DeShuni Sanders never considered herself a trailblazer.
Growing up, DeShuni was like countless other children in the New Hope community of Columbus who grew up playing softball. It didn’t take long for DeShuni to gravitate to the game.
Little did DeShuni know that the love for the game that enveloped her was catching.
Soon, it didn’t take long for DeShuni to have a shadow at her games. Whether DeShuni went to the park or to a tournament to play softball, her youngest sister, D.J., was there, too, soaking up the atmosphere.
DeShuni isn’t sure how much of an influence she was, but she knows something clicked in D.J. because she watched plenty of softball games and was around the game as early as 4 years old.
“As a younger sibling, I can just imagine having someone older and wanting to be just as good as them,” said DeShuni, a rising senior softball player at Union University in Jackson, Tenn. “She has done that. I see where her motivation came from her wanting to be a good ballplayer. I didn’t do it purposely. I just think that is how it happens when you have siblings. The younger one always looks up to the older one. It wasn’t purposeful. It was all natural.”
D.J. Sanders, 16, has learned lessons well from DeShuni, 20, and from her other sister, Kennedi, 17, a dancer and a member of the New Hope High School track and field team. Only a sophomore this past season, D.J. played a key role as a pitcher and as a shortstop in helping New Hope High’s fast-pitch softball team finish as the runner-up in the Mississippi High School Activities Association Class 5A State tournament. Not only was Sanders one of the state’s toughest pitchers, she also was one of its best hitters with an average of better than .400.
For her accomplishments this season, Sanders is The Dispatch’s fast-pitch softball Player of the Year.
Sanders, who is a standout on the school’s slow-pitch softball and girls basketball teams, never has been as “outgoing” as DeShuni. All three sisters admit they have labels that define them to people. They also realize their differences are similar to the ones most brothers and sisters have.
In this case, D.J. said she and her sisters have used the differences that make them unique as motivation.
“I am the competitive one,” D.J. said. “I don’t think it is there between all of us because we don’t do the same thing. DeShuni stays in the outfield, I am in the infield, and Kennedi does track. DeShuni and I play different positions in basketball. … It is not so competitive that we don’t help each other try to get better.”
The Sanders sisters also credit their parents, Donnie, and Renee, for being great examples. They said their parents’ success in football, baseball, and track and field laid the foundation for them to be as successful in whatever they did. Donnie was a standout at New Hope High and at Mississippi College, while Renee was a flag girl and a flute player at Cleveland High. She also competed in the hurdles, high jump and the 4×200-meter and the 4×400 relays in high school and at Jackson State University.
Donnie Sanders said D.J. picked up softball hanging around the park while DeShuni was playing. He said he often would pitch to her when she was 4 or 5 years old. The exposure to the game probably explains why D.J. didn’t like playing Tee ball. Donnie said D.J. preferred having the ball pitched to her.
“Softball was pretty much the favorite ever since she has been big enough to pick up a ball,” Donnie said. “When I got home she would have the ball in her glove and my glove ready so we could play.”
D.J.’s early beginnings might explain why it seems like she has been around the high school game for so long. On Saturday, D.J. was in Atlanta at another showcase softball event that attracted more than 100 college coaches. She said she would like to play a sport at the next level, but she admitted earlier this month that she hasn’t made a final decision between basketball and softball.
Whether it is basketball or softball, D.J. realizes she is following in the footsteps of DeShuni, who was an All-State fast-pitch player and a recipient of the PopStar Award in slow-pitch softball. The award is given in annually to the state’s top player.
“I don’t want to say I wouldn’t be playing softball if my sister didn’t play it, but I have traveled the same road as her,” D.J. said. “I guess it has given me an advantage because I started playing early just because my sister would go to the field and I would go there because I wanted to be outside and I wanted to hit. It got me to the point where I had an advantage because I started so early.”
DeShuni, who also played basketball at New Hope High, played softball for two years at East Mississippi Community College before getting a chance to play at Union University. She said it has been different watching D.J., who grew up playing fast pitch and also plays slow pitch, and comparing it to how she did it and what she did growing up in slow pitch and then moving to fast pitch. DeShuni transitioned quickly this past season, hitting .299 and tying for the team lead with nine stolen bases. Union finished 46-12, won the TranSouth Conference regular-season and tournament titles, and advanced to the NAIA Softball National Championship.
DeShuni made that impact at Union by winning a starting spot in the outfield early in the season and holding on to it. At New Hope High, DeShuni was a vocal leader who patrolled center field with a rocket arm and dared runners to take their time going to first base because she would throw them out. She feels she is equal parts D.J., who she likes to be out of the spotlight, and Kennedi, who wants to be in the spotlight.
As competitive as she is, DeShuni said D.J. has made significant progress since her first trips to the softball field as an observer.
“D.J.’s personality is she would much rather be out of the spotlight, and I kind of like that about her because she still gets recognized not by her personality, but by her ability,” DeShuni said. “She gets pushed into that leadership position because of her athletic ability, and she doesn’t mind that and she will take that responsibility. I think that is an attitude you need to have as an athlete. I think it is a great thing because she is very humble about things and that is the way athletes should be.
“I would like her to be better than me, and I think she will be and she is. I would love to see D.J. win a PopStar Award for fast pitch. That would be amazing.”
D.J. said she will continue to look to her parents and sisters for advice and support. She said she has learned the importance of hard work from Kennedi and leadership from DeShuni, and will continue to mix those elements with her talents in an attempt to earn a college scholarship. In that respect, she might not be a trailblazer, but she hopes she can be another Sanders who takes the best of what her parents and sisters have to offer and turns it into success.
“I guess it is in our family to play sports,” D.J. said. “I guess we are expected to be good at it because that is how our parents were. You have to try your hardest and we have to push each other to make sure we are doing the best.”
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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