Despite the Dartmouth softball team's disappointing end to its season, third-baseman and catcher Molly Khalil '12 excelled as an offensive force, hitting six home runs and 27 RBIs and achieving a .294 batting average this year.
Khalil said she began working on her skills at an early age, out-hitting her older brother in whiffle ball and playing t-ball at the age of four.
"My family never forced me to play softball," Khalil said. "I always thought it was fun and they supported me."
Although she began playing competitively when she was 10 competing on travel teams and in the Junior Olympics Khalil said she has always played softball because she enjoys the sport.
"It is a camaraderie sport," Khalil said. "Over the years it has gotten more competitive. I still have that backyard nostalgia."
Khalil said that during high school she knew she wanted to leave her native California and attend college on the East Coast, hoping for more seasonal weather.
"[Dartmouth coaches] saw me sophomore year for the first time one of my best games," Khalil said. "I feel like I tricked them into thinking I was a stud."
Khalil said her collegiate career has been "bumpy" so far, noting that she took an off-term abroad in Barcelona during her sophomore year, where she did not have access to facilities that were comparable to Dartmouth's. That term led her to revise her offensive mindset.
"This year I took a different approach and realized that I should not expect to crush the ball and I should not try to crush the ball either," she said. "It is all about making solid contact and the ball will go."
Pitcher Hillary Barker '12 said that Khalil has a talent for remaining unphased in the face of pressure.
"She is definitely very clutch in a pressure situation," Barker said. "She's the one who pulls through and the one that you want to have at the plate."
In addition to changing her playing style, Khalil found herself in a new leadership role this season.
"Molly is lighthearted and brings a fun atmosphere to the team," head coach Rachel Hanson said. "She cares a lot about the members of the team and brings a great spirit to the team."
Barker echoed Hanson, saying that Khalil makes an effort to get to know different players on the team.
"I love Molly because she is always happy and never in a bad mood," Barker said. "She constantly brings up the morale."
Khalil said she still hopes to remain involved in softball after Dartmouth.
"I am eligible to play softball on the Israeli national team," Khalil said. "I'm Jewish and they asked me to play, and I would like to play with them maybe the summer after I graduate."
Khalil is studying psychology at the College and plans to pursue a doctorate degree after leaving Dartmouth. She hopes to eventually teach sports psychology.
"I want to be a cool professor, everyone comes to your office hours just to hang out," Khalil said. "[I want to] keep M&Ms on [my] desk and have crazy hair."
Although some of Khalil's friends and former high school teammates now play at softball powerhouses like the University of California, Los Angeles, she said she is happy with her decision to attend Dartmouth.
"You kind of smack yourself in the head and you say, Wait, I can't say no to an Ivy League education,'" Khalil said.
The softball team narrowly missed making the League playoffs this season, but the squad is looking ahead to next season with a more developed team, Hanson said.The Big Green graduated just one senior this season.
"We had a little more intensity and discipline this year," Hanson said. "I am pleased with the progress, [but] we still have work to do."
Khalil said she is not content with the season's end result and is looking forward to next year.
"I do not think we are ever satisfied unless we have a ring, which has not happened," Khalil said. "I think that [Hanson] has instilled a fire in the team, and we really want to go for it next year."
