Three Moritmer Jordan senior softball players signed with Bevill State College on Thursday. They are from left, out fielder/ second baseman Erin Whitlock , third baseman/ pitcher Shelbey Faucett and pricher Michelle Cheatwood.

By Charles Prince

The North Jefferson News



MORRIS — Bevill State Community College’s Ricky Howell recorded a triple play in Morris on Thursday. He signed not one, not two, but three Mortimer Jordan Lady Blue Devils for his Lady Bear’s softball program.

Seniors Michelle Cheatwood, Shelbey Faucett and Erin Whitlock accepted scholarships to the community college during a ceremony in the school’s gym on Thursday afternoon.

Howell was a big reason all three girls picked his school to continue their careers on the diamond.

“I choose Bevill because I like coach Howell a lot,” Whitlock said. “I’ve been around him a lot and he’s a very nice guy. I know a lot of the girls who will be my teammates and they’re all very nice people.”

Faucett expressed similar feeling about Howell.

“I like the coaches there and I think they can make me a better player and help me to get where I want to be as a player,” she said. “Also, I’ve played summer ball with several of the girls on their team and I think I’ll fit in well there.”

Howell also factored in to Cheatwood’s decision to attend the school.

“When I got to know coach Howell and the other coaches, I could see they were good guys and good coaches and it made me want to choose to go there,” she said.

Howell is getting three members of a Lady Blue Devil club which has made three straight trips to the 5A state tournament in Montgomery.

In 2005, when the trio were freshmen, the Lady Devils finished eight in state. In 2006, during their sophomore seasons, Jordan finished as the 5A state runner-up. After the second place finish, Faucett and Cheatwood were both named to the All-tourney team.

Last season, the three juniors helped Jordan to a third place finish in the 5A tourney.

During the 2007 season, Cheatwood, in her third season as the Blue Devil’s number one starter, won 27 games, struck out 261 batters in 237 innings and recorded a scant 1.36 ERA.

Faucett, the club’s third baseman, hit .253 with 22 RBIs, scored 28 runs, collected eight doubles and smashed four home runs during her junior season.

She was also noted for her defensive skills at the hot corner, including handing seven chances in the field without an error in the Lady Devil’s second game at last year’s state tournament.

Whitlock, the club’s right fielder last year, who will be moving to second base this season, hit .272 with 26 RBIs and 28 runs scored. She was also adept at moving runners along, as she recorded four sacrifice flys and 17 sacrifice bunts.

Mortimer Jordan head coach Laura Rickman described Faucett as the best athlete on the Jordan softball team, Cheatwood as being the most mentally tough player she had ever coached and said Whitlock’s leadership had been key to the Lady Devils success since the first day she joined the varsity. Rickman went on to tell coach Howell and the audience in attendance at the signing ceremony that the three girls would bring a winning attitude to his program.

Faucett and Whitlock will room together, starting next fall, while Cheatwood with room with another player. However, all agreed that the trio moving onto the same college will make their college experience something special.

“Erin and I had talked about going to the same college a little bit,” Faucett said. “But we really didn’t if any of the three of us would go there. I didn’t know I’d be going there when Michelle verbally committed there. But it’s cool that it worked out this way.”

“I don’t any of us would have liked to have gone to a college alone, but I think we would have if we had to, but it’s really great that we’re all three going up there and we’ll all still be teammates,” Whitlock said.