ELLISVILLE – Friday was a high-tech day of sorts for Jones County Junior College athletics.

The JCJC baseball and softball programs signed several high school players to scholarships and the entire event was televised live in a one-hour special on www.jcjc.tv.

“There is a lot of anticipation here today,” said Lance Pittman, JCJC’s “Voice of the Bobcats,” who served as host for the event, which took place in the Media Room of the C.L. Neill Student Center. “It is an exciting day for us and our school.”

There were eight players who signed to play softball for first-year head coach Chris Robinson’s Lady Bobcats, including six from the JCJC district.

Signing with the Lady Bobcats were pitcher shortstop Megan Cook of Wayne County, outfielder Brittany Daniel of Raleigh, pitcher/outfielder Aaron Herrington of Stringer, catcher Stormy Lewis of Quitman, catcher Jade McLeod of Greene County, shortstop/outfielder Haley Brooke Smith of Enterprise, pitcher Lauren Candies of Hahnville High School in Hahnville, La., and pitcher Ginger Lonergan of St. Mary’s Dominican High School in Gretna, La.

“When we took over in May and June, we decided we had to start with in-district kids and the six kids we signed today are the top kids in our district,” said Robinson. “There are some more out there we will sign, but these are some very good players.

“We can only sign four out-of-staters and we’ve got two great ones coming in. We like to get pitchers, too, and we feel like we fulfilled that role. There were some players we felt we had to have, regardless of position, because they are great athletes.

“We are very excited about signing these eight young ladies.”

Second-year head baseball coach Christian Ostrander signed four prep players, including right-handed pitcher Vito Perna and outfielder Zane Walley, both of West Jones High School, outfielder Tre Keyes of Raleigh and right-handed pitcher Coy Carter of Seminary.

“We feel like these guys are ‘no doubters,’” said Ostrander, who guided the Bobcats to a school-record 36 victories last year and a berth in the MACJC Tournament. “These are guys we would like to have in our program. You don’t discriminate between positions at this point. If you have a ‘no doubt’ guy, you go after him, regardless of what position he plays.

“But we are very fortunate to have two of these guys who are, in our opinion, top-line pitchers. We think they can come in immediately and provide impact. We are losing two outfielders as well and we’ve got these two quality players coming in as signees. So, we feel that is a good fit.

“This is a great way to kick off our signings this year. Not only did we get great players, but we got great people, too.”

The Bobcat baseball and softball teams will be playing all of their games off-campus this spring because of the ongoing construction of the new, $2.8 million Community Bank Park baseball/softball complex. It is scheduled to be completed in the summer and will be ready for play in the 2011 season.

School president Dr. Jesse Smith said that the complex will be one of the premier baseball/softball facilities in the nation.

“We have invested in the facilities and you will be playing in a state-of-the-art facility,” he said. “It will be second to none in the state and it will probably be just as good as some of the facilities at universities across the country.

“Community Bank Park will be first-class and I look forward to seeing you play out here.”

JCJC athletic director Katie Herrington welcomed the 12 future Bobcat student-athletes to campus and praised the school’s coaches.

“It’s a great day for JCJC athletics,” she said. “We welcome another group into our JCJC family. We’ve got a great coaching staff in place and they have worked very hard. To have this many people signing on the first day is a credit to the coaches.”

Bob Herrington assists Robinson, while Reggie Richardson and Chris Kirtland will assist Ostrander.

“It’s always my goal as athletic director, and it was when I was a coach, to have players come in and have two very successful years here,” said Katie Herrington. “It is a joy being here. When they leave here, we want them to have the opportunity to go on and get a job in the work force or go on to play sports at another college or just to go on to college and be a student.”

The 2010 JCJC baseball and softball teams are currently going through preseason workouts to prepare for the upcoming season.

The baseball team opens the year at noon on Tuesday, Feb. 9, with a doubleheader vs. Bishop State Community College (Ala.) at Smith-Wills Stadium in Jackson. The Lady Bobcat softball team will begin the season in the Northwest Florida State College Tournament on Feb. 12-13 in Niceville, Fla.



JCJC 2010 Softball & Baseball Signees

JCJC SOFTBALL SIGNEES

Player Pos High School Hometown

Lauren Candies P Hahnville Hahnville, La.

Megan Cook SS Wayne County Waynesboro

Brittany Daniel OF Raleigh Raleigh

Aaron Herrington P/OF Stringer Stringer

Stormy Lewis C Quitman Quitman

Ginger Lonergan P St. Mary’s Dominican Gretna, La.

Jade McLeod C Greene County Leakesville

Haley Brooke Smith SS/OF Enterprise Enterprise



JCJC BASEBALL SIGNEES

Player Pos High School Hometown

Vito Perna RHP West Jones Laurel

Zane Walley OF West Jones Laurel

Tre Keyes OF Raleigh Raleigh

Coy Carter RHP Seminary Seminary