A three-time All-State softball player seeking a school record fourth award this season, Purdy senior Jessi Hoppes will be a hop, skip and a jump away from home in the fall, signing a letter of intent on Jan. 29 to continue her career at Jefferson College.
Hoppes has been one of the most prolific outfielders in Purdy history as three-time All-State, All-Conference, All-District and All-Region, and she played an instrumental role in Purdy’s 2021 state championship, her freshman year.
She said the opportunity to go to the collegiate level is a product of the years of effort she has put in.
“It feels great,” she said. “I have worked hard for a long time, and this has been a dream of mine since I was a kid. I feel like I’ve accomplished something really big.”
In her three years at Purdy, Hoppes is hitting .399 with 106 hits, 76 RBI, 52 stolen bases and 7 home runs, committing only 5 errors over that period, all throwing errors.
Hoppes said she decided on JeffCo, as Purdy Coach Lori Videmschek called it when coaching against the junior college at Crowder College, after a visit to the campus.
“I visited the school and communicated well with the coach,” she said. “It’s a good fit for me. I like the campus, and it will feel like home for two years.”
Videmschek agreed with the choice, especially because of its size in relation to larger colleges and Hoppes’ background in Purdy.
“I’m very excited for her,” Videmschek said. “Jefferson College is a good fit because, as a junior college, it gives her a chance to get better as a player and get better academically in a smaller environment. Those smaller class settings are more what she’s used to.”
Videmschek said when she spoke to the Jefferson coach, she had plenty to say about Hoppes’ character.
“She can play for you,” she said. “The kid works hard every day. She’ll come in and give you 100 percent. A lot of times her feet are faster than her mind, but she’ll do a great job for you.”
During her decorated career at Purdy, Hoppes said many memories stand out, some on the field and some off.
“Winning state as a freshman was a great memory,” she said. “The group I am playing with, we’ve been together a long time; it will be different playing without them. I also enjoyed when the JV would go out to hit and we’d all laugh and have fun in the dugout, and all the bus rides listening to Justin Beiber and having karaoke sessions.”
Videmschek said that state championship was one of Hoppes’ standout performances.
“She was instrumental to us winning the state championship, one of them,” she said. “Her outfield play in the championship game, going and getting the balls in the outfield, was not an easy thing to do because we had so much rain it was slop out there. She would run them down and catch them at the wall, and that was a big key for us and how we won the state championship that year.”
Lauding her defensive play, Videmschek said at bat, Hoppes thrived with her speed, but sometimes wanted a different persona.
“She thinks she’s a power hitter,” Videmschek said. “My favorite story with Jessi was when we were playing at Spokane. She gets up to her first at-bat and cranks one like 250 [yards], and she’s running around like, ‘Yeah, yeah!’ And I’m going, ‘Oh, great. Now she’s going to want to hit a home run every time she goes up.’ After that, I don’t think she got the ball out of the infield, and I had to tell her to quit swinging like she was trying to hit a home run.
“She’s not a power hitter — she’s going to hit the ball in the gap and run, and her speed is what she did for us.”
Hoppes said after two years at Jefferson, she hopes to continue on to a four-year institution to finish her degree, tentatively majoring in childhood education.
“I’m excited to get on the field and play,” she said. “I haven’t played in the fall in a little while, so I will have to work hard. I’m also excited to meet my new teammates and get to a four-year school, and to be introduced to new things and get better.”
