MISHAWAKA - Mishawaka coach Brian Miller met Shelbie Jones when she was only nine years old.
"And she had this certain spark in her eye that she wanted to be good,” Miller said.
Not only be good, but break records. Which is exactly what she did, with 22 wins in a single season and 55 for her career.
“A lot of folks thought that was an untouchable record,” Miller said, “and Shelbie, at a young age, said ‘I'm going to break that.’"
Jones was only a freshman when she threw her first no hitter. Since then she has thrown six more.
"I like throwing no hitters,” Shelbie said. “It means I'm doing my job right.”
Not only does she do her job right in the circle, but in the classroom as well. While throwing nearly two strikeouts an inning every game for the team, Jones maintains a 3.1 GPA.
"She takes her academics seriously,” Brian Miller said. “Cracking the books and cracking the mitt."
Jones' passion for the game and leadership rubs off on her teammates.
"A lot of the younger girls look up to her,” her coach said. “At the same time too, I'm very excited to see how she has taken a couple of our freshman who are getting a lot of playing time and really taking them under her wing."
"I just hope that they enjoy playing the game as much and see my passion for it and want to have as much passion as I do and want to keep our tradition going of a strong team," Shelbie said.
