September 3, 2009

FIVE NEMCC SOFTBALL PLAYERS SET TO MAKE HISTORY 

BOONEVILLE, Miss. – Five members of the Northeast Mississippi Community College’s softball team will make history when they participate in the first-ever Domino’s Mississippi JUCO All-Star Showcase on November 7.

Sophomores Amy Blakeney (Nashville, Tenn.), Danielle Frederick (Wheeler), Sara Beth Michael (Booneville), Shardae Ward (Aberdeen) and Devin Reader of Iuka were all selected to play in the all-star contest at Freedom Ridge Park in Ridgeland.

Blakeney, who also finished the 2008 season with a 14-12 record on the mound, led the Lady Tigers at the plate with a .375 batting average while Michael and Ward both hit over .250 for Northeast during the season. Reader and Frederick saw limited action at the plate for the Lady Tigers in 2008.

Michael, who appeared in 36 games for the Lady Tigers during the 2008 season, turned in a .911 fielding percentage while Ward and Blakeney also checked in with fielding percentages above .840.

The 2009 Domino’s Mississippi JUCO All-Star Showcase is the brainchild of Belhaven Softball Coach Rick Fremin and Northeast Head Softball Coach Jody Long is fast to give the four-year coach credit.

“I’m proud he’s doing it,” said Long. “He came to the coaching meeting about a year ago and proposed it.”

The two-game format will pit the Mississippi Association of Community/Junior College’s (MACJC) north division against the south division with independent Meridian joining the north’s cause.

But Long knows that it is not about wins and losses but about getting the recognition for the players.

 “It’s two-fold,” said Northeast Head Coach Jody Long. “One, it gives (the athletes) the opportunity to play in front of college coaches but it also gives them time to interact with other sophomores that they will be playing against this season.”

Softball is holding its all-star classic in the fall as a way of helping the players out.

“We are doing it just like baseball does with their all-star event in the fall,” said Long. “Additionally, it’s a good way to get in another workout.”

While the extra workout is nice to a junior college player, Long points out the main reason for the showcase.

“We want them to go down there and have fun,” Long said. “What you really want is kids displaying their talent in front of college coaches in that game so that they can move onto the next level.”

###