Updated: On Sunday, Oct. 27, Mollie MacIntosh became the National Champion in Major League Baseball’s Pitch, Hit & Run competition when she defeated the other regional winners in the 7- to 8-year-old age bracket. The National Championship was held in Los Angeles, the day after Game 2 of the World Series between the Dodgers and Yankees.
Haverhill has been home to a few major league baseball players, most recently Carlos Pena, and the late Mike Ryan, and there is another talented ball player in the wings. It’s 8-year-old Mollie MacIntosh, a third grader at the Caleb Dustin Hunking School.
Mollie was a recent guest on WHAV’s “Win for Breakfast” program. As she explains, she won the regionals, in her age group, for Major League Baseball’s Pitch, Hit and Run competition.
“I had to hit the ball in the air, as far as I could. You get more points the further you hit the ball in the air. Then, you run as fast as you can, three times, your best score gets you more points for that. For pitching, there’s a target. You hit a small circle you get 100 points, and if you hit around it you get 50 points. I got two 50s—it wasn’t the best score I could do.”
MacIntosh plays locally in the Cal Ripken League. She went to Fenway Park to compete and, because she won her age group, Mollie and her family are now in Los Angeles for the World Series between the Dodgers and Yankees, where there will be another competition with all of the other regional winners. Mollie is also competitive off the baseball field and is an avid Candlepin bowler.
“My high single is a 123 game. I beat one of the 14-year-olds in the league. She hasn’t even made it that high in the game,” she said.
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