Xavier Nation Magazine Feature: Three Musketeers

Wild Pitch
Taking a ball to the face hasn't deterred pitcher Garrett Schilling.

As a sophomore last spring, baseball closer Garrett Schilling set a Xavier single-season record with 14 saves.

But a few years ago, as a senior for Bishop Foley Catholic High in Madison Heights, Michigan, Schilling was injured in a play that had onlookers wondering whether he'd ever pitch again.

Schilling was two outs away from a no-hitter when he threw one of his hardest pitches of the game. The batter drilled it right back at him.

"I had no chance to react," he says now. "It was a blur."

The ball struck Schilling in the left cheek. He was rushed to a nearby hospital, where eventually it took five metal plates to repair the damage. He temporarily lost sight in his left eye.

But the injury didn't affect Schilling's determination to play. He was out of the lineup for only a month and a day, and he eventually returned to the mound as a reliever in the state tournament.
The right-hander finished his high school career with a four-year record of 36–0.

How did he get the courage to pitch again?

"I told myself that I couldn't really think about what could happen," says Schilling, whose fastball has been clocked at 96 mph. "It was like a one-in-a-million shot, like getting struck by lightning.

"But mentally, it was tough."

Going to a sports psychologist boosted his confidence.

"He told me, 'You've made that play many times. See yourself making it again, over and over in your head. Always see yourself making that play.' "

The summer after his senior year, Schilling was starting pitcher in the state all-star game. A batter in the first inning hit a hard liner at him. Schilling, now wearing protective eyewear, quickly got his glove in front of his face and deflected the ball to shortstop, who threw out the batter.

He had made the play.
"Yes, I guess so," he says.

Ever the competitor, he adds, "Actually I was kind of mad at myself that I didn't catch it."

The Kick Is Good
How football helped soccer player Samantha Dewey score big

Samantha Dewey knows how to put the ball in the net. As a freshman last season, she led the Xavier women's soccer team with seven goals.

In high school, she proved she could put a football through the uprights, too. She was the kicker for Triton Central in Fairland, Indiana, and holds the school record for career extra points.
The highlight of her prep football career came when Dewey kicked a 23-yard field goal with four seconds left for a 17–14 win over Lutheran High. Dewey made the kick even though the holder bobbled the snap.

"After the ball went through, everyone went nuts," she says.

Indianapolis Star readers selected Dewey's clutch kick as the Play of the Week. Sports Illustrated noted Dewey in its "Faces in the Crowd" segment, which features up-and-coming amateur athletes.

The Triton Central football coach asked Dewey to try out during her junior year after the kicker went down with an injury. "Let's see how you do," he told her.

She found the transition wasn't hard. "I just had to get used to kicking off a tee."

She started with extra points. "After that, the coaches wanted to see if I could kick field goals," she says. "They backed me up until I couldn't make them anymore. I think my farthest in a practice was 52 yards."

She never missed an extra point during her junior year and missed only two her senior year. "And one of them was blocked," she says.

Empress of Ice Cream

Runner Maddie Britton has a chilly superstition. The ritual started in seventh grade, when she first became interested in running.

Now the Xavier women's track and cross country athlete can't make it through the day without eating ice cream.

She eats a pint every night, usually between 8:30 and 10.
"I think being a distance runner encourages an addictive personality," says the junior from Bay Village, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland. "I'm addicted to running—if I skipped a day, I'd go crazy. The same thing has happened to me with ice cream. If I don't have it, I get really sad."

Her teammates are aware of her ice cream habit—"I let everyone know"—and Britton encourages them to join her.

"When we travel, I'll look to see if there are any ice cream shops near the hotel where we're staying," she says. "Then I'll gather everyone who wants to go with me in the lobby. I'll say, 'I know how to get there.' And we get ice cream together."

In Cincinnati, she likes to frequent Graeter's, Aglamesis Brothers, and Buona Terra. When she's at home near Cleveland, she heads to Mitchell Brothers. Edy's is her favorite store brand.

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