Keeping up with the softball Joneses

By Millie Diaz
Sports Writer
Jillian Jones may look tough as nails on a softball field, but it’s a mentality, not her personality. The Industrial junior is so serious at the sport of softball she’s already verbally committed to playing at the college level with Ouachita Baptist University in Arkansas, and they are ready to have her.
It’s been no surprise she will be a powerhouse no matter where she plays. As a sophomore, Jillian was decorated with All-State Third Team honors, and she currently plays on a Select team out of Houston, the Impact Gold-Navy team, meaning she plays softball nearly all year long.
OBU has been a part of the Jones family for awhile, hence her reason for committing so soon. Jocelyn, Jillian’s oldest sister, played shortstop for the Tigers and graduated in 2014, and Jordin, the middle sister, currently plays for the College of Charleston in South Carolina.
“Softball became real to me in third grade because I had to quit being a little ballerina. It was an either/or situation for me: you want to be hardcore softball or hardcore ballerina, which one do you want to be? I watched my sisters and they looked like they were having so much fun and I wanted to do it too,” Jillian said.
Mike McGhee, OBU’s head softball coach for 14 years, said he’s been watching Jillian play since she was a little girl, years before he was able to approach her on a recruiting level, and that was attributed to her oldest sister and a case of homesickness her freshman year.
“Jocelyn almost went home, but I told her if she put her trust in me it would get easier every year. I promised her, ‘I don’t know where Inez is, but I’m going to make a point to visit,’” McGhee said. “Jillian was in elementary school then, and by the time Jocelyn was married Jillian was ready to commit.”
He went on to say Tiger softball has been a bit plagued for the past few seasons, but with Jillian’s commitment and some other prospects, the OBU Tiger future is looking up.
“Nowadays this sport is about the family, and their parents, Lisa and Roy, are as passionate as their daughters are,” McGhee said.
As a Little Leaguer, the team she played on needed a catcher and she recalls her mom nudging her into the spot with the knowing look mothers are known for, so Jillian volunteered. Lexey Mikulec and Reagan Doyle, Cobra pitcher and shortstop, have been playing on softball teams ever since.
“Lexey and I are neighbors, and Reagan is my cousin,” Jillian said. “We played Select ball for a team in Austin in junior high, but they decided they wanted to play other sports and do more. For me, I knew the sport was going to get me out of college.”
As a Cobra, she is known for being a powerful batter and a commanding catcher, and after the years of playing and learning, she said the biggest thing she works on is mental toughness, and her experience in overcoming is harder than it looks.
“When I started going to camps they stressed how important it was and I thought, ‘I have a good stick, I’ve got this.’ But now I understand it more. Some days I wake up and I don’t want to get out of bed and I tell myself, ‘Jill, you’re going to college for this, you have to do it.’ The mental game can still be a struggle,” she said.
Cobra Head Coach Ted Malek said Jillian’s competitive drive is huge, and her natural talent is boundless because she’s been playing for so long. “With softball it’s all about repetition; how you practice is how you’re going to play. Jillian knows the game and works hard, she’s like a quarterback, she has to know what everybody is doing at all times, and she gives instruction to Lexey on pitch call. Jillian makes coaching easy for me and she’s got a great arm.”
Jillian said her father and sisters are constant support and reminders of staying focused by sending videos and tips on her batting. She said Steven ‘Bubba’ Whitehead is her hitting coach, and helps her tremendously.
So watch out for the hardcore redhead at home plate, she can play with the best of them, but is still a girl with an Impact Gold heart.