There’s little that gives Macy Jones more satisfaction than winning, especially when achieving victory looks in doubt.

“I just like doing things that people say I can’t,” said the star pitcher of the recently crowned Virginia AA softball champions. “I like that feeling that you get with your team when you accomplish something with some adversity.”

A state title may have seemed unlikely at the dawn of the just-finished season. The Briar Woods Falcon squad, half-full of freshmen, bumped inconsistently through the campaign’s first few games.

But Jones, taking over Briar Woods’ top pitching duties for the first time, became the rock that steadied the inexperienced team. The left-hander was dominant in the circle and productive in the batter’s box as the Falcons got on a roll that didn’t stop until the grandest prize was in their clutches.

“It was amazing,” said Jones of the Falcons’ season. “We overcame a lot of new things and tough stuff, and we were more together than any other team I’ve ever been on.”

That experience reminds her of the PONY 10U national tournament, when Jones and her Ashburn Shooting Stars came up against a heavy-hitting team from Maryland that they had not previously been able to defeat. Jones was pitching her third game of the day, this one for the national championship.

“They were up like 3-0, and we came back and won 5-3,” she related, hiding none of her glee at the memory. “I just remember winning and all the hugging. It was a good moment.”

Two years later Jones found herself playing for the Vienna-based Shamrocks 12U team and fighting for one of the precious few slots in the national tourney. Due to an early loss, Jones and the Shamrocks endured a marathon of games—including nine over two days, winning all but the last one—to earn a national berth.

“I remember that because we worked so hard to get there,” Jones said. “We had to take the hard road.”

Macy Jones has been serious about softball for a long time. She started playing at age 4, was on travel teams by age 8 and received college interest by her freshman year of high school.

She still travels the country playing tournament after tournament—she was just in Pennsylvania and is now in Colorado—and is preparing for high-level Division I softball with the Penn State Nittany Lions.

Jones possesses the athletic gifts needed to succeed. Her speed earned her nine triples this year, and she clubbed two over the fence after belting three homers as a sophomore. She is a shutdown pitcher whose best (and favorite) spot is in the outfield, the position for which Penn State recruited her.

Much of the preparation for the next level is mental.

“Softball is so mental,” she said. “In our losses, it was like every time I felt myself getting frustrated, something bad would happen. So when I didn’t get frustrated, it’d be a different outcome.”

Briar Woods’ Jennifer Traina has coached Jones for all three of her high school seasons. She has witnessed Jones’ growth in maturity and leadership over that time, particularly during the past season.

“She knew coming in that she would have to be the ace pitcher and approached the season differently than years past,” Traina stated. “She became a vocal leader as well as a leader by example. Towards the end of the season she was instrumental in helping the girls to focus and relax.”

An emergent theme in Jones’ words is the overt fondness she carries for her school.

“I’m proud to be a part of it at Briar Woods,” said Jones, noting that the Falcons’ football and cheer teams also won their first state titles in recent months. “I’m happy to do it for our school. We all feel closer and it makes our school feel better as a whole.”

Jones recounts the outpouring of support—emotionally, financially and otherwise—from which she and her teammates benefited during their run to state supremacy.

“I just love my school,” she declared without a hint of embarrassment.

As Jones professes her affection for Briar Woods and the Falcons, so too is she highly respected by her teammates—who voted her as one of their captains—and by her head coach.

“One of the things I think makes Macy so special is she has the total package. She is a funny, silly kid who has a comedic side, but is also an excellent student,” Traina said.

“I can’t wait to see how she does next year as a senior—she has already accomplished so much up until this point, I can’t wait to see what the future has in store for her.”

Macy Jones
-Sport: Softball
-School: Briar Woods
-Class: Junior
-GPA: 4.2
-Position: Pitcher / Hitter / Captain
-Stats: 23 W / 0.39 ERA / 1.96 K/inn / .560 BA
-Recent honor: Dulles District Player Of the Year
-Club team: New Jersey Intensity
-Future college team: Penn State
-Intended major: Architecture