Softball Jordan Egan is a player her teams have built around

For sophomore Jordan Egan, the world revolves around the sport of softball. She has been playing since she was only 9 but it far outweighs any other sport she has played.

“I got off to a late start because I didn’t know that there was softball in town,” she said. “But then one day I ran into Shanda Roderick (a local Pahrump coach) and she convinced me to join.”

She enjoys the competitive spirit of the game and the excitement of hitting the ball.

“Softball is my favorite sport because it is a team effort,” Egan said enthusiastically. “You get to incorporate everyone into the game and I think the hitting is fun. I like the competitive level, and the excitement of hitting the ball.”

At the moment, Egan is one of the best hitters on the Trojans softball team. In the young season, she already has two home runs.

“Hitting comes easy for me,” she said candidly. “It is my strong point. I haven’t always been good at hitting. In my second year the coach (in youth softball) wanted me to become a stronger player so I started practicing my hitting more. I became better and it comes easier to me now.”

Egan has already made a name for herself as a power hitter. She started hitting the ball over the fence when she was playing for the Pahrump Youth Softball league.

Her hitting prowess caught the eye of Trojans Coach Elias Armendariz last year and so she played on the varsity team as a freshman.

“She is aggressive and not afraid to stay in the box (batters’ box),” Armendariz said firmly. “She is also a very anxious hitter and wants to hit and she can hit just about anybody.”

The young powerhouse says she doesn’t try to hit home runs, they just come.

“I take a lot of repetitions to practice hitting and I am a strong girl,” Egan said. “If my rotation is good that ball is going over.”

Her hitting comes into play every game, even when the team faced the best pitcher in the league, Kalei Watkins of Sierra Vista. During that game 26 hitters for the Trojans came to bat and Watkins struck out 11 of them. Egan was one of the few Trojans hitters that smacked the ball with any force. That day she got one single and two triples.

“When I first see a fast pitcher it takes one time, I will usually foul up or pop up the ball,” she said. “Once I get going it gets better. I like faster pitchers.”

Her favorite position is catcher. Egan has a rifle of an arm and has a highly accurate throw to second base.

Armendariz says her arm was a factor in her selection but she also works hard at her position.

“She is also aggressive as a catcher and she keeps the ball in front of her,” he said.

She also can play third base.

This year she is playing through an early shoulder injury she sustained during the preseason.

“It’s not fully healed yet, but I was signed off to play,” Egan said. “It is a little sore. I am just taking it easy with it.”

Armendariz also likes her toughness as a player.

“She is always positive and nothing seems to get her down,” the coach said.

Her toughness and hitting have been an inspiration to teammates and her younger sisters who both play the game.

“I think I have influenced my sisters a lot,” Egans said fondly about her siblings. “One of them is becoming a catcher because I did and the eighth grader is becoming a pitcher. She thought it would be neat if I could catch her.”

Egan enjoys watching her sisters play as often as she can and it wasn’t hard to admit that she enjoyed hers sisters’ company.

“I am close to them,” she admitted. “I do get irritated with them at times because I know they can do better. I help coach my eighth grade sister with my dad.”

Although hitting may come easy for her, she admits that school takes some work.

“School is not that easy for me,” Egan lamented. “I keep my grades up to As and Bs, but world history is my worst subject and I suspect this is the case because the work is harder and the teacher expects more.”

Eventually she said she wants to attend college and is looking at the University of California at Los Angeles, Arizona State or Florida State. She is leaning towards Arizona.

“I want to go to a school close to home and I believe Arizona State is a good school,” she said. “I want to major in physical therapy.”

She says if she couldn’t play in college she would be pretty devastated.

Her coaches have played a big role in her softball. She said Susan Toomer was her first coach who spent a lot of time with Egan’s hitting. The other coach she credits is Jeff Koenig.

“Koenig is always there for me and he always is telling me what I need to fix and he makes sure I am correcting it,” she said. “He keeps me positive.”

Koenig has known her since her days with Pahrump Youth Softball.

“She has all the potential in the world,” Koenig said. “She is young, strong and very athletic and she is big but quick for her size.”

As far as the recent trouble with the pitching that the high school team has been having, Egan remains positive.

“Last year we had a great pitcher and this year we don’t have a pitcher that can strike out 10 players a game,” Egan said. “It will take us time to get there. Right now I think our defense is good. We just need to work out the minor details.”

Egan is one of those players that teams build around. She is a positive player that keeps the others around her going forward.

“Of course it bothers me that we lose,” she said. “I know we can do better, especially if its a blowout. It doesn’t bother me though if it’s a close game. It’s the games that you know you had, those are the ones that bother me.”