The Beecher Athletic Hall of Fame is pleased to announce Jalyn Shearer as a member of the 2019 Beecher Hall of Fame class. Jalyn who graduated from Beecher in 2006, was a huge contributor of the rise of Beecher softball in the early to mid 2000’s. In Jalyn’s career at Beecher High School, the softball team accumulated 131 wins and only 10 losses. The team won 4 regional titles, 3 sectional titles, and advanced to state two times while Jalyn was a Ladycat. In the 2004 state championship game, Jalyn’s sister Ashley had pitched every inning of the state tournament run until a controversial illegal substitution infraction forced the Ladycats to turn to Jalyn to get the final 3 outs of the game. Jalyn promptly struck out the side to give the Ladycats their first state championship in school history.
Jalyn was a four-time first team all River Valley conference selection as well as a four-time Daily Journal All Area selection. Her sophomore year she finished with a 14-1 record and a 0.44 ERA while averaging over 10 strikeouts per 7 innings pitched. Jalyn’s junior year she finished 19-1, while only allowing 3 earned runs over 140 innings pitched for a 0.15 ERA to go along with 240 strikeouts. Jalyn’s dominance did not stop there as she accounted for 9 no-hitters from the circle. Because of this dominant performance, she was named player of the year by Chicago Sun-Times, an accomplishment which is rare for a player at a small school. Her senior year was just as dominant as she went 19-1 with a 0.35 ERA. In her final year, she was awarded first team Illinois Coaches Association All State and was awarded Gatorade Player of the Year for the state of Illinois.
Jalyn continued her softball career at Saint Xavier University. She had a stellar career at Saint Xavier, posting a 63-27 career record with a 1.69 ERA and 24 career shutouts. She was a two-time Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference pitcher of the year in 2009 and 2010. In 2012, Jalyn was inducted into the Saint Xavier Athletic Hall of Fame.
Jalyn will be honored, along with the other inductees, at a special banquet at Cardinal Creek Golf Club on Friday, February 8th at 4:30pm. The event is open to the public and the cost is $40 per person. More information regarding tickets will be available soon. The inductees will also be honored between the junior varsity and varsity boys basketball game later that evening. Stay tuned tomorrow, as we announce our fourth member of the 2019 Hall of Fame class.