Reagan Hinton signs with Salem College

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on March 17, 2011 1:47 PM

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From playing for state championships to competing internationally, Reagan Hinton is no stranger to challenges.

That's one reason why she embraced her next obstacle.

A senior standout second baseman and shortstop at Wayne Christian, Hinton is continuing her softball career next year at Salem College in Winston-Salem. Hinton will be a part of the Spirits' inaugural softball team.

"I really liked the academics at Salem and head coach Scott Long," said Hinton. "It's a new program and Coach Long has big plans for the program. It's going to be neat and being part of the first team is pretty cool. We're definitely going to try to build ourselves up and hopefully get a good reputation."

Hinton was attracted to the small-college atmosphere at Salem and the school's Pre-Law program.

"It's a small school and I come from a small school," said Hinton. "I feel like it's easy to know everybody. I already know my roommate. They have a 100-percent acceptance rate into law school and you have to do at least two internships while you're there.

"That looks really good when you're applying to law school."

Hinton played an integral role for the Eagles, who won back-to-back North Carolina Christian Schools Athletic Association 1-A state championships in 2006 and 2007. She compiled a career .352 batting average and had 70 hits and only 13 strikeouts in 234 at-bats.

Hinton had a .547 career on-base percentage.

"She brought a lot of depth to our infield and was a leader," said Wayne Christian head coach Roger Longwell. "She helped us build those state championship teams. Athletically and academically I think she's ready to compete at the next level."

Wayne Christian is not fielding a softball team this season due to a lack of players. Hinton is competing with the Stingerz Elite travel softball team on weekends. She has a .423 batting average with the Stingerz and a .479 on-base percentage.

Hinton was also one of 15 high school softball players selected to be a part of Team USA and compete last summer in Italy. She and her Stingerz teammates are planning to play in the Netherlands and in France this summer.