By Rick Pedone
Sports Editor

There was no hesitation when Osceola High softball player Alexa “Lexi” Ballard recently sat down to sign a scholarship to Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton.

She verbally committed to Coach Joan Joyce’s program last summer, and never wavered.

“I like the players and I like the school, and the coach is great,” Ballard said. “It’s a good size school for me. I don’t like real big schools, so this one is perfect for me.”

The Owls are members of NCAA Division I Sun Belt Conference and posted a 28-26 record last season.

Osceola High Coach George Coffey said Ballard’s decision is a good one.

“She’s going to a great program with a hall of fame coach,” Coffey said. “It’s a great situation for her and I know she’s going to do very well.”

Aside from softball, Ballard selected Florida Atlantic because she plans to major in marine biology.

“They have one of the best marine biology programs in the country there,” Alexa’s mother, Dianna Ballard, said.

Dianna Ballard is on board with her daughter’s college choice for a good reason: it’s close by.

“I’m very happy about that,” she said, especially since Alexa’s sister, Brianna, a former volleyball player at OHS, now studies in Australia.

Ballard was the county’s leading hitter last season with a .552 batting average and 33 RBIs, including 23 extra-base hits.

“She was a monster,” Coffey said. “That was as dominant a season as I can recall.”

Ballard, a third baseman who was a Miracle Sports Class 5A all-state selection, underwent surgery for a torn nerve in her thumb in the fall of 2009 before posting those impressive numbers.

She played volleyball throughout her high school career, but she gave up soccer after her freshman season said her dad, Chris Ballard.

“We decided that it was better for her to give that up and concentrate on softball,” he said. “Coach Joyce got interested when she saw Lexi playing with the South Florida Mini Bulls, her travel team.”

Although Alexa Ballard will play college softball some 150 miles away, the atmosphere will be a familiar one, said her mom.

“The thing she really loves about it is that Coach Joyce reminds her a lot of George’s program here, and she really enjoys playing for George,” said Dianna Ballard.

Alexa Ballard is the fourth Lady Kowboy to sign to a Division I softball program under Coffey after twins Megan and Natalie Hord in 2005 (Villanova) and Megan Hedrick in 2008 (Tennessee State).