Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

SOLON – At this time last summer Jadyn Jeter had determined the extent of her softball future would consist only of the occasional game of slow pitch.

After meeting with first-year Solon coach Dave Johnson a few times this spring Jeter finally elected to give softball one final go-around this season.

The decision to return to the diamond for her senior season has been a good one for Jeter and Class 3A No. 14 Solon.

“I actually decided I wasn’t going to play five days before the season started and he convinced me to go out,” Jeter said. “It’s the best decision I ever made.”

Jeter continued her strong start to the season on Friday producing three hits, scoring twice and driving in a run as Solon stretched its winning streak to five with a pair of non-conference wins at its home triangular.

The senior third baseman had two hits a run and an RBI in a 9-2 win over Keokuk (2-9) and added a hit and scored a run in a 4-2 win over Class 2A No. 15 Waterloo Columbus (4-2) as Solon improved to 11-3.

“Jadyn and I had some conversations about whether she was even going to play or not and I really encouraged her to because I didn’t want her to get five or 10 years down the road and really regret that decision,” Johnson said. “I told her early on with her on the team and some other key players if we could get things going the right direction it could be a really exciting season.”

Jeter hit .273 and drove in 20 runs as a sophomore starter in 2018.

Last season the closest Jeter got to competitive softball was playing some slow pitch.

“I played some slow pitch, that was fun, it was different,” Jeter said. “I’m glad I took some time away.”

While Jeter admits she would likely be further ahead without her time away from the sport the senior is putting up strong numbers in her final season.

Jeter is hitting .394 with four doubles and five RBI and ranks fourth on the team with 10 runs scored.

She had three hits, including her first home run of the season in a doubleheader sweep of Central DeWitt on Thursday.

“I’m thrilled with what she is bring to the team as a senior,” Johnson said. “She is bringing a tremendous amount of leadership to this team. She is really trying to hold other players accountable and she has really emerged as a leader on this team.”

Even after a year away from the sport the timing in the batters box has come back relatively quickly for Jeter.

The biggest transition in her final prep season has been a transition from first base to third base.

“I just sprung it on her one day at practice and said ‘you are going to third,’ and she never blinked an eye,” Johnson said. “She just jumped right in.”

In the first two weeks of the season Jeter has adjusted well to her new home at third base.

“It’s been pretty smooth,” Jeter said. “It’s a little scary at times with the ball coming down the line but I really like it. There’s a lot of action.”

The two wins on Friday were part of a busy end of the week for Solon which closes a stretch of eight games in four days with a pair of contests against top-10 Class 5A teams on Saturday.

Solon started the stretch with a doubleheader split at 4A No. 15 Clear Creek Amana and swept Central DeWitt on Thursday.

On Saturday the Spartans host 5A No. 10 Ottumwa at 1 p.m. and 5A No. 4 City High at 3 p.m.

“Probably what I would consider to be successful over an eight-game stretch with the competition we are playing is just to get to a winning number in there,” Johnson said. “We’ve already done that with five wins and we are sitting at 5-1 now with two big games tomorrow.”

Keokuk                      020  000  0  –  2   7   0

Solon                         602  010  x  –  9  12  0

W – Carly Ellison                   L – Kayleigh Zanger

2B – SOL: Jada Buffington, Sarah Heick. KEO: Jadyn Scott

3B – SOL: Hilary Wilson

Solon                           200  100  1  –  4  9  3

Waterloo Columbus   011  000  0  –  2  6  2

W – Kendall Jensen                L – Haile Frost

2B – SOL: Camryn Keith. WC: Sydney Gardner

HR – SOL: Sarah Heick. WC: Nyasija Simmons

Did you enjoy this subscription free article? Help keep Your Prep Sports free by becoming a member.