Lake Mills eighth-grader Josie Brackey is like a robot on the mound — a very young robot.

Her calm demeanor and ability to mow down hitters on the softball field make her that way. She goes about her work like a machine and has compiled some gaudy numbers in her first varsity season and she didn’t even begin the year as the No. 1 starter for the Bulldogs.

“At the beginning of the season I kind of held her back a little bit just because I wanted her to get the mentality of what it’s like to play high school sports,” Lake Mills head coach Stacie Gaskill said. “I didn’t want to put her into a situation where she wasn’t going to succeed so I needed to build up that confidence in her. Now she’s become a very solid pitcher.”

Brackey has performed like a veteran on the mound this year and came through again in the first round of the Class 2A Region 4 playoffs Thursday as she carried a no-hitter into the sixth inning and struck out seven in the 6-3 win over West Hancock.

“We know that we can depend on her,” senior teammate Sabrina Roll said. “We have a lot of confidence in her.”

Brackey said becoming the No. 1 starter was a “major shock” and is very proud to have made the varsity team as an eighth-grader.

She’s made the most of her opportunity by not trying to do too much.

“I focus on the next pitch because it’s all I can control,” Brackey said. “I just try to work on hitting my spots and staying relaxed.”

Earlier in the season Brackey faced Belmond-Klemme, a team ranked in the top 15 in Iowa at times during the season, and came through with an 11-inning, two-hit shutout win. She struck out nine in that game and walked only one.

“Even from two years ago, I put on a clinic and she was so advanced for her age that I knew that she had something special,” Gaskill said. “She is very calm. I see most pitchers in our conference … they get rattled and Josie just stays so composed that she doesn’t let anything get to her.”

Brackey has also turned in a game where she struck out 15 hitters and has posted a number of games with double digit strikeouts. She has nearly 150 strikeouts since becoming the starter.

The Bulldogs will continue to rely on the strength of her pitching as they make their way through the playoffs.

“Other coaches have come up to me and said they aren’t looking forward to the next four years because they know what she’s got and she’s only going to be improving,” Gaskill said. “She has the potential to be a very, very good pitcher.”