NEW PALESTINE — The pressure couldn’t be much higher. The shoes that need to be filled couldn’t be much bigger.
Michaela Jones isn’t worried about any of that. She’s just excited.
Only one person every year has the distinction of taking over for the previous Miss Softball. This year, that player is Jones, a junior on New Palestine’s softball team. Jones has moved out from behind the plate, where she spent her freshman and sophomore seasons, and into her natural position of shortstop following the graduation of the record-setting Ashley Prange.
“I think mainly it’s just been a motivating factor to push me to work harder, knowing I have those big shoes to fill,” Jones said. “It’s just pushed me harder, I think. Maybe a little bit of pressure, but I think that’ll help me in the future.”
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Replacing Miss Softball is a tall enough task. Prange also holds numerous team and state records, was named Gatorade Player of the Year for Indiana and was a second-team All-American selection, among countless other accolades.
In steps Jones, who herself earned second-team all-state honors last year after hitting .569 with 10 home runs and knocking in 44 RBIs.
The drop-off, if there is any, figures to be minimal. Through two seasons, Jones has 17 home runs and 70 RBIs. Prange had eight homers and 43 RBIs heading into her junior season.
It’s not every day you replace a Miss Softball with someone putting up equally impressive numbers, but the Dragons have that luxury as they aim at a three-peat as state champion.
“That doesn’t happen very often,” New Palestine coach Ed Marcum said. “She’s a natural shortstop. That’s her position. That’s her position she plays in travel ball, at a very high level for a team out of Alabama. She’s a lot more comfortable going into this season than what she’s been the last couple. She couldn’t wait to give me that gear back. But she did a great job for us, obviously. Total team player.”
Jones has put up impressive numbers while playing a position she had never played before. She came into her freshman year and was asked to switch to catcher, and promptly hit .480 with seven HRs and 26 RBIs, huge numbers for a freshman, let alone one learning an entirely new defensive role and responsibilities.
“Her freshman year, to be able to do what she did … very rarely do freshman come in and have a really good freshman year,” Marcum said. “There’s an adjustment period to it, because the pressure here is totally different than what they experience with travel ball. It’s really hard for them to usually come in as freshman and put up the type of numbers that Mic was able to, and then to learn a brand new position? Just incredible.”
Jones came into high school playing with confidence and composure, something she attributes to her work ethic and time she has spent improving her game.
“I think the hard work feeds into the confidence,” Jones said. “It’s just been a lot of hard work, and that helps me be more confident out there.”
Her sophomore year was even more impressive, as Jones and the Dragons earned a second straight state championship and rose all the way to No. 4 in the USA Today Super 25 national rankings.
This year, expectations are high for both the team — the Dragons are No. 8 in those same rankings and No. 1 in Class 3A — and their new shortstop. Jones is excited to get a chance to compete for a third straight championship, and possibly even more excited to finally just get out from behind the plate.
“So much more excited. Catching was not my favorite thing,” Jones said. “Shortstop is where I love to play. I’m really excited for that. That will carry on to my hitting, I think. I have more fun there. I just enjoy it more.”
Marcum said before the season that he was looking at moving Jones up in the lineup — she hit cleanup last year — to get more at-bats for her, just as the team did with Prange. She’s hit second, the same spot as Prange, so far this season.
The coach said he thinks he could see an improvement in the junior’s numbers this year, but he knows it would be hard to improve much on what she accomplished a year ago. While the home run and RBI totals are eye-popping, Marcum considers Jones more of a gap-to-gap doubles hitter than a home run hitter, too. She has had 15 doubles in each of her first two years.
The biggest thing now for the shortstop is getting fully healthy. Jones injured her back during basketball season and still wasn’t fully cleared to play before the April 2 season opener. She finally was cleared the day of the opener, and through six games is hitting .500 with four home runs, one double and 12 RBIs so far this season.
Her goals are simple for the rest of this season. The team goals are big — another state title — while the personal goals are more modest.
“Just to have a successful season,” Jones said. “Get back healthy, and maybe top what I did last year.”