Three Rivers College was coming off a 16-win season when it hired Jeff Null as head coach in the summer of 2016.
As Null built the program, three members of Van Buren’s 2016 state championship team in Summer Shockley, Jenny Morey and Morgan Shockley have been cornerstones of Three Rivers’ success.
“All three kids have had significant roles for us in our success,” Null said. “One thing I have to say about that class, all three kids are some of the hardest workers we’ve had. That goes hand-in-hand with their success. We have a lot of kids who come in here from all over the place, and they don’t necessarily all have the same work ethic. All three of those kids work their tails off all the time.”
For the trio, a history of playing in big games has given them calm as they are currently No. 10 seed at the national tournament.
“Whenever we went to state, I didn’t feel like the games were big games. Here, it doesn’t even feel like it’s a big tournament. We’re here to play. There’s no more pressure. We’re just here to play the game we love,” Morgan Shockley said.
Morey remembers the 3-2 win over Salisbury in the semifinals more so than the 11-4 drubbing of Clopton in the state championship.
“I think our semifinal set us up for how we are today,” Morey said.
Summer Shockley was the first piece.
A part of Null’s first full-year recruiting class, the All-State pitcher entered her freshman season as the Raiders’ No. 3 pitcher and earned the top spot by the time the spring season started.
“I feel like I didn’t know anything,” Shockley said. “Even from my senior year in high school to my freshman year at Three Rivers, I was like, ‘Holy crap; I didn’t even know how to play softball.’ Each year, even now that I’m stepping into a coaches’ role, I feel that there’s always more to learn, and the game is always evolving.”
Shockley finished her freshman season with a 2.14 ERA and 8.88 strikeouts per game. She finished sixth in the country with 26 wins, fifth with 209 innings pitched, and third with 265 strikeouts.
The Raiders finished 44-16 and reached the national tournament.
Shockley said in a later interview that she had every intention of returning to Three Rivers for her sophomore season but couldn’t turn down a mid-summer offer from Missouri, one of her dream schools.
“Summer, I think, set the tone for the others. Being new and getting that kind of kid with that kind of work ethic, I was definitely interested in getting more of those kids,” Null said. “I think that helped out Jenny and Morgan, as well. If Summer had come in and been lazy and not worked hard, we might have looked at them a little bit differently.”
As Shockley left, Morey entered. Van Buren’s leadoff hitter started in center field for the Raiders as a freshman and led the team with 41 stolen bases and 22 walks. She had a team-high .494 on-base percentage and was second with a .412 batting average.
Three Rivers’ overall record took another step forward with a 40-9 finish, but its season ended in the Region XVI Tournament.
Morey returned for 2020, and Null added Morgan Shockley, another speedster on the basepaths.
“They were no-brainers (out of high school). They were local kids; they were talented,” Null said. “Summer was coming off a state championship, of course, we were recruiting her before that. Jenny was one of the fastest kids in Southeast Missouri. Morgan is one of the fastest kids in Southeast Missouri.”
The season started strong with wins over three different ranked teams in the first month. The Raiders were 11-2 and felt like they were about to crack the national rankings when the season was cut short by COVID-19.
At the time, Morey was hitting .444 with a .565 on-base percentage, 13 steals and 10 walks. Primarily a pinch-runner, Morgan Shockley added two runs and two stolen bases in four appearances.
Morey opted to return for a third season under the NJCAA’s COVID-19 protocols and has paid dividends in the postseason.
She was 5 for 15 with four runs in the Region XVI Tournament and 2 for 4 with two runs as the Raiders beat Crowder 4-1 in the region championship. In a best-of-3 series against Indian Hills, she was 3 for 6 with two runs as the Raiders swept Indian Hills. For the season, she’s hitting .371 with a .467 on-base percentage, 12 stolen bases and 15 walks in 36 games.
Morgan Shockley, reprising her role as a pinch-runner, matched Morey with 12 stolen bases for the season to go with 14 runs. Morgan Shockley has been caught stealing twice.
Meanwhile, Summer Shockley returned as a pitching coach, providing a depth of knowledge for softball pitching mechanics that the all-male coaching staff lacked.
Makale Floyd started the season allowing eight runs in her first 10 innings, mainly out of the bullpen. But after putting in extra work and refining her mechanics, Floyd has not allowed more than one run in her last six starts.
It was Floyd, who credited Shockley for helping her improve, in the circle as the Raiders won the region and district championships to return to the national tournament with three Lady Dawgs on the team.
Morey and Morgan Shockley will move on after this season. Morey is undecided on whether she will continue playing softball at the next level but wants to pursue a nursing degree. Morgan Shockley has committed to play for Evangel and wants to get an elementary education degree and maybe teach kindergarten.
Summer Shockley is getting her master’s degree in athletic administration through William Woods and wants to continue to be a Three Rivers coach for at least a while.
Scott Borkgren - Daily American Republic