Jackson Progress-Argus

Photo by Rebecca Long

By Diane Glidewell

dglidewell@myjpa.com

Honors have been coming at 19-year-old Tomeka Watson almost as fast as softball pitches, as the 2009 Jackson High School graduate winds up her first season playing for the Phoenix softball team at Elon University in North Carolina.

Watson was named 2010 Southern Conference Freshman of the Year, was named to the All-Southern Conference team, was an All-Freshman team selection, and most recently was a first team selection for the 2010 Louisville Slugger/NFCA Division I All-Mideast Region team, according to an announcement made by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association

The NFCA Division I All-Region teams honor student-athletes from 10 NFCA regions. One of Watson's Elon teammates, Erin O'Shea, was also named to the first team, and Elon's Emerald Graham was named to the second team.

Watson led the Jackson High School Lady Devils as a pitcher for four years, being named to All-region teams all four years and to the Georgia 4-AAA All State first team. She also played for the Atlanta Vipers and the Georgia Elite travel teams during her high school career.

Watson started all 54 games this season and was the first-ever Elon softball player to be named the Southern Conference Freshman of the Year. She leads all league freshmen with a .373 batting average. Her statistics include five doubles, a triple, and seven homeruns. She scored 45 runs for the Phoenix and batted in 29 runs in her 177 at bats. Her 24 stolen bases were a team high.

Her fielding percentage was a perfect 1.000 in the outfield, where she ended the season without an error.

The Elon University 2010 softball season ended on May 15 with a loss, 8-0, to third-seeded Radford in the NCAA Softball Championship elimination game. In the preceding loss to University of Georgia, 10-4, Tomeka did her part for the team going 2 for 4 with two runs, an RBI, and a homerun to lead the Elon team at the plate.

In fact, her first run gave Elon a 3-2 lead in the top of the third inning, and then in the bottom of the third inning, she threw out a batter at second with a ball hit off the left field wall, then caught a fly ball and threw to catch the runner at second for the second and third outs of the inning. Her homerun came as lead-off batter in the top of the fifth inning.

Watson is the daughter of Tommy and Daphne Watson of Jackson. Her mother said she is proud of how well Tomeka has done in her first year of college, in school as well as in athletics. She said that Tomeka appreciates the support she receives from Jackson.

She was delighted to hit a homerun when JHS Coaches Charlie Biles and Cathleen Eckholm came to watch her play against the University of Georgia.

According to her mother, the only goal Tomeka did not achieve for her freshman softball year was getting her batting average up to .400.