Teresa Cromer Walker starred in softball at ABAC and earned NJCAA All-American awards twice. She will be inducted into ABAC’s Hall of Fame April 6.

TIFTON — When it comes to winning championships, it’s hard to beat the legacy of Teresa Cromer Walker. After being a part of three state championship softball teams at Tiftarea Academy, the Sycamore native helped to win two state titles at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College.

And then for the icing on the cake, the two-time National Junior College Athletic Association All-America selection powered the Golden Fillies to the 1995 national championship.

For her unbelievable prowess at shortstop and her magnificent career at the plate, Walker will join five other individuals and one team on April 6 in ABAC’s Museum of Agriculture Conference Room when they are inducted into the 2018 class of the ABAC Athletics Hall of Fame.

Cromer was a five-time All-State player for the Tiftarea Academy softball program. The Lady Panthers finished second in the state tournament in 1988 and 1989 before collecting three consecutive state titles in 1990, 1991 and 1992. ABAC assistant coach Vic Vickers followed her career with more than a passing interest.

“He had his lawn chair out there for every game while I was in high school,” Walker said of Vickers, the husband of ABAC coach Ellen Vickers. “I had known the Vickers’ for so long it was an easy adjustment to play for ABAC. They were near and dear to my heart.”

Cromer hit .636 as a Tiftarea Academy senior with 31 extra base hits. Facing college competition for the first time, she never took her foot off the pedal, hitting .512 her freshman year at ABAC, knocking in 72 runs and scoring 76 herself. She led the team with six home runs and 12 doubles.

ABAC rolled up a school record 42-game winning streak during the 1994 season and pounded DeKalb 17-0 for ABAC’s sixth state title in seven years. In the national tournament, the Golden Fillies lost to Lake City 5-4 to end the season with an all time best record of 58-4. Walker was named to the Region XVII All-Conference team, the Region XVII All-Tournament team and the NJCAA All-America team.

Vickers retired after the 1994 season but new head coach Greg Tanner grabbed the reins of the Golden Fillies’ softball machine with gusto. ABAC won another state championship, defeating Macon College 11-3 in the title game. In the NJCAA national championship tournament, the Golden Fillies ruled the roost, beating Meridian 5-4 in the eighth inning to win the second softball championship in the history of ABAC.

“It was very special,” Walker said of the team that rolled up a 51-10 record. “I remember running toward first base after Mia knocked in the winning run. It was not something you think would happen. Pretty remarkable.”

Walker was named to the Region XVII All-Conference team, the Region XVII All- Tournament team, and was selected as the Most Valuable Player of the Region XVII tournament. She was also picked for the NJCAA All-America team for the second year in a row.

Walker’s college softball career ended that day as she cradled the national championship trophy. She married her high school sweetheart, Michael Walker, and later became a physical education teacher. She still teaches at the Northeast Campus of Tift County High School and coaches at Eighth Street Middle School.

Besides Walker, who played softball for ABAC from 1993 through 1995, ABAC Athletics Director Alan Kramer said the 2018 class includes the 1982 state championship men’s basketball team, Luis Paredes from the 1974-76 men’s tennis teams, Jorge Novoa, a friend of the tennis program since 1972; Jenni Collins Smith from the 1980-82 women’s basketball teams, Chuck DeVane from the 1980-82 baseball teams and Andy Vaughn from the 1981-83 golf teams.

As an extra added attraction to the Hall of Fame ceremony this year, Polly Huff, assistant director and curator at the Museum, will feature an entire exhibit based on ABAC athletics titled “The Glory Days” in the Museum Gallery. Hall of Fame members can visit the exhibit at a 5 p.m. reception prior to dinner. The exhibit will then open to all ABAC alumni and the public on April 7 as a part of the Homecoming Weekend.

Tickets to the reception and dinner are $40 per person. Tickets can be purchased from the ABAC Athletics Office at (229) 391-4930. The deadline to purchase tickets is March 26. There will be no tickets sold at the event.

For more information on the 2018 Homecoming Week, interested persons can visit the web site at www.abac.edu/homecoming.