Dexter SB pitcher closing career with (yet) another achievement

There has not been an abundance of positive results that have come from this spring’s Dexter High School softball season, as it has labored to a 4-13 mark. However, one bright spot has been the pitching of Bearcat senior Amelia Jenkins.

“We knew that the Jenkins girl was going to be super tough,” New Madrid County Central coach Matt Hartman said earlier this season after watching Jenkins strike out 11 Eagle hitters in a game at East Park in Dexter.

A lot of coaches have felt that way about Jenkins throughout her career, which is wrapping up this spring, as the postseason nears.

The Bearcats will face Charleston (1-14) on Friday at 4:30 p.m. in the opening round of the MSHSAA Class 2 District 1 Tournament, and more than likely, Jenkins will make things difficult for the Blue Jay batters.

“It’s been really great,” first-year Dexter coach (and Amelia’s mother) Christina Jenkins said of her daughter’s season.

Jenkins recently topped 600 career strikeouts in less than 70 innings pitched. Her mother (and coach) is proud of the achievement, but when she first accepted the position as head coach, after serving as an assistant in recent springs, she admits to having been a tad cautious.

“We kind of made a deal at the beginning of the year,” Christina said, “that I was going to treat her like any other player. Now, my expectations were a little higher, because she is more experienced, and she is a senior on this team.”

And likewise, Christina said she wanted Amelia to treat her like any other coach, and she has, according to her mother.

“It’s worked out well,” Christina said. “I had my reservations, but it has worked out. It’s been a fun journey to do this together this last year.”

The Bearcats closed the regular season with a 16-1 loss to Portageville (18-8) on Tuesday, and Jenkins threw, and hit, well.

She only allowed one earned run in four innings to go with nine hits allowed and eight strikeouts.

Jenkins did not walk a single batter and threw 76 strikes in 101 pitches.

Dexter only notched one hit, and it came from Jenkins in the lead-off spot.

“She struggled at the very beginning of the season hitting the ball,” Christina said of Amelia’s offense. “But she has found the ball again and is hitting pretty well for us.”