Nothing could keep Ashleigh Baisch from playing softball with the Bambies.
Not even the Tacony-Palmyra Bridge
Baisch is a senior at St. Hubert High School, and when she was a sophomore, her family moved from Mayfair to Pennsauken.
Not a far ride, but it is another state. Baisch didn’t drive at the time, so staying at Hubert would take some work.
It was an easy decision.
“I didn’t want to transfer or anything because I loved Hubert’s,” Baisch said. “It was hard to move because it meant I wouldn’t be as close to my friends, but I knew I had a good group of friends and I really didn’t want to move on from Hubert. So I got rides. My mom took me every day.
“Moving really didn’t change much for me. I’m in New Jersey to eat, sleep and shower. The rest of the time, I’m with my friends (in Philadelphia). It hasn’t been bad at all. I got to stay at Hubert and it was great.”
Great for the Bambies, too.
Since her sophomore year, Baisch has been the starting second baseman for the Bambies softball team, and she’s grown as a player every year she’s been on the team.
And she’s only getting better.
“I think honestly, a lot of practice goes into it,” Baisch said of her team’s fast start that saw them win their first two Catholic League games. “We have a good bond as a team, we work together, which is so important. Being so close helps on the field because we have a lot of trust in each other.”
Baisch knows her role on the team.
As the second baseman, she is responsible for making sure the infield makes plays. At the plate, the No. 6 hitter in the lineup is a capable hitter, but she is always willing to do whatever it takes to get the Bambies offense rolling.
Sometimes that means making sacrifices.
“As a hitter, I’m definitely a singles hitter,” Baisch said. “I’ll move the girls, whether it’s a walk or a single or anything I can do. Sometimes I’ll put a bunt down and move the runners. I don’t mind doing that at all, whatever gets us to the next base, the next run or the next win. I’m perfectly OK with doing whatever the team needs. We just like winning.”
Baisch is a star softball player, but growing up she was a two-sport star. She followed in her older sister Alyssa’s footsteps as a cheerleader.
That was a sport she enjoyed a lot, and her enthusiasm made her a perfect cheerleader. But when she started to get serious about softball, she gave up her second sport. Since she was in seventh grade, her focus has been on softball, but that doesn’t mean she doesn’t use what she learned as a cheerleader to help with her main sport.
“I kind of still use the cheerleading still, I’m able to be loud and make sure everyone stays up the entire game,” she said. “I always try to be there for everyone, cheer everyone up. If they have a problem with anything, they know I’m there.
“I try to lead the girls as a senior. I think a lot look up to me, so I make sure to always be positive and I’m there if they need anything. I try to bring positivity because it’s hard when you get down, you just need to get back. We say, ‘Flush it.’ Our coaches taught us if you make an error or make a mistake, flush it. Move on to the next play. That has helped us. Nobody has been too upset about a mistake because of our attitude. We just get ready for the next play.”
Now Baisch is starting to look toward her next step.
She’s headed to Kutztown in the fall where she’s unsure about what she’ll study, although education is a possibility.
“It’s a great school,” Baisch said. “I like the atmosphere, the campus is beautiful, there’s so many things to do, it’s very involved. It reminds me of Hubert. Everyone knows each other and there’s so many things to do.
“I don’t know about softball. I was talking with my dad, and they have a club team. That seems like something I would like. It would be more laid back and but still fun and give me a chance to keep playing.”
But she’ll definitely miss her high school, where she serves as a Bambi Ambassador showing prospective students around the school. She’s very glad she followed in her sister’s footsteps and continued the tradition.
“I love St. Hubert, and I’m excited for the future,” she said. “I went to Hubert’s because my sister went there, and I’m really glad I did. I’m very close with my sister, she goes to a lot of my games when she can.
“My parents do a lot for me. My mom works three jobs, and she always drove me to school before I drove. My dad was a softball player, he’s helped me so much. My whole family has helped me a lot. I’m very lucky.”
