Chris Robinson has served as an assistant coach for the Jones County Junior College Lady Bobcat softball team for the past six years.

Now, he will be in charge of the program. Robinson was named head coach last summer and is pleased with the direction the program is headed.

“I want to thank (JCJC school president) Dr. (Jesse) Smith and the Board of Trustees and the administration for having the confidence in me to take over the program,” he said. “I think the transition has gone well. We’ve implemented some new things and our kids have bought in to what we want to do.

“We are very excited about our softball program.”

The Lady Bobcats have had to make adjustments during preseason workouts because of the ongoing construction of the new Community Bank Park baseball and softball facility on campus. They have been able to practice on their own field, South Jones and Merchant’s Park. They will play all of their home dates at Merchant’s Park this year.

“Everything is going well,” said Robinson. “Preseason camp has gone well. There was a lot of excitement that first week back, but then we hit a little lull. We are grinding it out, but the kids are tired of playing against each other. They are ready to see somebody else.”

The Lady Bobcats will be young. On the 23-player roster, they will have 14 freshmen and nine sophomores.

In the circle, JCJC returns one experienced player from last year. Falon Nettles is a sophomore from Greene County.

“Falon played in a pretty good amount of games last year and has worked hard this fall and in preseason,” said Robinson. “She has done everything we have asked her to do. She has learned a couple of new pitches and, hopefully, she will have a successful year.”

Other pitchers will be Vancleave freshman Mackinzee Bond, Greene County freshman Hannah Walters and LSU-Alexandria transfer Jennie Trepagnier of Madisonville, La. Trepagnier prepped at Mandeville High School.

“Mackinzee has done an outstanding job,” said Robinson. “She has good command of all her pitches. She throws strikes and is very consistent with her spots. That is what we like. Jennie is a mid-year transfer. She is not an overpowering pitcher, but she hits her spots and has done a fantastic job.

“Hannah has done a good job. She has had to learn a couple of new pitches and she is developing.”

Behind the plate, Lafayette, La., sophomore Brittany Arnold returns. Robinson has been very pleased with her effort during preseason.

“Brittany has gotten a lot better from her freshman to sophomore year, especially on the defensive side,” he said. “She is making good decisions and is being very vocal. She is turning into a leader and that is what we want out of our sophomores.”

Another catcher drawing praise is Wayne County freshman Anna Lauren Fontenot.

“She has a chance to be one of the really good ones to come through here,” said Robinson. “She is probably our biggest vocal leader on the team and I can’t say enough about her, to be honest with you. She is consistent. She will swing the bat well and will call a good game. She will demand perfection out of her teammates.”

At first base, the Lady Bobcats have a returning sophomore and a transfer battling for playing time. West Jones’ sophomore Elisha Ray is back, while Jenny Laird is a transfer from Millsaps College. Laird is a sophomore from Baker High School in Mobile, Ala.

“Elisha has come a long way,” said Robinson. “She was always good defensively. Last year, she kind of struggled with the bat, but we think we have that worked out. She is better offensively and is consistent defensively.

“Jenny can flat out hit the softball. She could be a great player. She probably needs a little more consistency, but she has a chance to be pretty doggone good.”

At second base, the Lady Bobcats will have Shana Nicholson, who Robinson considers the team’s lone returning starter. She is a sophomore from Wayne Academy.

“Shana played in about 75 percent or more of our games,” he said. “She was at shortstop last year. She has had a good preseason for us.”

Also at second base will be Mt. Olive’ s Anna Grissett, a freshman from Simpson Academy.

“If there is one player I’m really proud of, it’s her,” said Robinson. “She walked-on, asked for an opportunity and has done really well. We rewarded her with a scholarship this spring. She can hit it, but she has to improve a bit on defense. But she knows that and works at it.”

Shannon Mosley, a freshman from Vossburg and Quitman High School graduate, is at shortstop, along with redshirt freshman Janna Sullivan of Greene County.

“I have been very surprised with Shannon,” Robinson said. “She has really stepped up. She is probably the strongest kid we’ve got in the weight room. She was a powerlifter at Quitman. She is one of those kids that does not say anything. She brings the lunch pail to work and gets after it. She leads by her actions. She will be consistent and do the right things.

