Molly Black didn’t really pick her position.
It was more like she fell into the perfect situation.
Black is a junior at St. Hubert High School, and she’s been a star with a bat in her hand for as long as she can remember.
She started playing T-ball, then switched to baseball before moving over to softball. And when she started playing softball, she was a pitcher.
If you see her standing in the middle of the outfield, it looks like it’s the position she was born to play. She patrols the field with complete confidence. That makes the story of how she ended up in one of the most important positions on the entire field that much crazier.
“It’s funny, when I was younger, I just pitched, that’s the only thing I did,” said Black, who lives in Fox Chase. “They told us to go to our secondary position and I didn’t have one, I didn’t really know where to go. I always just pitched. The only open position was the outfield, so I just ended up there, that was the position they needed.
“I didn’t know anything about it, but I went out there and I really liked it. I don’t know why, I feel like that’s where I’m at my most valued and I can dive and make plays everywhere. I ended up there and I made the team and I’ve been there ever since.”
Well, not exclusively.
Since joining the Bambies, Black has also saw some time playing third base, and just as she loves playing centerfield, she enjoys third base.
It’s just different.
“I love playing outfield, but at St. Hubert, they needed me to play in the infield,” Black said. “They knew it wasn’t my primary position, I played some outfield last year, but this year I was just playing all third base.
“They know I have a good arm and they know I love doing it. I would say I’m more of an outfielder, but I love third base, too. Honestly, as long as my name is on the lineup card, I really don’t care where they put me. As long as I get a chance to play, I’ll play third base. I’ll play in the outfield. Wherever.”
This summer, it was just about everywhere, thanks to her participation in the Phillies RBI program that she has been a part of.
She started her summer with the All-Star team in Kansas City. She then hit Atlanta to play. Then she was selected to play with the Jenny Finch All Stars, which meant a trip to Pittsburgh. Then she went to Compton, California, for another showcase.
She was always on the go and always playing softball.
“It was fun playing for the team, I love it because I love the Phillies and it’s fun wearing a uniform that represents the Phillies,” Black said. “It’s with the Phillies Urban Youth Academy. It’s a travel team and we go to big tournaments. The season just ended, I started on the (under-16-years-old team), but moved up to 18.
“It’s a great team. You play with the best players around. They’re all my friends. There are girls from St. Hubert. Some of my teammates go to Ryan. They’re my teammates and my friends. It’s fun because you get to meet players from all over. When we play Ryan or other teams, I’ll see my teammates. It’s fun. It makes everything more fun because you’re playing with your friends. That makes the game a lot more fun.”
She has been very successful in softball.
Even more successful in the classroom.
Black maintains a 5.2 grade point average at Hubert, where she is also a member of the Ambassador’s Club, where she helps talk prospective students into joining the ranks of the Bambies.
“It’s weird because math is easy for me, but sometimes I’ll have to work on other subjects like English or something else,” Black said. “I usually do pretty well in school. I know if I want to play sports, my parents taught me that, I have to do well in school. But now I still do well on my own. I did it because they pushed me, but now I’m pushing myself.”
She has a lot of help in her corner.
Black credits her parents with helping her and her twin sister Daley, who plays volleyball at Hubert, though she credits her dad with being the bigger softball fan and her mom with being the volleyball expert of the family. She also credits her brother Colin, a former baseball player at Judge, with being supportive.
“We’re kind of close, everyone helps each other,” Black said. “My family is very supportive. So are my coaches. They’ve all helped me a lot. They all helped me get me here.”
That raises the bar for the next 12 months.
Black still has a year before she heads into her final year of high school. Ideally she’ll continue playing softball throughout her days at Hubert and beyond.
“I think we can be really good next year,” Black said. “We were good last year and we only got better with new girls coming in. I think we’ll be even better next year.
“I want to be good for the RBI team and school. Both teams are important to me. The more I play, the better I can get.”
