Baylee Blauser's legs ached. Her shoulders and arms throbbed.

She had rarely felt so sore.

And it felt wonderful.

The junior three-sport star at A-C Valley High School lost two seasons in the spring to the coronavirus pandemic — softball and track and field.

It had been three months since she had slipped on her cleats and grabbed a bat for any meaningful cuts at the plate.

But here she was, playing for her travel softball team — Chaos 16U — in a tournament in mid-June.

Getting sweaty. Getting dirty. Taking hacks at the plate, diving for balls in the outfield and throwing pitches from the circle.

Over the past six weeks, Blauser has played in six weekend tournaments.

It's been glorious.

“I never knew I'd miss my legs hurting as bad as they do now, you know?” Blauser said, laughing. “Playing three games in one day, you get sore, and I never knew how much I missed it. I definitely took that for granted.”

Blauser will no longer take anything for granted.

As a sophomore last spring, Blauser put together two stellar seasons in softball and in track and field.

Blauser batted .500 with two home runs and 13 RBI in 54 at-bats and also pitched the Falcons to a 12-5 record and a trip to the District 9 Class A semifinals.

As a jumper on the track and field team, Blauser reached the PIAA Track and Field Championships and placed eighth in the long jump with an effort of 17 feet, 1 inch — which tied the school record.

This spring, she was looking forward to even better things.

COVID-19 had other plans.

“My last (softball) practice was March 12th,” Blauser said. “March 13th, when everything went down, I was at track practice and I never got to go back to softball.”

Blauser, who also plays basketball at A-C Valley, finally got to go back to softball this summer and she's made the most of it.

Rusty at first, Blauser said she has finally rounded back into form.

She's played the outfield, shortstop and pitched for Chaos.

Even with her summer success, Blauser is far from satisfied.

“I always think there is always room for improvement and more learning possibilities,” Blauser said. “When I go to a tournament, I set goals for myself. If I reach them, that's awesome — then I can set bigger goals. If I don't reach them, that just gives me something more to work on.”

Blauser kept busy during quarantine, finding ways to at least try to keep her skills sharp.

She hit off a tee, pitched and had her brother, J.P., hit her fly and ground balls.

Blauser is trying to enjoy every moment of playing.

“This year I'm telling myself to make as many memories as you can,” she said. “The seniors would always tell me that and I never really understood that until now.”

Blauser is feeling the ticking clock because she doesn't know if she will play a sport in college.

She has played softball since she was 9 and said she would like to play that sport at the next level if she can.

Blauser, though, isn't sure if she will have the time because of her unique pursuit of study.

“I want to be a certified professional midwife,” Blauser said. “It takes a lot of people by surprise, I know, but it's something I really want to do.”

Many in her class at A-C Valley had no idea what a midwife even was.

A midwife does more than just help deliver a baby. A midwife also helps the parents with the infant after birth.

“I love kids and I wanted to definitely work with kids,” she said.

For now, Blauser is content with just delivering hits for her summer team — for as long as that lasts.

This weekend she has a tournament with Chaos' 18-and-under team.

“You just have live one day at a time,” Blauser said. “One day might be great. The next day might be bad.”