“I have been very pleased with Janna. Janna played soccer her freshman year and got hurt. She hurt her hip and could not play for us, but she has come back and done well. She told me she is going to tough it out and play through the season.”

At third base, JCJC looks to Wayne County freshman Heather Hall and Stone County sophomore Shana Ladner. Ladner is the team’s leading returning hitter, posting a .457 batting average as a freshman.

“Heather is tough and has a little ‘dog’ in her, I guess you could say,” Robinson said. “Defensively, she is pretty good. She is a gritty, gritty kid. She needs to get a little better offensively, but she works hard at it.

“Shana is also our DP (designated player). She did that the majority of last year and did a really good job. She knows her role and, hopefully, she can carry over some of that success into this year.”

In leftfield, it’s a battle between South Jones freshman Mallory Cowart and St. Martin sophomore Candace Leach, who prepped at St. Martin.

“Mallory sometimes just has to slow down a bit,” said Robinson. “She’s so wide open. She is doing well offensively. Defensively, Candace may be a little bit ahead. But they are both doing a real good job. It’s a great battle out there.”

Heidi Garcich, a freshman from Reserve, La., is probably the top player in centerfield at this point. She played at Riverside Academy.

“Heidi is a kid that gets after it,” said Robinson. “She is pretty good patrolling out there in center.”

West Jones freshman Kalli Dickerson and Sumrall freshman Kristen Trigg are backing up Garcich.

“Kalli has done everything we have asked her to do,” said Robinson. “Kristen needs to improve defensively, but offensively she is not bad.”

East Central freshman Kayla McDaniel and Columbia Academy sophomore Devin Darr are battling for the rightfield position.

“Kayla comes from a very successful program,” said Robinson. “They won the state last year and they won it twice while she was there. She knows how to win and she is a competitor. She is pretty consistent on offense.

“Devin has done a good job. She is good defensively with a pretty strong arm. She has kind of struggled on offense, but we are getting that worked out.”

Wayne Academy freshman Jalyn Nicholson is a walk-on who is also playing in rightfield.

“Jalyn is a walk-on who we rewarded with a scholarship,” said Robinson. “She is a pretty consistent worker.”

Another outfielder is South Jones’ sophomore Dominique Evans. Evans is a member of the Lady Bobcat basketball team and will join the softball at the conclusion of the hoops’ season.

The Lady Bobcats finished 10-26 overall and 5-19 in South Division play last year. Robinson said the attitude of the team has been positive since the first day he became head coach.

“The attitude is much better than last year,” he said. “I give credit to our sophomores for that. Our sophomores knew we were going to have a new system and they’ve done well. They have been through the fire and they have helped the freshmen. I have also been very pleased with the freshmen.

“We could end up starting as many as seven sophomores or even eight freshmen, depending on several things. We are just trying to get everything lined up in the right direction.”

Robinson said the South Division race would be tough again.

“We finished sixth last year and went toe-to-toe with the No. 1 seed (Co-Lin),” he said. “It will be a tough race again. Co-Lin, Pearl River and Gulf Coast are all solid. Southwest has come a long with their program. Hinds is going to be consistent and East Central is going to be better because their pitching has improved.”

The top four teams from each division will head to the North Division champion for a single-elimination tournament. There will be six teams entered in the double-elimination, Region 23 Tournament. The top two from there will head to the NJCAA World Series.

Bob Herrington will be serving as an assistant coach this season, along with graduate assistant Kasey McCann.

“Coach Herrington has done a fantastic job,” said Robinson. “He was at South Jones and was very successful. He has given me a jolt of energy from time to time.

“Kasey is like a sponge. She has soaked everything up and she will make a fantastic coach one day.”

The Lady Bobcats will play eight home dates at Merchant’s Park, one at William Carey University in Hattiesburg and one at Enterprise High School.

They open the season in the Northwest Florida State Tournament on Feb. 12-13 in Niceville, Fla. They meet Jeff Davis Community College (Ala.) at 3 p.m. and Northwest Florida at 7 p.m. on Feb. 12. They face Pensacola Junior College (Fla.) at 11 a.m. and Northwest Florida at 3 p.m. on Feb. 13.

The first home game will be at 3 p.m. on Feb. 25 vs. Faulkner State (Ala.).