Allison Hearn looks toward first after picking up a ball during a workout at Bazinsky Park. Hearn, a former St. Al star, suffered her third serious injury in as many years, but still hit a team-best .548 with seven doubles and 27 RBIs for Jones County Junior College and was selected to the All-Region XXIII team last season. (Chad ApplebaumThe Vicksburg Post)

[7/21/03]The play was routine, a simple throw to second. Allison Hearn caught the ball, tagged the runner, and then felt the pain that had also become all too routine for her.

The Copiah-Lincoln runner slid hard into the bag, catching Hearn’s right hand and breaking her thumb. The injury her third in as many years ended the former St. Aloysius and current Jones County Junior College star’s season, but didn’t erase the great year she had or dampen her enthusiasm for the future.

“It’s tough, because I wonder why this keeps happening to me,” Hearn said of her injuries. “I know I have the strength to keep playing to my abilities and play better than I did before.”

That’s a scary thought for opponents who were terrorized by Hearn this spring.

The shortstop hit a team-best .548 with three home runs, seven doubles, and 27 RBIs, and was selected to the All-Region XXIII team.

Although she was only a freshman, Jones coach Grant Crowder said Hearn was probably the team’s most valuable player.

“Let’s just say that when she was out of the lineup, we had a 37 percent winning percentage,” Crowder said. “Without her, I don’t know where we’d be.”

The season ended prematurely for Hearn, however, when she broke her thumb against Co-Lin. Hearn is no stranger to pain she missed her entire junior season at St. Al because of shoulder surgery and played her senior year with a stress fracture in her throwing arm but having to sit the bench was an even more unpleasant experience.

“It’s hard to do that, because my heart’s in it so much,” Hearn said. “I want to be on the field. You have good sportsmanship and root on your teammates, but you want to be out there.”

With her thumb fully healed, Hearn is now turning her attention toward her sophomore season at Jones and, perhaps, a junior and senior season at a four-year school.

Crowder said he expects Hearn to be selected as a preseason all-American. Jones will also play in a tournament at Southern Mississippi next spring, which should give Hearn some exposure.

Hearn said she loves softball, but wasn’t sure if continuing to play at a four-year school was in her future. Finishing her education has to take precedence at some point, she said.

“It’d mean a lot to me, but it’s hard to do sports and school at the same time,” Hearn said of playing at a four-year school. “I know softball is not something I’m going to be able to do all my life. I need to keep my studies up.”

Crowder was hopeful his star shortstop will keep playing, though. He feels Hearn can not only play at a bigger school, but become a star on the Division I level.

“I had one (player) go to (Mississippi) State, and one go on to Southern (Miss), and she’s better than both of those were when they were here,” Crowder said. “If she progresses this year as she did last year, she’ll be an All-American.”