By Christopher Tremblay, Staff Sports Writer

Much like many a young kids, Holliston’s Kaylee MacDonald started her softball career in the town program playing tee-ball alongside many of her friends. 

In addition to softball, the Holliston native also competed on the soccer field as well as the basketball court. But it wasn’t until her freshman year in high school that she realized that softball had a special meaning in her life.

With the Panthers putting together a successful season, winning the Tri-Valley League and for the first time in 15 years defeating Hopkinton, MacDonald realized that although she still loved the other sports, softball was now number one.

“My confidence really grew that year,” she said. “I was always the kid in the back, scared to talk because of what others may think of me, but (former Panther head coach) Quindley told me that I had a lot of potential and could be a great player. It didn’t hurt that I hit my first homerun that year too.”

The then-freshman had one of her best seasons at the plate in a long time and she found that she was starting to get some big (extra base) hits instead of just her normal singles. Her confidence grew. Although she was hitting the ball much better, she also realized that she was not even close to her potential.

Following her freshman campaign she began to utilize her club teams, the Frozen Ropes out of Natick, practices to improve upon her game. Enjoying the game immensely, she stayed later each practice to improve and get better. When she returned to the Panthers the following season, not only was she the starting catcher she also led the league in steals and once again had the highest on base slugging percentage (OPS) on the Holliston team.

According to Quindley, MacDonald was a very talented individual and could play just about anywhere on the field; was one of the team’s best hitters if not the best and possessed a rare combination of power and speed at the plate.

As a freshman and halfway through her sophomore season, MacDonald found herself behind the plate for the Panthers, but was moved to shortstop, a position she normally plays for the Frozen Ropes. It was here that she started to develop into a solid defensive player, despite not really enjoying the position. 

“I’ll play it (shortstop), but I really don’t like it as much as some of the other positions,” MacDonald said. “I’ve been playing the outfield on occasion for my club team and I really enjoy the position as it has given me even more confidence in my game as I can use my speed to my advantage.”

During the first few years on the varsity program MacDonald found that she struggled playing the shortstop position as it got into her head. When she was slated to play the position, she let it bother her at first, but as soon as the game started, adrenaline took over and there was no effect.

This past season, as a junior, the Holliston team had a down season. Having lost Coach Quindley and a team that was very young the Panthers were only able to win a handful of games. Despite the team not being very successful, MacDonald continued to improve. Not only was she the team’s MVP, but she was also named to the TVL All-Star team for the first time in her career.

“Earning TVL honors was an amazing moment and showed that all my hard work paid off,” she said. “But I can not accept this honor as my own, as it has a lot to do with my teammates.”

While this past season is now in the books, MacDonald is looking forward to her senior season, where she will be one of the captains. Not only does she want to get the Panther softball team back on the right track improving on their wins, but she also wants to share her knowledge with the younger players to help them improve their game.

“We definitely want to improve upon last years win to lose ratio,” MacDonald said. “But I also wasn’t to concentrate on helping the younger girls get stronger and more confident. I slowly learned that more confidence leads to a better you and how you play the game.”

While MacDonald is hoping to help the team improve their confidence, she will be doing so by leading by example. During the high school off-season, she will continue to work hard with her club team this summer to improve her confidence to the next level. In doing so she hopes that she can commit to play softball on the collegiate level somewhere in the future.

“I am still very iffy on the process as I don’t like talking, but I am going to go out and start reaching out to coaches,” she said. “I want to continue to play softball after high school and hopefully I’ll get that chance at s school close to home.”

In college MacDonald is hoping to play more in the outfield, but as she has in the past she will play anywhere that she is needed to help out the team. With college in the near future, MacDonald will put that on the back burner for now as she focuses on her club team and her senior season with Holliston.