Northern softball pitcher junior Jessica Cummings was named Washington Post Softball Player of the Year. She appeared on the front page of the Post and at the center of a photo array on the front page of the All-Met special sports section of the paper as well as on the Softball Page itself. “It was cool and fun, and I got to do a two hour photo shoot,” said Cummings. “I had to take pictures by myself and pitch and pose awkwardly. After that, I took pictures with the Baseball Player of the Year and that was fun because we both weren’t picture people.”

The Northern softball team are six-time state champions and currently have an undefeated streak of 74 straight wins. Cummings finished the year with a 0.00 E.R.A. Being named Player of the Year as a junior brings with it added pressures. “It’s a lot of expectations and pressure to look forward to because every season you’re supposed to get better and better but it’s going to be really hard to match this year’s season,” said Cummings.

In addition to Cummings, senior Erin Adams was named to the First Team All-Met Softball Team by the Post. Regarding being on the same All-Met team with Adams, Cummings said, “It’s really exciting and I was really excited for her and our school because it shows how hard we work and how good our program is.” Seniors Kristina Lozupone and Kierstie Schaefer were named to the second team. Freshman Kassidy Cross was named an Honorable Mention.

After scoring a 2010 on the SAT as a sophomore and starring on Northern High’s six-time state championship softball team, Cummings was in high demand as colleges began to recruit her. Due to her achievements on and off the field, Penn State University awarded her a full scholarship beginning in the fall of 2014. “It was the hardest decision I’ve ever had to make between softball and academics,” she said. It did, however, relieve her of the pressure of choosing between colleges, something the rest of her peers will face as they begin their senior year. “It’s like whenever everyone else will be stressing, I wont be. But I did go through a lot to get there, and now it’s exciting but I hate having to wait.”

Her achievements extend off the field to the classroom as well. “She has always been a wonderful student-athlete. She’s definitely someone for the underclassmen to look up to,” said varsity assistant coach Ms. Devin Hall. Cummings has maintained a 4.0 Grade Point Average through her first three years of high school and has never received a B in her life.

Senior Jacob Benish was named an Honorable Mention for All-Met Golf.

Click here to see a WNHS-TV story about the Northern softball team.

–Erika Baxa, Corinne Fabian, Skylar Mealing, The Patriot Press