From the time she was old enough to play “follow the leader,” Brittany Hitchcock gravitated to the forefront.

Growing up, Hitchcock’s mother often babysat for other families and it wasn’t long before young Brittany was organizing her playmates in their daily activities.

“My mom always jokes around that I was always the leader from when I was a little kid because I would take charge of all the kids and say, ‘OK this is what we’re going to do, we’re going to play this game,’ ” Hitchcock said.

Leadership extended to her athletic pursuits; from youth leagues through high school and into her college career with the University of Hawaii softball team as a pitcher and team captain her first two seasons on the active roster.

“I think just being a pitcher in general you’re kind of forced into a leadership role and you either accept it or end up not staying in pitching,” Hitchcock said.

Focused on and off the field, Hitchcock balances her responsibilities in school and softball with equal aplomb. A near-4.0 student, Hitchcock has kept her earned-run average well under her grade-point average in her career with the Wahine (17-19, 1-2 Big West).

A second-team All-Big West and third-team NFCA All-West Region pick last season, the sophomore right-hander enters Friday’s Big West home opener against CSUN (21-16, 1-2) second in the country with just five walks allowed in 981⁄3 innings. At 7-9 overall, she leads the Wahine with a 2.56 ERA, good for sixth in the Big West, and 66 strikeouts.

Although she’s ahead of last year’s strikeout rate, Hitchcock’s first priority remains keeping her infielders busy.

Hitchcock said her early coaches noted a natural sink on her fastball. She developed a drop ball to induce ground balls and “that’s been my MO throughout my career,” she said.

Academically, Hitchcock was named the team’s top scholar-athlete last year and two B-pluses are aberations on a transcript with a 3.9 cumulative grade-point average.

Although a back injury her freshman year delayed her on-field debut by a year, Hitchcock remained on an accelerated schedule academically and she plans to complete her undergraduate work in the fall, earning a degree in family resources in 31⁄2 years. She’ll then spend her junior and senior seasons of softball pursuing her master’s degree with an eye on working in education.

“I grew up wanting to be a teacher and my mom always worked with young kids, so I knew that was something I was passionate about,” Hitchcock said.

Hitchcock’s mother, Kim, was a shortstop in her playing days and helped guide Brittany in softball as one of her early coaches.

“She said ‘OK, you’re tall, we need to make you a pitcher,” said the 5-foot-11 Hitchcock.

She began pitching at 8 and college softball came into focus as a goal after watching Jennie Finch pitch in the 2008 Olympic Games. She attended camps at UCLA and Arizona and her interest in Hawaii was sparked by the 2010 team’s run to the Women’s College World Series.

She committed to UH prior to her junior year at Ocean View High in Huntington Beach, Calif., where she also played soccer and volleyball. Often a team captain, she learned along the way leadership is more than providing direction.

“Getting the best out of one another,” she said, “that’s what you want to figure out as a leader.”