When it comes to the art of fastpitch, it’s all about balance for Auburn’s Amber ‘Bubba’ Morrow.

“Fastpitch can be so negative. You can make so many errors,” Morrow said. “It really takes a toll. You need to learn to shake off those errors and get to the next play. And not focus on negatives but get to the positives.”

For Morrow, it’s a hard-won nugget of wisdom, a philosophy nurtured over more than a decade of playing ball.

“I’ve always loved softball,” said the hard-hitting junior catcher for the Trojans. “I started select when I was in the sixth grade. Before that I was really big into little league, ever since I was 4.”

It was during her days in little league that Morrow first settled into the catcher position.

“I was bigger, they tried me behind the plate and I stuck there,” she said. “I’ve always loved playing catcher. Since then I always knew I was pretty good.”

It was also during this time that she found herself tagged with a nickname.

“I was a fat kid,” she said. “So growing up my sisters would call me ‘Bubba.’ My fastpitch team heard it, and so it’s stuck ever since.”

When she was in the sixth grade, Morrow caught the eye of Kelly Kelsoe, an Auburn assistant coach and the head coach of the Rainier Jets select team.

She turned out for the Jets, and by the time she was 14, she had stepped up to play for the organization’s 18U team with kids three years her senior.

“The first tournament I was nervous beyond belief,” she said. “After that I kind of started to fit in with everyone. I was always kind of mature for my age. And there was another girl, my best friend on the team, Hannah Melick (from Auburn Riverside), who was the same age as me. It never felt different, I just always got to play with the bigger girls. It felt pretty good.”

This season, Morrow took another step in her maturation on the field, joining the prestigious Washington LadyHawks select team, home to some of the best high school players in the South Sound, including Melick, Krysta Beers, Taylor Watkins and Haylie Watson.

The LadyHawks train year round, with just a two-week break during the winter, Morrow said.

Although much of her time is taken up by the LadyHawks, right now it’s all about high school ball for Morrow.

“I love the leadership and the big role I have on the team,” she said. “I always loved to get dirty. And I like that pressure situation. You always have pressure on you as a catcher. It builds character when you face hardship.”

“This year, one of the keys for us is that she’s our catcher,” Auburn coach Charlie Frampton said. “She’s just one of those people who is a good presence on the field. She demands respect not only from our team, but other teams that play us. She’s just an outstanding young girl. She’s got this bubbly personality. She’s a great teammate and just has a real positive attitude.”

So far this season the Trojans are 2-6 in the South Puget Sound League North 4A, 4-6 overall, a record that Morrow thinks the team is capable of improving on.

“At practice we’re fine, but when we get to games we make a lot of mental errors,” Morrow said. “You have to take them aside and talk to them, you can’t let them get down on themselves. You can always work on the mental part of the game.”

After she graduates next year, Morrow will get another four years to refine her game. She’s committed to attend and play ball for Seattle University.

“I went on a visit there and it was absolutely beautiful,” Morrow said. “I got to talk to some of the teachers. … At Seattle U, where I’m going for nursing, the classes are 30 people, so you get that relationship with your teachers. I really liked that fact. And it’s close to home.”

Which is just fine with Morrow, who said staying close to home and her boyfriend, Max Pratt, a member of the Auburn football and track and field teams, was a priority.

“I’m always hanging out with my friends. I’m pretty social,” she said. “And Max is my best friend. We’ve been together since the end of eighth grade. He’s the one who helps me through fastpitch. He understands what it’s like to be an athlete, and he always pushes me to be better.”

Morrow also has the drive inside to improve on her skills every season.

“Every year I want to improve on my stats,” she said. “Last year I had 10 stolen bases, and this year I want to improve on that.”

So far this season Morrow has eight stolen bases.

“I just always want to get better,” she said.