She has been playing softball since she was old enough to swing a bat, and thanks to stellar performance during a tryout for Pitt Community College, Terra Ceia’s Katie Jackson will get a chance to play the sport she loves for at least two more years.
Jackson, who recently graduated from Terra Ceia, wrapped up her senior year by leading the Knights to a 17-6 record and batting .478 with 28 RBIs and three home runs en route to being named to the all-Tarheel Independent Conference and NCISAA all-state teams.
“I’m just excited to play,” Jackson said. “I really didn’t see myself going on to play college ball but when the season ended I was like, ‘I don’t really want to stop playing.’”
According to Terra Ceia coach Ashley Harris, Jackson is the first Terra Ceia softball player that has played all four of her varsity years with the Knights to make a college team.
“I think I’m just as excited for her as she is,” Harris said. “She went out there and really had a great tryout.”
Jackson said she did not give much thought to playing beyond high school, but once the season ended she found it hard to let the game go.
“It really wasn’t a thought in my mind,” Jackson said. “I wasn’t trying to get anybody to look at me or anything like that. I just was thinking once it’s over its over … But everything happened so fast and before I know it was trying out for the team.”
Jackson, who received a partial scholarship, is expected to be able to compete right away for a starting job next season. For the hard-noised catcher who is not afraid to get her jersey dirty, a competition suits her just fine. In fact, it was Jackson’s competitive spirit that first caught Harris’ attention.
“I was running the clock for a basketball game when she was in seventh grade and I remember seeing the ball go past the scorer’s table, and then a blur went past the scorer’s table. The blur streaked right by me and dove on the floor for the ball and I said, ‘Who’s that? And somebody said, ‘That’s Katie Jackson, she is new here.’ and I said, ‘Well, she can play for me anytime.’ That’s the way she played basketball and softball: all out.”
Harris credited Jackson as just one of the players who has helped Terra Ceia become a softball power, in not just the Tarheel Independent Conference, but in all of the NCISAA 1-A classification.
“Katie has been a big part of making the softball team look good for the last four years,” Harris said. “She is a leader and an overall solid player. She is part of a class that took us from being a last place team for several years to finishing second in the conference this year. She helped us get to the state playoffs for the past four years. Prior to that, Terra Ceia fastpitch softball had only been there twice. She, and that core group of players, took us from virtually nothing to a team that was ranked at one point in the season third in the state.”