Arion Delphi junior Whitney Arion’s future became clearer with her verbal commitment to play softball at the University of Louisville.

Arion chose the Louisville Cardinals over a number of Division I schools that made offers for her softball prowess, including Purdue.

Louisville offered a full-ride athletic scholarship to Arion, who primarily plays shortstop, third base and centerfield, with plans to join the Cardinal program as a freshman for the 2012 season.

Although NCAA rules prohibit softball recruits from signing official letters this early in the year, schools prefer to have their potential signees verbally commit early so they know who they can count on to join their program and are in a better position to evaluate and fill their other needs.

Arion’s softball resume is an impressive one, including earning the Lafayette Journal & Courier Class 1A & 2A “Player-of-the-year” award last spring following her sophomore season at Delphi.

She has been a major contributor on two straight sectional winning teams at Delphi, leading the team in batting both seasons, including a Lafayette-area leading .558 batting average as a freshman.

Arion first started attracting college attention as a key member on a successful summer softball travel team, the Indiana Shockwaves.

Her Shockwave team won four consecutive NSA World Series championships from 2003-‘06 and earned a berth in the 2006 ASA World Series where they finished 7th, with the distinction of being the only team not from California to finish among the top 8.

In 2009, the Shockwaves continued their tradition of playing some of the best competition in the country, including high-profile tournaments in Boulder, Colo., and Sioux Falls, S.D., on their way to a 4th place finish in the ASA World Series.

In 2008, in recognition of their accomplishments, Arion, four of her teammates and long-time coach and mentor Troy Werner were inducted into the NSA Youth Hall of Fame.

Since 2003, Wernercoached Shockwave teams that Arion has been a part of have compiled an overall record of 468-62-5, with four NSA state championships and an ASA state championship in addition to the four NSA World Series titles.

In her two years at Delphi, Arion has been a two-time All-Hoosier Conference performer and team MVP, while also being a Journal and Courier Class 1A & 2A 1st Team All-Area and Hoosier Conference selection in basketball.

She is the daughter of Jimmy and Christina Arion of Delphi.