That is the traditional pose with seniors often placed at the front. But it truly made perfect sense, too.

This entire season has been a superb team effort and all have vitally contributed. Still, that senior quartet certainly has led the charge. In more ways than one.

Beck, Reddy, Robinson and Vollman have provided the foundation that this success has been built upon and now the seniors will graduate having helped Williamsport capture three straight District 2-4 Class AAAAAA championships. The Millionaires (18-3) three-peated as district champions Wednesday, routing West Scranton, 9-1.

“They’ve been such great role models for all of us. All the accomplishments they’ve had has meant so much,” sophomore center fielder Kinsley Cannode said after hitting a three-run home run against West Scranton. “They are who I look up to. They have done so much for the team.”

Williamsport's Ashlyn Robinson pitches in the PIAA District 2-4 Class 6A Championship game in Wilkes-Barre on Wednesday, May 27, 2026. (JASON ARDAN / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)

Indeed. Beck, Robinson and Vollman have all started since Day 1 as freshmen and Reddy was right behind, starting as a sophomore. In the three years all have shared the varsity field; Williamsport has become the district’s best team each time.

That is not a coincidence. All provide steady production in all facets, but they also have become pseudo-coaches. That really was the case a year ago, too, but all four have built on the leadership skills they sharpened there and been driving forces for a team which will host either Southwestern or Wilson in Monday’s state tournament at Millionaire Mountain.

The seniors took all four under their wing when they joined the team, helping them make quick and effective impacts. Now they are exponentially returning the favor.

“I’ve always looked up to the past seniors,” Beck said after driving in two runs. “They’ve always been my mentors, so taking after them makes me feel great.”

“The 2023 class set some expectations for us,” Robinson said after throwing a six-hitter and striking out eight. “We’ve just been trying to emulate their legacy and continue their leadership throughout their years in high school.”

RALPH WILSON/Sun-Gazette Correspondent Williamsport's Brenna Beck (21) makes the tag at second on Central Mountain's Payton Hull (2) during a high school softball game at Williamsport on Tuesday

They have done so quite well. Coaches have the final say but they also can only say so much. Good teams need players who can drive their teammates, bring out their best and create an unbreakable bond.

As well as they have played, the senior quartet has shined just as much in that aspect. This is a hard-working team, but it also is a team bursting with positivity. That balance between work and play has allowed Williamsport to increase its win total for a third straight season; go undefeated in HAC-I play and become the program’s first three-peat champions this century.

“You have to have their respect and there has been no better feeling than seeing everyone respecting us and us respecting them,” Vollman said after going 2 for 3 with a home run, double and three RBIs. “Experience is a huge thing, but with the experience in the field is experience in the dugout. You see how other people act and what you want to be like; what you don’t want to be like. Our dugout is like you want every dugout to be.”

That was a primary goal when the seniors gathered during the preseason. Yes, they wanted to build on the last few years and add some more championship banners. All, however, understood that those goals could not be reached without having standout leaders who could set the tone.

High school goes by fast and, in a flash, players who burst onto the scene three years ago now are seasoned veterans. They have become the mentors and the success players in all grades have enjoyed traces back to that preseason meeting.

Brenna Beck of Williamsport is safe at first base in the first inning as Lynna Clark of Jersey Shore can’t make the play at first in Williamsport Thursday evening. Williamsport won 13-1. DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette

“Before the season started, us four being captains; we all got together and said we have to be good leaders,” Beck said. “We have to be people the younger players can look up to and make it fun for them.”

They have done so every day since practices started last March. That has provided the backbone for a team which has literally received vital impacts from every player on the roster.

They have talked the talk and walked the walk. All four have played through just about every situation imaginable the last four years, so they can both show and talk to teammates about how to embrace them.

Since he became the program’s coach last season, Scott Stugart has often relayed how critical those four players have been in enhancing a winning culture. There are times he or his assistants may be ready to say something but then stop and see the seniors already addressing the topic. It may seem like a little thing, but it’s powerful.

“They’re getting to the point where they’re speaking at the right times to pick the team up on things we as coaches would usually have to say,” Stugart said. “They come out and say it in a nice way that kids take properly. There’s just so many good things they’ve added to this team and it shows in the success of the entire team.”

Beck, Reddy, Robinson and Vollman all have excelled as much off the field as they have on it as well. Teachers and administrators are as eager to highlight their all-around contributions at Williamsport as much as the coaches.

It’s been a steady climb for the seniors who started playing together as Little Leaguers more than 10 years ago. They have grown literally and figuratively. Big dreams they held as younger players have come true but the fun continues as they now get another home game Monday and another opportunity.

At some point, the senior photos Williamsport has placed upon the backstop behind home plate will come down this summer. But the impact those four seniors have made will carry forward as they pass the baton to the next senior group.

To use a track analogy, what a final leg this quartet has run.

“It’s really awesome to see how each of us has grown as softball players, but also as people as well,” Robinson said. “Being friends for so long, we always support each other. It’s really fun to help each other grow on and off the field. That’s been the best part of it.”