Scholarship signing: Nine Alexandria athletes sign scholarships

Nov. 8—ALEXANDRIA — It was a packed house at Alexandria on Wednesday.

Not just with those who came to show their support for their friends and family members signing athletic scholarships, but because of the nine tables lined up for the nine Valley Cubs who signed scholarships.

Of the nine were six baseball players, two softball players and a golfer. All of those who signed scholarships are below:

—Jill Cockrell, Alabama-Huntsville softball

—Christian Hess, Northeast Alabama Community College softball

—Marlee Hedgepeth, Snead State Community College golf

—Andrew Allen, Arkansas State baseball

—Tripp Patterson, North Alabama baseball

—Samuel Henagar, Wallace State Community College baseball

—Aiden Brunner, Charleston (West Virginia) baseball

—Ian Cartwright, Montevallo baseball

—Evan Snow, Gadsden State Community College baseball

Alexandria baseball coach Zac Welch said that seeing the six baseball players sign scholarships to play at the next level is a testament to how much work they put in both in and out of baseball season;

"It shows that these kids have worked so very hard for so long," Alexandria baseball coach Zac Welch said. "They are the first ones to show up to practice and the last ones to leave. It's a great feeling as a coach to drive by the cage and see kids working in their free time and this group is that all day long. It has been nothing but a pleasure to work with them and they deserve everything that's coming down the chute their way."

Patterson, who signed with North Alabama, is happy that his team is getting honored the way he believes they should, adding that the signings might help them out on the field this spring.

"I think it's good that our players are finally getting recognized," Patterson said. "We can have a good season this year and hopefully, we can almost intimidate other teams with how we are signing and everything. I'm excited."

Valley Cubs softball coach Brian Hess said that as much as he hates to see two of his players leave, he's happy that their hard work is paving the way for younger players to want to pursue their dreams.

"I'm going to hate losing them," the coach said. "Jill and Christian both have been with us for 4 or 5 years. Jill's a good kid and comes from a good family and is a hard worker. It's a good reflection to other kids, younger kids, 'hey, if you really want this if you work hard, you've got to put the work in, but if you work hard, you can also accomplish this too.'"

Christian Hess, who signed with Northeast Alabama Community College, said that along with the facilities, coach Joe Guthrie made the difference in her selection. Guthrie is a former UAB coach and assisted with Oxford's Smash It Sports Vipers of Women's Professional Fastpitch, and took the job to start up Northeast Alabama's program in July.

The senior added that being a part of the first team in program history is "unreal."

"The coach really did it for me," she said. "Getting to see the facilities that they're going to have by the end of the summer and just knowing where that coach has been in the past couple of years and all that he's done in those types of facilities."

Added Christian Hess: "I can't wait to get up there, because that kind of is me leaving a legacy there. Those people coming up are gonna think of this first team that's about to be there."

The longtime softball coach said that both of the players have earned their way to a scholarship, always asking if they can go out and hit.

"Both of them are hard workers," the coach said. "Both of them are always asking to go hit and go do the little things. We're gonna miss them at the end of the year, but we're proud of them for going and furthering their careers."

Montevallo baseball signee Ian Cartwright said that he expects some more of his teammates to sign in the spring.

"It shows just our work and our commitment over the years," Cartwright said. "It's really been good for each other. Everybody's pushing each other to be their best over the years. It's really shown, as you saw today. We had six of us sign and are probably going to get a few more in the season."

Both Patterson and Cartwright said that as they took their baseball visits, it became no-brainers to pick the programs they did.

"Both of my parents went to North Alabama and they graduated from there," Patterson said. "They had a great experience there. I went down on a visit and I loved the coaching staff. Basically as soon as I was down there, I knew I wanted it to be home."

Added Cartwright: "I went on my visit, and when I did, it felt like home for me. It felt like the right decision for me, it felt like the right decision for me and my family. It's hard not to go somewhere when it feels like home."

With all three squads — baseball, softball and golf — hoping to continue their reputations of success this spring, Welch said that he's excited about the baseball season ahead.

"This has been a baseball-type group since they were 8, 9 years old," Welch said. "It's been so much fun to watch them grow up and mature to this point, but I think they can all agree that we've got a little unfinished business that we'd like to deal with. The individual stuff is great, but I think the team concept is really, really ingrained in them as well. Today is the day of individualism but tomorrow we'll get back to work as a team and hopefully we can celebrate a few more times throughout the year."

Sports Writer Thomas Ashworth: 256-236-1551. On Twitter: @ThomasAshworth0.