Years of hard work, logging miles in travel ball tournaments, endless pitching sessions … it all has paid off for Escalon’s Molly Brown.

The senior recently signed her letter of intent to play for Chico State after graduation from EHS.

“It was exactly what I wanted to do,” Brown said of accepting the offer to play for the Wildcats.

The daughter of Steve and Peggy Brown, Molly also has two older siblings, sister Nicky and brother Jake. She has played softball for Escalon High the past three years, including being a part of the 2017 Section championship squad.

Brown said she had a coach from her current travel ball team that kept in contact with Chico officials and she was able to do a campus tour and visit with softball coaches. Though she admitted the visit to the NCAA Division II school was a bit “nerve-wracking,” she couldn’t be happier about the eventual outcome, which will see her suiting up for competition in the California Collegiate Athletic Association, CCAA.

“I’m trying to go both academic and athletic,” Brown said of playing with some scholarship backing behind her. “I want to be a civil engineer and they have a program that’s a good fit.”

Brown currently plays for the Smash U18 team out of Modesto and started playing softball when she was just eight, moving in to travel ball when she was nine. She said the sport has always seemed to be a part of the family and she continues to train and practice her craft at the Smash facility in Modesto as she looks toward the next chapter in her softball – and schooling – career.

“It was always a goal to go to school and play,” she said.

From her first team, the Lady Rebels to the Section champion Lady Cougars, Brown has put up some impressive numbers both at the plate and in the pitching circle. She is excited about having put ink to paper to secure her spot at Chico State and now can focus on getting ready for the 2018 high school season without any distractions.

“We hope to take TVL and Sections again,” she said.