2010: Started and played in 48 games over the course of her junior season... had 22 total hits via .176 batting average... registered four home runs and four doubles... one of six different EIU players to nail a bomb as the Panthers routed arch-rival Southeast Missouri in OVC play, helping to earn the regular-season sweep of the Redhawks... touched home plate 17 times while also batting in 18 runs, with 10 of those RBI occuring with two outs, which led the team... also finished with a team-high 25 walks, which helped her rank in the OVC Top 10 and Panther single-season listings... went 4-for-5 in stolen bases... sported a .971 fielding average with just nine errors at the busy first base spot... assisted in 13 of the 15 total double plays turned as a team... tied or set new single-game highs in 12 different statistical categories... OVC Top 10 Rankings: Tied for ninth in total walks... EIU Season Rankings: Tied for third in walks... EIU Career Rankings: Tied for ninth in career home runs.
2009: Started in 46 of the 48 games she played in all season long... saw action at first base in all but one of those 46 starts... batted mostly in the sixth thru eigth spot of the lineup... went 32-of-129 at the plate for a .248 average... nailed 10 extra-base hits, including a career high three bombs... registered 17 RBIs, which included three against league foe Austin Peay... recorded a .372 slug average... doubled her multiple-hit game total from six to 12 as she nailed at least two hits in six games... had a season-long hitting streak of six games with a safe hit, just one shy of her previous career high of seven that she earned as a freshman... two of her three dingers came via one-out scenarios... nailed a two-out first pitch bomb in the nightcap with Saint Louis, helping the squad tie the previous single-season homer mark of 25... the squad would go on to set a new season total with 27 blasts... went 7-for-13 at the plate (.538) with EIU runners on third base... and was successful in advancing Panther runners 48% of the time... led the squad by taking part in 11 of the 17 total double-plays on the year... naturally led team with 228 put-outs, commiting just seven errors... her single to right field in the second game against Austin Peay helped the Panthers pull out an 11-3 five-inning win, which was the squad’s final victory of the season... as a base runner, she accounted for the winning run twice over the course of the year, including coming home from third base off a hit by teammate Angie Danca in the bottom of the seventh inning, as EIU downed conference rival Tennessee State, 4-3, at home.
2008: Jackson started 44 times, including 42 times at first base… batted at least once in five different spots in the lineup (second and sixth through ninth)… shared the team lead with nine sacrifice bunts while ranking second with five doubles… batted .293 and collected seven of her 10 RBIs in OVC play… reached safely to begin an inning 41 percent of the time (7-of-17)… collected five of her 10 RBIs with two outs… batted .321 at home… collected all six of her extra-base hits while batting .293 in true road games… began the year in a 1-for-17 slump but busted out of it during spring break and went on to bat .316 in March… hit safely in seven straight games in late March, sharing team-high honors for longest hitting streak… after hitting safely in all three games of the Eastern Kentucky series, went 6-for-16 in May… in the rubber game of the series at Tennessee State, led off the fifth inning with a base hit and scored what proved to be the game-winning run… reached safely in three of her four plate appearances in the extra-inning victory at UT Martin, recording an RBI triple in her first at-bat… went 3-for-4 with two doubles in the win at Butler… singled home a pair during EIU’s nine-run inning in the nightcap of the EKU doubleheader.
HIGH SCHOOL: Melinda was a four-year letter-winner, playing three years at the varsity level, for coach Becky Woodman… also lettered in volleyball twice and basketball once… 2007 Chicago Tribune Top 100 players in the Chicagoland Area… 2005 sectional hitting champion… three-time All-Area and two-time all-North Suburban Conference honoree by the Daily Herald… earned high honors as a scholar-athlete… also played for the Lake County Spirit and Northern Ice summer league teams.
PERSONAL: No. 1 sports highlight was hitting for the cycle against Buffalo Grove High School as a junior… her father has been a major influence on her sports career because “he always pushed me to be the best athlete, student and person I can be – an he’s never given up on me”… also admires her father most because “he has been my coach my entire life, not only in sports but life, too”… her father played baseball at Kishwaukee College and later in the Louisville Slugger TPS 12-inch softball league.
OFF THE FIELD WITH MELINDA:
My major & minor at EIU... kinesiology & sports studies with teacher certification ... minor in health
Daughter of... Jeff & Betty Jackson
Nickname... ‘Legs’
Chose EIU... “because of the home-like atmosphere and the coaching staff”
Favorite food dishes... chicken salad
One of my favorite quotes (my dad)... “everyday is a good day... some are just better than others“
An unique place that I’ve traveled to... Cooperstown, N.Y.
Some hobbies of mine... working out at the SRC, watching my brother play baseball, hanging out with my family and relaxing with friends
Favorite pro sports squad... the Chicago Cubs
EIU athletes I enjoy watching play... the EIU football team
Favorite location on campus... Lantz Building
Not crazy about eating... cheese
Favorite musical artist... Sugarland
Must-see movies... anything starring Julia Roberts
My current ride... a black 2000 Ford Sport Trac
My advice for a younger athlete... “always give everything you’ve got (in everything)... because you never want to look back and wonder ‘what if?’”
One of my goals while at EIU... is to graduate with a 3.0 GPA or higher
