HAMILTON — Jordyn Jackson realized as a sophomore she had work to do if she was going to realize her dream of playing softball in college.
At the time, Jackson realized she likely wouldn’t attract as much attention from college coaches because she played at a small school. She also knew that not playing on a travel ball team reduced the number of chances she would have to catch someone’s eye.
Neither of those things prevented Jackson from realizing her goal.
On Thursday, the Hamilton High School senior celebrated the hours of hard work and dedication by signing a scholarship to play softball at East Mississippi Community College in Scooba.
Jackson has played softball all her life, including the past six years on Hamilton’s slow- and fast-pitch teams. She earned most of her playing time at third base and at left field, but she admitted she has played nearly every position. That versatility helped her realize a goal she has had since she was a little girl.
“My 10th-grade year I knew I wanted to play ball, but I knew it was going to hard to get noticed, so all of these years I have been working for it and working for it,” Jackson said. “I just finally had to put myself out there and go for it.”
In the fall, Hamilton defeated Stringer 9-3 and 10-0 in five innings to win the Mississippi High School Activities Association Class 1A slow-pitch state title. Jackson joined classmates Alison Atkins, Raimi Bryan, Taylor Hyland, and Cheyenne Logan in helping the program win its second championship in a row, and third in the past five years. Hamilton has won six slow-pitch state titles.
From the start, Jackson had her sights set on going to EMCC. She practiced with the team and was determined to show the coaching staff everything she had. She admitted she was surprised when the workout she attended turned into a tryout and that workout session resulted in a scholarship offer.
“I worked just as hard at the school as I did at the tryout,” Jackson said. “I took everything coach (Bryan) Loague has taught me and I took it out there and prayed to God it would work on them as it does coach Loague.”
Jackson didn’t waste any time accepting the scholarship offer. She said her grandmother accompanied her on the visit and was the first to learn the news. She then took to her phone to inform as many family members and friends as she could.
After having some time to consider her accomplishment, Jackson takes pride in how she positioned herself to earn a chance to extend her career. She is looking forward to becoming and even better player and person in her final fast-pitch season at Hamilton. Her goal is to do whatever she can to help EMCC make it to the state tournament.
“I didn’t know it would happen so soon, but since it did, it was such a relief,” Jackson said. “I was like, ‘Finally I have somewhere to play and I have people to prove on.’ I do want to go on to play at a university.”
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor.
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 26 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 26 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
