Former Viking Jones signs with UNC Greensboro baseball

When it came to landing a baseball scholarship with the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Jonathan Jones acted as his own starter, set-up man and closer.

The former Fort Walton Beach pitcher sparked the Spartans’ interest with his play for the Thomasville (Ga.) Bombers in The Great South League, a summer wooden bat league, setting himself up for a potential offer from UNC Greensboro with a strong follow-up in his sophomore season at Marion Military Institute, a junior college in Alabama.

With a terrific opportunity resting on his left arm, Jones closed the deal and has signed with the Division-I Spartans.

“It was the best offer I had baseball-wise,” Jones said. “I had a few options to look at. When I sat down with my family and talked about it, it was clearly the best option I had.”

Jones played three years at Fort Walton Beach before transferring to McGill-Toolen Catholic High School (Ala.) for his senior year because of his dad’s work. He helped McGill-Toolen advance to the playoffs and did the same at Marion Military Institute, as the Tigers won 37 games in 2010 and clinched their first appearance in the Alabama Community College Conference baseball tournament.

The 6-foot-4, 225-pound southpaw tallied a 3.86 ERA in conference play and held opponents to a .230 batting average. Jones said he spent numerous hours between his freshman and sophomore campaigns studying his mechanics on film and refining them. His individual numbers coincided with the team’s landmark year.

“At team meetings, we decided we didn’t want to be an average team, and we really took that to heart,” said Jones, who preceded his sophomore season by winning his last five games for the Bombers highlighted by a stretch of 23 straight scoreless innings.

Jones was Marion Military Institute’s Saturday starter, and UNC Greensboro wants him to have the same function in the Spartans’ program.

“It’s exciting to be recruited and be expected to pitch — not to be a role player but to fill a large role,” Jones said. “It gives me a lot to work for.”

He got to UNC Greensboro through hard work.

 “When I played at Fort Walton Beach High, it was becoming apparent that my best sport was baseball,” Jones said. “I really committed to it my junior year. It’s always been a dream to play D-I baseball my whole life.”