8/05/08

COMBS INKS WITH NORTHEAST SOFTBALL
Booneville Standout Was Co-Player of Year in Div. 1-3A

BOONEVILLE, Miss.--Northeast Mississippi Community College fast-pitch softball coach Jody Long has added Booneville High School standout Raven Combs to his 2008 signing class.

As a senior outfielder on Tommy Fraiser’s slow-pitch squad, Combs hit .577 with seven doubles, eight triples and seven homeruns while knocking in 56 RBI.

“I see a lot of similarities in her and Natasha Watley,” said Northeast softball coach Jody Long. “I hate to compare people but if she’s committed and works hard she has the potential.”

During her tenure at Booneville High School, Combs was a key cog in the Lady Devils slow- and fast-pitch softball teams as well helping take the BHS basketball team to the Mississippi High School Activities Association Class 3A state tournament.

“We want to utilize what she does well,” Long said, “and that’s speed.”

Combs was named the Division 1-3A Co-Player of the Year in 2007 and took home the honor in Division 1-2A when Booneville was part of Class 2A. The Booneville High School alum was also named to the Mississippi Association of Coaches (MAC) North/South All-Star game and was part of the Northeast Mississippi Softball Coaches Association (NEMSBCA) All-Star game.

The 2008 Northeast Tigers fast-pitch softball squad captured its 7th MACJC North Division title in the last eight years, and finished the season with a 34-20 record and a 4th place finish in the NJCAA Region 23 tournament

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