MADISON TOWNSHIP — It was a fitting end to the Division III district championship softball game.
After the Madison Rams defeated Celina 10-2 for their second consecutive title, the public address announcer asked the Madison Rams seniors to step forward to accept the team trophy.
He could have left off the ‘s’ on seniors.
Lone senior Campbell Kiser reluctantly stepped forward after being pushed by her teammates to go accept the gold-plated plaque almost as if she had to be shoved into the spotlight, a place she never once wanted.
She just wants to play softball.
“She is the most positive kid I have ever coached,” Madison coach Tim Niswander said. “She legitimately wants everyone around her to be better than she is. That kind of selflessness is impossible to find today. Campbell had been an absolute joy.”
As she raised the trophy with pride, it was almost as if it were a full-circle moment for the senior second baseman. As a varsity starter as a freshman, Kiser burst onto the softball scene hitting .250 with four hits, a double, a triple with two RBIs and seven runs scored in just six games.
She would have played more games and likely seen her stats continue to climb had it not been for a torn ACL injury that brought a sad end to a great start to her very first varsity season. She walked into the dugout before a home game against Mount Vernon after getting her knee scanned and broke the news to Niswander that her season was over. She broke into tears, as did her coach, and accepted a hug before a little pep talk about coming back the next season stronger than ever.
“She was still at every single game being a positive influence on her teammates,” Niswander said. “And from Day 1, she has been the best teammate anyone could ever have. If there are kids watching us play, we want them to be her.”
She did come back the following season as a sophomore and hit .305 with 29 hits, five doubles, a triple, 15 RBIs and 12 runs scored less than 12 months after suffering a serious knee injury. Her junior year, she was back to herself again hitting .434 with 43 hits, 11 doubles, two triples, two home runs, 29 RBIs and 32 runs scored while leading the Rams to a district championship and an Ohio Cardinal Conference title.
That was when she shifted her focus to the 2026 season where she inherited a huge responsibility of being the only senior on the team. She had to do something very uncomfortable like being the vocal leader of the team. At first, she struggled and the Rams went 12-14 in the regular season. Then, she found her voice, and her bat, leading the team to back-to-back district titles after hitting .378 with 34 hits, 11 doubles, a triple, 21 RBIs and 23 runs scored while playing lights out at second base on defense.
What started out as a career with an ACL injury has evolved into two district titles.
“It’s been an incredible softball journey,” Kiser said. “I experienced the lowest of lows to the highest high in the four years I have been playing. It means so much.”
Affectionally known as Soup by her coaches and teammates because of her first name, you can make the connection, Kiser is looked up to by everyone on the team, including returning All-Ohio pitcher and slugger Caliyah Clapper.
“I have always looked up to Campbell,” Clapper said. “She gives 110% in every single practice and game. When I step on the field, I want to play like her so that we can win games and keep her career going. I don’t want to ever see her play her last game.”
Kiser makes sure she lives up to her role every single day.
“It means a lot to me to be in a position to where others look up to me,” Kiser said. “I love being a positive influence on the younger kids and setting an example of how to play the game hard. I take that responsibility seriously.”
And everyone else follows her lead.
“We have a saying that we have around here and it is, ‘Play like Soup’,” Niswander said. “We have to get t-shirts made to honor her time here. She has made that big of an impact.”
Which is why it was so important for Niswander to make sure Kiser got her moment of glory, even if it was far from what she wanted.
“That was so awesome,” Niswander said. “She needs the spotlight on her. She doesn’t want it, but she deserves it and for her to be the one to raise our district championship trophy is so well deserved and very much earned.”
Clapper made sure to take in the moment of watching her senior leader accept the trophy.
“I think that is a special moment for her and for our entire team,” Clapper said. “I played with Campbell when she was in middle school and we have been close ever since. Seeing her raise that trophy made me extremely happy for her.”
And Kiser, even if it is completely out of her comfort zone, took the moment in.
“It is overwhelming knowing I am the only senior, but it really does make it that much more special,” Kiser said.
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This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: ‘Play like soup’ the motto for Rams during softball tournament run
Reporting by Jake Furr, Mansfield News Journal / Mansfield News Journal
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
