For the first time in school history, a Springville softball player has signed to a Division 1 team.

Hard work and determination got her to this point and with her senior year in the circle yet to come, many are thinking that this year might see a state championship trophy brought back to Springville.

Senior pitcher Savanna Hennings has seen 74 wins, 33 losses and had three saves in three years at SHS. She’s pitched 691 innings and struck out 1151 of the 2475 batters she faced while averaging 2.2 strikeouts per inning.

Hennings was all smiles at her letter of intent signing two weeks ago. “I’m real excited about being able to play on a Division 1 softball team,” she said at her signing. “This is what I’ve looked forward to and what I’ve worked for a long time.”

She credited her teammates for her being able to tout a stellar record and her father for being a motivator and her number one fan.

“My coaches here have always helped me and encouraged me and my dad has always been a major part of pushing me for pitching,” Hennings said.

She joked about tattooing her father in the head once when she threw a rise-ball and her father, Dennis, didn’t have time to react.

“So, now he doesn’t really catch for me anymore,” she joked. “Now some of our catchers come and catch me.”

Hennings had several SEC teams looking to recruit her, including Alabama, Auburn, Samford and Mississippi State, but she said JSU fit her best.

“A big thing for going to JSU is that they cross their regionals, they play Alabama and I can’t wait to play [them] and beat them to go to the World Series,” Hennings said.

When asked about her practice habits, she said, “It’s hard work. It’s going and not hanging out with friends all the time. I used to have my dad pushing me to go out and pitch every night and now it’s to the point where I know that if I don’t go out and pitch, I’m not getting any better… The thing is not to get discouraged. I never thought this dream would come true and it really has come true. To be able to go to college and not have to pay for it and to play softball—and that’s what I’ve always wanted to play—and I love to play, is great.”

Lady Tigers’ head coach Chris Williams is happy for his standout pitcher and her signing to a Division 1 school. “She’s a complement to our program and a compliment to Jacksonville State. Any time that you have a kid that can play at the collegiate level, obviously it’s a blessing to the family financially and it’s a blessing to the kid. She can continue not only to get a college education, but also to compete and do something she loves to do. She’s an outstanding student and an outstanding athlete. Hard work has paid off for her. I can only foresee good things happening to her when she gets [to JSU] because I really think highly of the staff at Jacksonville State. Their program has been on the rise for years and for them to get so close to playing in the College World Series says a lot. And, for us to be able to have a student-athlete out of high school sign says a great deal for the individual.”

He continued, “She’s set all kinds of individual records. You know, this is probably the most precious individual achievement you can accomplish… We still have one more year for [our] main team goal and that’s to play for it all. She still has one more year to go and that’s something we’d like to see achieved.”

Birmingham Viper head coach Ken Hayes, who oversaw Hennings’ travel team career said, “I’ve had the honor and privilege of coaching Savanna for the last four years. A lot of people ask me about Savanna and what makes her good and the one thing that I always say is that she’s the hardest working kid that I’ve ever coached. When coaches talked to me at tournaments about recruiting her, one thing I always tell them is that if it’s physically possible for her to do something, she’s going to do it. Anything she wants to do, she’s going to work until she accomplishes it… She’s just a great person and a great kid and somebody who, as a parent, you want your kid to hang around with and be friends with.”

Her father Dennis said he is very proud of his daughter and all the work that she put in and also the teammates around her that helped her along the way. “Savanna and I are very close and a lot of it is because of softball and I’ll miss that. But Jacksonville State is only about an hour away and I can be there for her if she needs me… (even) if she needs catcher.”

Henning’s mother, Katrina said, “I’m very proud of her. She’s worked hard and she deserves it. We love her and she’s a wonderful girl.”