GODFREY – After playing golf almost daily this summer, 11 days devoted to her church’s mission trip to North Carolina took a toll on Morgan Bemis.

“I swear,” the Alton Redbirds senior said, “I was having withdrawals.”

Bemis returned home Sunday night and got her golf fix Monday morning with the first day of practice for prep golf in Illinois. And she is hoping to complete her final season with the Redbirds on the same course she completed her first.

“I’d really like to make state,” Bemis said.

Bemis was pretty much along for the ride in 2014 when Alton girls golf capped its greatest season with a Southwestern Conference and Class 2A sectional championships before placing 10th at the state tournament at Hickory Point in Decatur.

The Redbirds’ six-player lineup included five seniors, led by Natalie Long, Tori Hays and Courtney Hachmann. Bemis was the freshman. Seniors were slotted in Nos. 1-5. Bemis was No. 6 of six.

“Freshman year scared me,” Bemis said with a laugh. “I was overwhelmed, really intimidated. But we all loved each other on that team. All the seniors were really close to everyone, so they made me feel really welcome even though I was scared out of my mind to even be playing in those tournaments.”

While Long (164), Hachmann (166) and Hays (167) took state-caliber games to state, Bemis posted rounds of 117 and 116 for a 233 to finish 114th in a field of 114 at Hickory Point. “It was pretty overwhelming,” said Bemis, one of 15 freshmen playing at state, “but a great experience.”

Those state scores came after a 123 in the regional and 103 in the sectional, but Bemis was not deterred by triple digits.

“It didn’t really discourage me because I’ve always had a positive mindset about everything,” Bemis said. “So when I had a bad shot, I wouldn’t always know it was bad. I would just try to come back and shoot better the next time.

“As a freshman, I really didn’t know what my type was at that time because I hadn’t been playing competitively too long. Now, I kind of know what’s a good score for me.”

It is certainly not 100 or beyond. And it is not the 96 she shot in the sectional as a sophomore or the 90 she shot in the sectional as a junior after rounds in the 80s got Bemis out of regionals playing at No. 1 for the Redbirds.

Class 2A girls golf will probably require something in the 80s to advance from the sectional and Bemis is confident her game has reached that level. Summer work has paid off, though Bemis may contest the “work” label. “I just love playing golf,” she says.

A second-day 84 at the Pepsi Little People’s tournament in Quincy placed Bemis 16th in that major tourney earlier this summer. She closed with an 88 at the State Farm Classic in Bloomington to place 14th. “I definitely feel like I’ve gotten better,” Bemis said.

And playing in a Thursday night couples league with her dad at Rolling Hills has consistently yielded scores in the 30s for the daughter, hinting that sacrificing a promising softball career to focus on golf was not a waste.

“It was really hard,” Bemis said of opting out of softball after playing varsity for the Redbirds as a freshman. “My sister played softball, I played softball all my life, select in the summers. Me quitting softball all together, it was, do you really want to do this? But I feel like I made the right decision.”

Softball consumed much of her youth, but there was an early introduction to golf. “Plastic clubs at like 5 years old,” Bemis said.

She graduated from plastic to play big-girl golf with her grandfather around age 9. Her dedication to getting better came in the summer after her eighth grade year and promptly placed Bemis in a bit over her head as a freshman with five talented AHS seniors.

Now, Bemis is the senior hoping to lead the Redbirds back to a more prominent place in the SWC after placing fifth in the league last season.

“I feel like we will do a lot better this season,” Bemis said. “I feel like we have a stronger team.”

Alton returns five of six players from last year’s postseason lineup with seniors Paige Wittman and Aliana Kottabi, and juniors Jenna Fleming and Addison Gregory joining Bemis, who was as second team All-SWC selection last season.

“I really hope we can win more matches than we did last year,” Bemis said of the Redbirds’ 5-10 dual record. “Beating more conference teams will be a big goal for my team. We’re so solid together with chemistry and we practice really hard, but it hasn’t always shown on the course. I’m really hoping this year will be different.”