While gearing up for our annual Baseball/Softball Preview (coming Feb. 25), we checked in with one of the top returning talents for a Sheldon softball team which is pre- paring to defend its Sac Joaquin Section title. The Huskies project to begin the season inside the Top 10 of SportStars’ Preseason NorCal Top 20 Rankings. Meet Jordan Fines:
YEAR: Senior
POSITION: Shortstop
2015 REWIND: Fines had her best season for the Huskies as a junior with team highs in batting average (.477), hits (51) and doubles (14). During Sheldon’s five-game run to the SJS Di- vision I title, she was 10-for-20 at the plate with four runs and 2 RBI in the playoffs. The section championship was the program’s sixth overall, but first during Fines’ tenure.
THOUGHTS ON 2016 HUSKIES: “We’ve got bats. We only lost two seniors and they were pitchers who didn’t bat, so we will have a strong offense. Team camaraderie is always a strength at Sheldon, and we know that we always have each other’s back.”
COLLEGE CHOICE: California (signed Letter of Intent in November)
SETTING THE TONE: As a team leader, Jordan is in charge of the Huskies’ warm-up playlist. She enjoys exposing her teammates to her affinity for Hawaiian Reggae and country music.
SOFTBALL IDOLS: Growing up playing for the Sacramento Lady Magic travel softball teams, Fines had plenty of top local players to admire and aspire to play and be like. Among her favorite Lady Magic alumni is another Sheldon Huskie-turned-Cali- fornia Golden Bear, Jolene Henderson.
FAVORITE MLB PLAYER: Andrelton Simmons, SS, L.A. Angels
FAVORITE OPPONENTS: Local rivals Elk Grove and Pleasant Grove-Elk Grove
DREAM DIAMOND: University of Arizona
GAME DAY RITUAL: She puts her hair in a fish tail braid before every game, and does not let anyone else help with the braid or touch her hair before it is braided.
FAVORITE FOOD: Ice cream (mint chip preferred)
PLAY TIME: When she is not playing softball (which leaves little time), Jordan enjoys play- ing the piano and the ukulele.
