Greenville graduate Lakyn Newton has her work cut out for her this fall.

The Lady Tigers slugger recently signed a full scholarship to play softball for Jefferson Davis Community College (JDCC) in Brewton. She said she’s up for the challenge of collegiate play and hopes JDCC will be a stepping stone into a four-year program.

&uot;I wanted to get my feet wet before I jumped into a four-year college,&uot; Newton said. &uot;It’s close to home and that made a lot of difference.&uot;

As for preparing for the next level, JDCC will sure help Newton in doing so. Each player must pass an endurance test before picking up a softball.

Each player must run one mile, do 100 sit-ups and 50 pushups and then run another half mile in under 16 minutes. Newton said she’s up for the challenge.

&uot;It’s going to kill,&uot; Newton said. &uot;It will be worth it though. It’s going to push us all physically and mentally, so it will better us for the season.&uot;

Newton, 18, pitched and played infield for Greenville High for four years. She finished her senior season with a .536 batting average and two homeruns, including a grand slam during the Andalusia Invitational Tournament. She helped lead the Lady Tigers to an 11-14 record and a first-ever school appearance in the Class 5A, fastpitch state playoffs.

Newton’s goals while at Jeff Davis are to excel both academically and on the softball diamond and to be noticed by a four-year college. She said she knows the competition will be hard, but wants to be pushed to further her softball career.

&uot;It’s a whole different level of play, but I’m excited to see new competition and have my limits pushed.&uot;

As for not playing at Greenville next season, Newton said it would be hard to adjust. She’s played in the Greenville youth softball program since she was 5-years-old.

&uot;I’m going to be sad not playing here,&uot; Newton said. &uot;High school ball was a big influence on me and I believe it prepared me for what lies ahead in my softball career. I believe Coach (Greg) Evans had a big influence on that.&uot;