The silence was deafening when Delaware State University softball coach Amber Jackson struggled to find the words to describe what being selected to the 2017 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Hall of Fame meant to her.
But the former Bethune-Cookman All-MEAC shortstops’ credentials speak volumes about why Jackson was selected. She led Bethune-Cookman to three consecutive MEAC Softball Tournament championships and NCAA Regional appearances during her three-year career. She still holds school records for highest batting average (.464), RBIs (175), home runs (34), triples (28), hits (284) and slugging percentage (.797).
“I’m kind of speechless and I am so honored,’’ Jackson said of her selection to the MEAC Hall of Fame. “I definitely didn’t expect it. I didn’t know it was something that was a possibility. I’m really thankful to God the way He just blessed me with the ability to play this sport. Every accomplishment that I made was unexpected. I was just out there trying to win every game, trying to do the best for my team. Things just kept happening for me. I was just out there playing the game that I love.’’
Jackson will be enshrined during an awards brunch on March 9 at the Marriott Waterside Hotel in Norfolk, Va. The 2017 MEAC Hall of Fame class, which will also include Rashean Mathis, a three-time All-MEAC performer in football at Bethune-Cookman; Francena McCorory, a three-time NCAA champion in track & field at Hampton; Robert Porcher, a MEAC Defensive Player of the Year in football at South Carolina State, and Tracy White, a football All-American at Howard, will be recognized before the 6 p.m. men’s basketball game, during the 2017 MEAC Basketball Tournament on March 9, at the Norfolk Scope Arena.
Jackson was named National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) First Team All-American in 2005, her final season at Bethune-Cookman before she transferred to the University of Maryland. She batted .455, fifth-highest in the nation, with 14 home runs, 68 RBI and 33 stolen bases. All these years later, Jackson looks back of her statistics in amazement.
“I was just enjoying it and having so much fun, I never thought about the accolades that could come with it,’’ she said. “I was constantly in that moment trying to figure out how to beat the opponent, beat the pitcher, get somebody out and not let my team down.”
Jackson says only once was she aware of a possible statistical milestone and consciously set out to achieve it. That was when someone told her that she needed two stolen bases to reach 100 for her career.
“Everything else I was just playing to win,’’ she said.
Hitting was Jackson’s strong suit from the time she started out playing stickball in her neighborhood in Fontana, Calif., and her ability to swing the bat made her a second-round pick in the 2007 National Pro Fastpitch Draft. She led the league in home runs and RBI her rookie year and earned the league’s Player of the Year award.
Jackson began playing softball at age 12 when she joined a recreation league team, but she never played on a travel team because her family couldn’t afford the fees. Jackson had no intentions of playing softball when she entered high school until a physical education instructor, who had seen her play, invited her to tryout for the freshman team. Jackson was reluctant because she knew all of the freshman team members in addition to not having a ride home after practice.
By that time she had switched from batting right-handed to swinging lefty and became an even more prolific batter than she had been. After seeing Jackson hit, the coach promised to arrange a ride home for her and that she would have a spot on the varsity team. Jackson started in right field for the first several games and moved to the infield later in the season when the team’s shortstop made a number of errors in a key game against its biggest rival.
Jackson joined a travel team during her junior year of high school and drew the attention of a number of college teams, including Bethune-Cookman. She took her official visit to Daytona Beach, Fla. during the Lady Wildcats’ homecoming weekend and the atmosphere swept her off her feet.
“The band was great; we went to the step show and the pep rally. The environment was one you just wanted to be part of,’’ Jackson said.
But it was Bethune-Cookman head coach Laura Watten’s vision for the softball program that sealed the deal.
“Coach sold me on the dream for being underdogs and going to the (NCAA) regional,’’ Jackson said. “She talked a lot about where they wanted to be, which was a lot different from other places. They just seemed more passionate being the first to make it out of regionals. At the time they were on track. They had won the MEAC several years in a row. I thought that for the possibility to go to the (College) World Series, that was my best option. The other schools were just working on getting out of their conference.’’
Jackson will celebrate her glorious career on March 9 as she will be inducted with four other former student-athletes into the 2017 MEAC Hall of Fame.