Nineteen times this summer, Guilford Little League Softball 12-year-old All-Star manager Andrea Klein has filled out a line-up card and handed it to the umpires before the start of the game.
On Sunday, she’ll do it for the 20th time, only this time it will be before her team faces the Mid-Atlantic Regional champs from Johnstown, Pa., in their opening game of the 2025 Little League Softball World Series in Greenville, N.C.
For 20th time, the same name appears in the top slot.
“Olivia Mahon.”
Mahon, Guilford’s second baseman, is everything you want in a lead-off hitter, be it to start a Little League game, a varsity high school game, a college game, or a Major League Baseball game.
She is both patient and aggressive, which is not easy to do at the same time.
She is also lightning fast and very smart.
And, perhaps most importantly, with Mahon leading off for Guilford, the team is 18-1 and has gone 4-for-4 in winning tournaments this summer.
It started with the District 9 crown before advancing forward to take the Section 3 tournament, the Connecticut state title and the New England Regional championship, as well.
“She’s just so extremely reliable,” Klein said of the kid who wears uniform No. 1 and bats in that No. 1 slot. “She’s very disciplined and has a very consistent bat, which is great. Her on-base percentage is wonderful, but she’s also ridiculously fast so when she gets on base, she’s usually quickly at second or possibly at third.”
Mahon’s numbers speak for themselves.
She is 23-for-46 (that’s a .500 batting average, if you’re doing the math) and when you toss in her walks, she has an on base percentage of .630.
She also has 21 stolen bases in 22 attempts, so when Mahon gets on base she’s usually getting into scoring position for some big bats behind her.
“I think it’s really fun,” Mahon said of her role as Guilford’s lead-off hitter. “It’s a really important role because you get to start the team off and it sets the tone.”
Even more impressive, though, is the fact that Mahon knows what her team needs in any given situation.
If Guilford is facing a pitcher she and her team knows well, or has seen before, she’ll raise her aggressiveness and look to swing at the strike she is looking for.
If the pitcher is somebody the team hasn’t seen before, she will take a few pitches and has no problems hitting with two strikes.
“It depends on who the pitcher is, I guess,” she said. “If it’s a pitcher we know, I’m ready to hit. If it’s somebody we haven’t seen, I’ll wait until I take a strike so the rest of the team can see her. Plus, I know I’m confident when I have two strikes, I know I can keep hitting.”
Having confidence in oneself is absolutely a must for any lead-off hitter, as is checking your ego at the door.
As Klein has told her time and time again, a walk really is a good as a hit, so all Mahon wants to do is get on base to make things happen for her team.
She also thinks stealing bases is one of the most fun and game-changing things she can do on the field.
“It’s a lot fun because it really gets the team going in the dugout,” Mahon said. “It makes the team more excited, and they’ll be cheering louder because there’s a possibility that run will score.”
Klein has watched Mahon, now in her final year of Little League, mature into a more consistent hitter that is thriving in her spot in the line-up.
“Olivia is extremely disciplined at the plate,” Klein said. “She’s always been a great player, but she’s been more consistent this year than ever before.”
Mahon has failed to get on base in only three of Guilford’s 19 games this summer, so as Guilford heads into the Little League Softball World Series this week, keep an eye on the top of the batting order.
If Olivia Mahon is getting on base, good things are about to happen for the Guilford Little League Softball All-Stars.
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