Dawson County High School rising senior Joy Lewis had her eyes set on two colleges, University of Pennsylvania and Eastern Carolina University, but it was the call from Pennsylvania offering a softball scholarship that helped her come to a decision.

"I never thought I'd get into college pitching softball because I was so much littler than everyone else," Lewis said. "But I worked hard."

Lewis has had her sights set on the Ivy League school for more than a year and it was as she left from pitching practice recently that she got the call from the university.

She verbally committed, agreeing to take the ACT and a Spanish class in her last year of high school.

The university is far from her home, but is close to other family. Some of which live just about an hour and half away, she said.

"When I was younger I was a middle fielder, like second base, because I was so little nobody ever thought I could (pitch)," said Lewis, who has played softball since she was eight years old. "But then I tried (pitching) and I liked it and stuck to it."

It was her dad that encouraged her and was there throughout her softball career.

"He pitched when I was little," she said. "He's pretty much into softball and baseball because he played in college."

Playing many games since she was young, Lewis recently played her most memorable game.

"A couple of weeks ago we were at a qualifier for nationals and I got a team that had people in college on their team and I pitched against them and we shut them out, 1 - nothing," Lewis said. "It was probably my favorite game I ever pitched."

Lewis plans on starting her college career at the university, but then plans to go to medical school afterwards. She wants to be an orthopedic, she said.

Head Coach Jimmy Pruett said he was excited to hear the news about Lewis.

"She deserves everything she gets because she works so hard and she doesn't take any short cuts," he said. "She does everything the right way and is just a really good young lady."