Norwich — Hailee Schrader just got cleared to play for the Norwich Free Academy softball team in its biggest game of the year, last season's Class LL state tournament semifinals against Cheshire.

That's when Schrader, who was suffering from a bout with Lyme disease, started to feel really crummy.

"I was fatigued. I was dizzy. I was out of it," Schrader said.

It was to be one of life's "what ifs."

What if Schrader, NFA's whiz kid of a centerfielder — who had just earned Class LL all-state honors as a freshman — played against top-seeded Cheshire? Could she have made a difference in NFA's 2-0 loss to the eventual state champion Rams?

Happily for Schrader, she gets another shot to showcase her talents, three more years worth. The Wildcats' leadoff hitter, Schrader went 3-for-4 with a triple and a run scored Saturday in NFA's 8-3 victory over fellow Class LL team Westhill.

Schrader started in left field before moving to center after two innings for the Wildcats (6-0).

Schrader is diminutive, 5-foot-1, and bats left-handed, at times fooling teams into believing she's a slap hitter. She can be, but can also put a charge into a ball as she did against Westhill, drilling her triple over the head of the drawn-in left fielder. She said it was her dad, Lucien, a former catcher, who taught her to hit left-handed, converting from the right side.

"They're playing me to slap or playing me to bunt," Schrader said. "They don't know. Being small and batting lefty, they judge you. The outfield moves in, the infield moves in. That's when I take the chance."

Schrader said if she had to pick, her defense is her strongest asset. NFA coach Bryan Burdick isn't as certain. Schrader already hit .400 as a freshman, including a three-run double in the Class LL quarterfinals to propel the Wildcats past Newtown.

She had four hits in one game this season, an 11-1 victory over Hand.

"She can drop a bunt. She can drive the ball to the outfield. She has such a high on-base percentage," Burdick said of Schrader. "If she gets on, then you have Beth (Fleming), then Shea (Gendron), then Sara (Cote), then Brooke (Gottshall); it puts pressure on the defense.

"She's a humble kid. She doesn't ever not work because she's good enough at something. ... She understands there are still parts of her game she needs to improve. She shows a lot of maturity you don't always see by saying, 'This is what I need to work on. This is what I do well."

As an example of her humility, Schrader said she was just hoping to "make a team" at NFA, coming up from Kelly Middle School.

As it turns out, "a team' was the Wildcats' varsity. Starting lineup. She joined fellow freshmen Gottshall, Cote and Bailey Comeau in making the team and all four started at times. It was Cote, at one early-season practice, who drilled a ball off the pitching machine to the base of the 230-foot chain link fence that surrounds NFA's field, announcing the arrival of the freshmen.

Burdick, although he said the foursome is still playing with the same joy they did a year ago, is also happy they're sophomores.

"They're showing their personalities," Burdick said. "Bailey (Saturday's starting pitcher) was throwing a bullpen session one day and I asked how her curveball was going. She said, 'I'm kind of conflicted about my curve.' Conflicted? Last year Sara would just smile and nod. I might get a 'yes' or a 'hi.'"

That's one of the reasons Schrader hasn't dwelled on missing last year's semifinal game with Cheshire. "I was lucky enough to be a freshman on varsity," she said.

On Saturday, the Wildcats trailed Westhill 2-0 after one inning with Nos. 1 and 2 hitters Gabby Lacona and Kaira Ramon homering off Comeau.

After NFA tied it with two runs in the bottom of the second, Fleming came on to pitch. Westhill took a 3-2 lead before NFA responded with three runs in the fourth inning and three in the sixth. Gendron drilled a two-out bases-loaded single up the middle, waiting on a changeup, that resulted in all three runs in the fourth, as Westhill compounded the hit with an error. Gendron added an RBI in the sixth. Fleming struck out eight over five innings for the win.

Burdick knows his still-youthful team, which ended Fitch's 65-game regular-season winning streak in week one, will likely be ranked in the first state poll next. But he just tries to get them to focus on refining something small with every practice.

Said Burdick: "The minute we try to look too far ahead, the moment slips by us."

v.fulkerson@theday.com