Carter Raymond, Randolph pitcher, is the Star Tribune’s Metro Player of the Year in softball

In a season of success so plentiful that at times it appeared preordained, the one bump in the road for Randolph junior pitcher Carter Raymond this spring was likely the most significant event she has experienced on a softball field.

She pushed right through it, and here she is: the Star Tribune’s Metro Player of the Year.

For most of the spring, the hard-throwing righthander with pinpoint precision has been one of the most dominant high school softball pitchers in the state. She won her first 22 decisions, built an ERA well under 1.00, racked up shutout after shutout and spent all season among the top five strikeout artists.

In a sport in which capable pitching is crucial to team success, Randolph has been the consensus No. 1 team in Class 2A despite this being the Rockets’ first year out of Class 1A.

Raymond led Randolph into Thursday’s Section 1 championship game at 22-0, having rarely trailed and with only one game decided by one run.

But the Rockets’ opponent, No. 2 seed Caledonia, wasn’t intimidated. The Warriors got the game to extra innings, then pushed across three runs in the ninth for a 5-2 victory. Now Randolph had its first and only loss of the season and faced a second game for a state tournament berth.

“That game did not go how we wanted,” Raymond said. “We just didn’t play Rocket softball.”

Randolph pitched the whole game but demanded the ball for the second game. “I talked to my dad after the first game,” Raymond said. “He always knows the right thing to say to get me in the right mindset.”

Raymond pitched a complete-game three-hitter in a 6-0 victory that sent Randolph to the Class 2A tournament, which takes place this week in North Mankato.

Raymond admitted her 16-inning day was grueling, but she said she had something to prove.

“I knew before the game we were going to win, but by the sixth inning of the second game, I started feeling it in my arm,” she said. “But there was no way I was going to come out.”

She credited her teammates for their response to the unexpected setback.

“That was so fulfilling after we worked so hard to get to this point,” Raymond said. “It shows the heart we have on this team to come back after adversity.”

Raymond’s reaction to losing won’t surprise anyone who knows her. She didn’t compile a 23-1 record, 17 shutouts, a 0.55 ERA and 271 strikeouts without a drive to succeed. She’s trained by Sara Moulton, a former Gophers All-America pitcher who, Raymond said, “taught me pretty much everything I know. Any success I’ve had is all because of her.”

Moulton noticed Raymond’s desire to succeed soon after they started working together more than six years ago.

“She always held herself to a high standard. Her work ethic is unmatched,” Moulton said. “And she continues to go above and beyond for herself and for her team, year after year.”

Raymond hails from an athletic family. Siblings Cash, a senior, and Charli, a freshman, are accomplished wrestlers at Simley High School, less than a half-hour up Hwy. 52 from Randolph. Charli is a three-time girls wrestling state titlist.

With softball her passion, Carter never once thought about leaving Randolph, where she also runs on the cross-country team and is a defensive dynamo on the basketball team. Her softball success has elevated her to local celebrity status among a certain demographic.

“We have a school that’s K through 12, and the younger girls are always calling my name or they come up and want me to take a picture with them. I’ve had parents come up to me to tell me how much it means to them,” Raymond said. “I love that.”