During Milan High School’s softball season, Lani Ernst not only carried the Big Reds’ biggest bat, the All-State shortstop shouldered the leadership, as well.

Frankly, Ernst had no choice. She was the Big Reds' only senior. That was a fact that Ernst, AnnArbor.com’s Player of the Year, initially had trouble getting a grip on.

“I definitely put a lot of pressure on myself,” said Ernst, who admitted that the pressure affected her play early in the season. That is, until she was given a few words of wisdom from her first-year coach Stacey Heams, a former University of Michigan outfielder.

“My coach was like, ‘Lani, you just need to play.’” said Ernst. “I was expecting a ton out of myself because I was the only senior. So I took a step back and just played and had fun. I was kind of taking the fun out of it.”

Ernst’s altered approach worked to the tune of a .473 batting average,.759 slugging percentage, five home runs, 43 RBIs and 42 runs scored.

“Being a senior I knew it was my time to step up and be a leader. I was ready,” said Ernst. Eventually, Ernst led Milan (32-6) to its second straight Huron League title and a Division 2 district championship. The Big Reds were 12-0 in league play.

And Ernst’s offensive prowess was on full display in the district title game, where Milan buried Carleton Airport 13-1 in five innings. Ernst belted back-to-back home runs - for the first time in her career - en route to three RBIs.

“It was definitely fun,” said Ernst. “Everyone (on the team) was doing well. It was just exciting that everybody was able to do really well in a district final game.”

Ernst and her Milan counterparts followed suit in the regional semifinals with a 1-0 shutout win over Trenton, which knocked out the Big Reds in their last six trips to regionals.

“(Beating) Trenton was a big deal,” said Ernst, “because the last time, two years ago, we made it to regionals and they beat us by one run. We all remembered that.”

With Trenton finally off Milan’s back, only a regional final matchup with Tecumseh stood in the way of the Big Reds’ preseason goal of making it to state. Despite Ernst’s early RBI single to give Milan a quick 1-0 lead, the Big Reds ran out of steam in a 3-1 loss.

Needless to say, the loss was especially tough for Ernst.

“Being the only senior, it was hard to go through that alone,” she admitted. “It was kind of weird - everyone else has next year to look forward to.

“I loved all the girls on my team. It was hard because I knew I’d never play with them again.”

Ernst, however, still had a game left to play as a Big Red, the coaches association’s senior All-Star game, which was played on July 21 at Ranney Park in East Lansing. Ernst started at shortstop and helped the White team to a 2-1 win.

Her first team Division 2 All-State nod was the highlight in a postseason full of accolades, including the Monroe County MVP and Huron League MVP.

Playing in the All-Star game was undoubtedly a proud experience for Ernst. It wasn’t, however, quite like playing for Milan.

“I’m going to miss the hometown feel of it,” said Ernst, who will play for the University of Toledo. “People’s grandmas and grandpas, kids that I’ve known since first grade … Everyone kind of came out for the games.”

Kaleb Roedel is a sports writer for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at (734)623-2562 and e-mailed at kalebroedel@annarbor.com. Follow him on Twitter @Kaleb_R.