ARCANUM – Sinclair Community College softball coach Steve Beachler loves the versatility he saw in Arcanum senior McKenzie Sharritts, who committed to the Tartans on Tuesday afternoon.
Sharritts, the daughter of Mike and Kris Sharritts, said committing to play college softball was a dream come true.
“It feels really good,” she said. “It’s a big step in my softball career, and it’s always been like a dream of mine to be able to play in college so it feels really good.”
Sharritts plans to study radiology in college. She chose Sinclair because it felt like home, she said.
“I always just wanted to be in a small-like college,” Sharritts said. “From Arcanum, I like the community feel of it, and it’s just a nice place to go. And it just fits me because I know a lot of the girls on the team already.”
Sinclair has recruited several Darke County players recently and last year signed three: Ansonia’s Shelby Hartzell, Greenville’s Allison Minnich and Greenville’s Jazzlyn Petry.
One of the qualities Beachler likes in his newest Darke County commit is her work ethic, he said.
“She’s hard-nosed in anything she does whether it’s studies or on the ball field,” he said. “She’s just a good all-around person.”
The Sinclair coach sees Sharritts as someone who can play multiple positions, he said, but he envisions her at shortstop.
“She’s another player that we bring in that’s versatile, that can play multiple positions,” Beachler said. “We always look for good pitchers, good catchers and good shortstops because they’re just fantastic athletes.”
Sharritts hopes she can earn playing time at shortstop, which is her preferred position.
“I’ve always played shortstop,” she said. “I’ve played travel ball since I was like 10, and I’ve always been like middle infield. That definitely would be a great position to play in college. That would be awesome.”
Along with her athleticism, one of Sharritts’ greatest strengths as a softball player is her hitting ability, Arcanum assistant softball coach Kelly Kramer said. As a junior she hit .443 with a Darke County-leading 41 RBI.
“Her bat kind of speaks for itself,” Kramer said. “Just a tremendous bat and she’s patient. She was one of the home run leaders for us.”
Following her time at Sinclair, Sharritts said she would like to go on and compete for a four-year university.
“I’m hoping Sinclair will give me a lot of opportunities to get in contact with other colleges,” she said. “That would be really nice.”
