Linfield Athletics Hall of Fame
Softball star Jenny (Marshall) Highberger joins her grandfather, Vern Marshall Sr., in the Linfield Athletics Hall of Fame.
Highberger was a key performer on Linfield’s 2007 softball team, a club that battled its way through the elimination bracket of the regional and national playoff tournaments to capture the first women’s national team championship in school history.
A standout at second base, Highberger led the Wildcats to the Northwest Conference championship each of her four seasons in a Linfield uniform. She was a three-time all-conference selection, and twice was chosen as a first team All-American by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association. She was chosen as Linfield’s Female Athlete of the Year for 2007-08.
In 2007, Highberger’s on-field heroics earned the Sherwood native distinction as the Northwest Conference Player of the Year. Linfield rolled to a 38-6 overall record, a mark that included a 10-2 record in the NCAA playoffs. In the postseason, Linfield won seven straight elimination games, with Highberger hitting .318, driving in eight runs and stealing six bases.
Highberger left her mark in the Linfield record book, where she ranks among the top 15 in nearly every single-season and career statistical category. Over four seasons, she posted a .392 career batting average, scored 159 runs, drove in 111 runs and stole 66 bases.
Along with holding a plethora of career records, Highberger also compiled a wide array of impressive single-season statistics. She posted a .476 batting average in 2008 to rank fifth in school history. The same season, she recorded 78 hits, fourth-most in school history, and scored 62 runs, the seventh-highest total in program history.
“To be a part of ‘Catball’ was like being a part of a family,” said Highberger, looking back on her career. “Everyone had each other’s backs whether we were in the classroom, in the community or on the field. We all valued and supported each other and spent a lot of time together. It has provided me with lifelong friendships and I will always feel a strong connection to Catball and my teammates.”
Wildcats softball coach Jackson Vaughan believes Highberger’s selection for the Linfield Athletics Hall of Fame is well deserved.
“Jenny is one of the top players to come through the softball program. She was a great all-around athlete. She had the power to hit a gap-to-gap double or could lay down a bunt for a base hit. She had incredible range at second base.”
Graduating from Linfield in 2008 with a bachelor’s degree in physical education. She went on to earn a master’s degree in education from American College of Education.
Most recently, she taught physical education and health at St. Francis Catholic School in Sherwood while coaching softball at Sherwood High School.
Jenny is married to former Linfield baseball player Austin Highberger. The couple live in Portland with their two daughters, Brooklyn and Jayde. Today, Jenny enjoys being a stay-at-home mother, raising her children and helping out in her daughter’s classroom.
