Nov. 13, 2008
ATLANTA – Two of the top players in the state, Caitlin Jordan and Hope Rush, have signed national letters of intent during the early signing period and will begin classes next fall softball head coach Sharon Perkins announced on Thursday. Both hail from Stockbridge, Ga. Jordan is a first baseman who played for Coach Brian DeBerry at Union Grove High School, while Rush is a pitcher who attended Eagle’s Landing Christian Academy under Coach Stan Burton.
Jordan led the Wolverines to a Region 2AAAAA championship in 2006 and 2007 as well as a trip to the state finals and AAAAA Elite 8 finish in 2008. As a team captain in 2008, Jordan batted .484 and had an on-base percentage of .537 while winning the Wendy’s Female High School Heisman Award for the state of Georgia. She batted .312 as a sophomore and .335 as a junior while combining for 27 doubles, three triples, five home runs and 58 RBI over the last three seasons.
Jordan has played travel ball for the Georgia Mustangs for three years, the Xtreme Mavericks for one season and will play for the Georgia Knockouts this coming travel season. She has led her travel ball teams in home runs the last four years and her high school squad the last two seasons. She attended 14-U Nationals in 2006 and 16-U nationals in 2007 with the Georgia Mustangs. Jordan was a 2006 and 2007 first-team All-Southern Crescent Softball selection, 2007 first-team all-region and 2007 honorable mention all-state. While most of the 2008 awards have not come out yet, she was a first-team all-region.
“We are excited about Caitlin joining our team,” Perkins said. “She will step right in and see playing time at first base. Caitlin also has the ability to catch if we need her to as she has a strong arm and is solid defensively. Offensively, she will have the opportunity to add power to our lineup. Caitlin is also an outstanding student that plans to major in Engineering.”
Jordan not only excelled in softball, but basketball and track as well. She was the 2007 Georgia AAAAA shot put champion, Atlanta Track Club Woman of the Year and Henry County Track Athlete of the Year. Jordan finished second in the nation and third overall at the 2008 National Scholastic Indoor Championship while earning All-America honors. Jordan was recruited by more than 50 schools and received offers from Georgia and Auburn among others.
Rush led the Chargers to state championships in each of the last three seasons. For her career, she was 123-18-2 in the circle with a 0.21 ERA. Rush had 1,523 strikeouts, 95 shutouts, 56 no-hitters and 44 one-hitters. Offensively, she batted .455 with 41 doubles, seven triples, 41 home runs and 153 RBI.
“Hope is a great addition to our program,” Perkins said. “In the pitching circle, she has the ability to dominate opposing hitters. An offensive threat, she has homerun power and tends to be intentionally walked often. Hope has proven to be successful at the elite level and will be a great fit with our team.”
While 2008 awards have not been released yet, Rush is a three-time, first-team all-region and all-state selection. She was named the 2005 and 2006 Region 5A Player of the Year, 2006 and 2007 Region 5A Pitcher of the Year and 2007 Region 5A Offensive Player of the Year. Rush has also been a two-time GHSA Class A Player of the Year, 2007 GACA Class A Player of the Year, 2005 Atlanta Journal Constitution Hitter of the Year and 2006 Atlanta Journal Constitution Pitcher of the Year. Some of Rush’s other accolades include two-time Henry County Southern Crescent MVP, two-time first-team All-Southern Crescent and two-time Henry County Softball Athlete of the Year. She plays her travel ball for the East Cobb Bullets Gold Team.
She chose Georgia Tech over Alabama, Auburn, South Carolina, Florida and Purdue among others, while receiving offers from schools including Georgia and Mississippi State.
