela Duffy and her teammates looked different.

The players were wearing long basketball shorts and oversized T-shirts.

“They all looked like Adam Sandler,” Steward said. “It was so funny. I was like, ‘Now we have to watch ‘Happy Gilmore.’”

It was Adam Sandler Day, she learned, a part of the themed practices on Fridays that Duffy, Hailey Langer and Megan Orgler had devised.

“I would come to practice, and they’d all be wearing tie-dye, a college shirt or superhero shirts,” Steward said. “It made the environment enjoyable.”

Those themed days were a hallmark of Duffy’s leadership that Steward said rescued Stevenson softball.

“Michaela was a blessing for me,” Steward said. “When I came in, the team didn’t trust any coaches. They had five coaches in five years. They had a lack of trust in coaches. Michaela was the one who told the girls to get behind me. She made my job 10 times easier.”

Much like Duffy’s leadership stabilized the Patriots, the sport has transformed her life.

“I’ve been playing since I was a baby,” she said. “And for me, softball is an outlet. I have dyslexia, so school doesn’t come super easily for me. It takes me longer to understand things in the classroom than the person next to me.

“But (dyslexia) had been a blessing in some ways because it helped me learn to advocate for myself. And it’s made me better on the softball field because I learned that practice makes you better, both in school and in softball.”

Duffy’s softball career was supercharged after her sophomore year, when she secured a spot playing for the Chicago Cheetahs travel program.

“That was a very competitive environment,” she said. “I had to fight for my spot. After being on that team, I knew that’s the type of environment I wanted.”

That boost catapulted Duffy to MVP-type status as an upperclassman. With Duffy leading the charge, Stevenson went 14-11 this past season, a run that included a Class 4A playoff win and a regional final.

“She killed it at third base,” Steward said. “She was consistent at the plate, consistent with her defense and consistent with her energy. She always wanted to play softball and was excited. That rubbed off on the other girls.”

Duffy’s older sisters, Genny and Grace, also played softball. After starring at Stevenson, Genny Duffy played for legendary coach John Tschida at St. Thomas through 2014. Tschida has since moved to St. Mary’s of Minnesota, an NCAA Division III program where Michaela Duffy will play.

“I knew it was the place for me and the environment I wanted to be in,” Duffy said.

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Tschida, who has more than 1,000 wins as a college coach, led the Cardinals to their first Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Tournament appearance in 10 years in 2023, his second season back with the program. In his first stint, St. Mary’s won the national championship in 2000. Tschida then won two more titles at St. Thomas.

“That (St. Mary’s) team will be elevated based on her energy alone,” Steward said. “People want to follow Michaela because of the way she carries herself. She has a way of leading people without belittling them. People want to follow her. They don’t feel insulted when she gives them advice. She’s easy to follow.”

Duffy is planning to major in nursing at St. Mary’s.

“No one in my immediate family did anything medical,” she said. “But I enjoy helping people, and nursing is a profession that’s always needed.”

Duffy will report to St. Mary’s in late August.

“I’m super excited,” she said. “This is definitely something I’ve been looking forward to since I was a little girl.”

Sam Brief is a freelance reporter for the News-Sun.