Bailey Tremblay once dreamed of playing on college softball’s big stage. When she realized she no longer had the desire, the 2015 Thornton Academy graduate had to rethink her college plans.

And almost by fate, she discovered they included the military.

Bailey Tremblay played every inning of every game during her four-year career at Thornton Academy, and this season was named Miss Maine Softball as the state’s top senior player. John Ewing/Staff Photographer

Bailey Tremblay, who led Thornton Academy to the Western Class A softball final last month, is following in the footsteps of her father, Travis, by joining the military. She’ll spend a year in training, then enter the University of New England. Gordon Chibroski/Staff Photographer

Tremblay, who recently won the Miss Maine Softball award given to the state’s outstanding senior player, has enlisted in the Army Reserve, and will put off her studies and softball career at the University of New England in Biddeford by a year.

Tremblay played every inning of every game in her four years at Thornton.

“Well, my dad was in the Army and I’m really close to him so that was a reason I wanted to do it,” she said. “And it just made the most sense. UNE is a very expensive school (a tuition of $33,540), it is a very prestigious medical school and I knew if I didn’t want to be in debt the rest of my life, this would be a good decision.

“And all the things the Army offers just led me to this decision. It’s perfect for what I want to do, for college and later on in life.”

Tremblay will leave Aug. 10 for two months of training at Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri. After that she will have a short leave to return home to Saco, then go back to Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas, for 42 weeks of training in her field, physical therapy.

“It is a very different path she’s taking,” said her father, Travis, who served in the Army from 1994 to 2000. “She came to this decision mostly on her own. It was a little mind-blowing and it still is. It’s still hard to process that she’s making these decisions at her age. It feels really good, like we did something right.”

Once she graduates from the Army Reserve training, Tremblay will still have a commitment to the military: one weekend a month for training and two weeks a year for a training exercise. But Tremblay, 18, will be eligible for the G.I. Bill, which provides tuition money, and will receive college credits for the courses she’ll take during her military training.

“The way she figured it,” said her father, “she can go to UNE for nothing.”

And, said Bailey Tremblay, “I think I’ll come back stronger mentally and physically.”

Tremblay had already decided she wanted to attend UNE, an NCAA Division III school, when by chance she came across the business card of an Army recruiter at a gas station in Saco. “It was just there, next to the cash register,” she said. “I thought, ‘Maybe I’ll check it out.’ ”

The was in late September. She and her father met with the recruiter in November – “I think having me at the meeting was reassuring for her because I could say, ‘Yes, they are telling the truth,’ ” said Travis Tremblay – and in December she enlisted.

“Bailey can be anything she wants,” said Thornton Coach John Provost. “She’s a tough kid. She knew what she wanted and why she wanted to do it.”

Tremblay played shortstop for Provost as a freshman. Then she became the Trojans’ pitcher as a sophomore. She batted .461 for her career with a school-record 102 hits. As a pitcher she was 47-10 with a 2.20 ERA and 386 strikeouts in 370 innings.

Asked how he replaces her, Provost said, “You don’t. You just look for the same kind of values in the next kid.”

The Trojans won the Western Class A championship in Tremblay’s junior year, losing to Skowhegan in the state final, then advanced to the regional final again her senior year, losing to Scarborough.

As a senior, Tremblay batted .547 with four home runs, 24 RBI and 11 runs. She finished the regular season 14-2 with a 2.01 ERA. For many reasons – chief among them her father’s health – it was her most difficult season.

Travis Tremblay was Bailey Tremblay’s first coach. When he suggested to her that she try pitching, the two turned to YouTube videos to learn how to pitch. “We set up a comforter in the living room and weighed it down with dumbbells,” said Bailey Tremblay. “And I would pitch into it.”

Yes, the living room. Travis Tremblay said they still have the duct tape outline of the pitching circle on the floor. They devised a similar set-up in the garage. He pitched to her and hit grounders to her when she played shortstop.

But in March, Travis Tremblay suffered a stroke. While undergoing treatment, it was discovered he had thyroid cancer. He had surgery on June 22 to remove the thyroid and several lymph nodes. In a follow-up appointment with his doctor, Travis Tremblay was told the cancer “was Stage 3 and aggressive.” He now faces radiation treatment.

“It was a tough season,” said Bailey Tremblay. “He was hiding a lot of it and not telling me everything so I could get through my senior year. He told me little things here and there. But my mind was always wandering, wondering about what’s going on and I think that put some pressure on me.

“But he told me to be strong for him. We’re each other’s support system so I knew if I was strong for him, he’d be strong for me. It was tough but we got through it.”

Now they have the challenge of distance while she enters the military and he undergoes more treatment.

“We’ll miss her,” said Travis Tremblay. “But it’s just one short year. And then she’s set herself up for her future. And there aren’t too many kids who can say that.”

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