Kara MacDonald '22 Recruiting Profile

My name is Kara MacDonald. I am a student athlete in the class of 2022 at Arlington Catholic High School in Arlington, MA. I currently play for the Demolition travel softball team also from Arlington, MA. I started playing softball at the very young age of 6 years old when my father coached me in the instructional league. I have continued to play softball every year as my passion and love for softball has grown every year. The first game that I pitched was during my 4th grade season and while it wasn’t wild success but I knew that pitching was a position that I enjoyed. I was lucky enough that my parents were able to send me to a pitching coach starting during the 5th grade. Jessie Lupardus, who pitched at the University of Pennsylvania, was my pitching coach for the next 6 years. Jessie and I really clicked from day one and she helped me become the pitcher that I am today.

I am 5’4” right handed pitcher with very good control and a great changeup that keeps the hitters off balance. Unfortunately due to the COVID-19 pandemic, my sophomore high school season was cancelled. In 2019, I made Arlington Catholic’s varsity softball team as a freshman. I pitched in a total of 14 games during my freshman year starting 7 of those games. My record was 7-1 with 2.09 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, and 52 K’s in a total of 54 innings including 3 shutouts. One significant individual achievement was pitching a no-hitter with 8K’s. Another major highlight of my freshman year was coming in relief of the Division 2 Quarterfinals of the MIAA state tournament, where I pitched 3 2/3rd innings with 0 runs that allowed my team to come from behind to win and played in the MIAA Division 2 Semifinals. 

For my 18U club team, Demolition Softball, I pitched in 18 games and started 14 games where I had 8-4 record with 2.03 ERA, 1.05 WHIP, and 69 K’s in a total of 83 innings from the 2020 summer and fall seasons. I also take pride in being a complete player as I play 2nd base or shortstop when I am not pitching. As a hitter, I had a batting average of .321 with 22 runs scored and 16 RBI’s in a total of 30 games. A couple of the traits that best describe me are competitive, hard working, and leadership. I think that these traits are why I was selected captain for my club team’s 2020-2021 season. 

I take school seriously just as much as being a softball player. I have been consistently on the honor roll at Arlington Catholic with a cumulative GPA of 4.14 and a 4.54 GPA for the first term of my junior year.  I am also a member of Arlington Catholic High School’s Student Ambassador and Leadership program. I would like to continue to play softball in college as I know that it has allowed me to become a more well rounded person and it will help me transition to my college education.