Kori Screws and Briana Knox grew up playing softball together, and pretty soon they will continue their playing careers right beside one another at Mississippi Delta Community College. 

The pair officially signed letters of intent to play at Mississippi Delta Thursday in a formal ceremony inside the Vicksburg High library.

With their parents, coaches and friends excitedly looking on, Knox and Screws beamed as they discussed this new chapter in their lives.

“It feels really great,” Screws said. “When I started in seventh grade, I really didn’t think I would make it this far, but it’s all because of my coaches I’ve gotten this successful.”

The Missy Gator left fielder hit .302 last season in her first year as a starter, working her way toward a college scholarship after years of long nights in the batting cage and countless film sessions.

“She’s just solid. She’s consistent. Her hitting has improved a ton,” Vicksburg coach Brian Ellis said. “She was watching game film of herself last year hitting and she was like, my swing was terrible last year. She understands the game that much more.”

Knox almost didn’t have the chance to play again after tearing her ACL in eighth grade and again last season. She was sidelined for much of the year, but the athletic center fielder never hesitated in her belief that she would one day play again.

“I try to stay humble about things. I don’t like to be overboard and say I’m this, I’m that,” she said. “If you feel like that, God will take that from you and you’ll be sitting down saying, ‘Why did I do that?’ I just look at it as, just keep going.”

Ellis believes Knox’s versatility and pure athleticism helped her fight through the rehabilitation process to eventually land a spot on the roster at Mississippi Delta.

“She’s really improving with having that happen and sitting out and all that kind of stuff. She’s one of those athletes that, because of her athletic ability, she can go ahead and get caught back up,” he said. “The fun thing about is, after a couple of years college, to see the type of player she’s going to become. Both of them, their work ethic is why they’re here.”

The Missy Gators begin their season at the end of February, so Vicksburg will have one more year with this duo before they head off to play at the next level. It’s something Ellis has thought about a lot since becoming head coach at VHS last season.“

It’s an awesome feeling, being new here and coming in and seeing what they were when I first got here and everything else,” Ellis said. “It has nothing to do about me tooting my own horn. It’s the fact that I could have told them things until I was blue in the face, but if they didn’t make the commitment to do it and make the commitment to work hard and do extra work, they wouldn’t be signing those letters today. Everything goes to them.”