By JOSH BURRIS
The Southern Wells Lady Raiders finished 8-18 on the softball diamond last year, which included an 0-6 record in ACAC play and a loss in their first sectional matchup against Cowan – a team that eventually reached semi-state.
The Raiders welcome a new head coach this season in Jason Riley, who brings with him 25 years of coaching experience, but only one of those years was at the high school level. Riley has been a volunteer assistant at Bluffton, and will step into his first varsity head coaching gig at Southern Wells.
“I just love coaching. I love being around the kids and trying to help them become better at their sport and just a better person in general,” Riley said. “I try to teach a lot of life lessons as well because it’s not just about sports, we want to make a well-rounded individual.”
Riley said he has 24 girls that have come out to practice this year, which will be enough to have both a varsity and JV team.
“We really wanted to have a JV team so we can build a program. That’s why I’m here. I want to build a program, and we want to put Southern Wells on the map in softball like they used to be.”
Senior Riley Tappy is one of the team’s top returning hitters and pitchers. She will also spend time at shortstop and be one of the team captains. Riley has coached her at the youth level and is excited to get to coach her once again.
“Riley Tappy is just an amazing player,” Riley said. “You could put that kid at any position and she could be all conference. She is just a special player, got a good bat and head on her shoulders, very intelligent academically and athletically.”
Senior Catalina Tucker and junior Raigen Tarr are two other top returners that will also serve as captains that Riley is excited about.
Riley is not sure what his entire starting lineup will look like just yet, but said senior Grace Michael will play first base, junior Kayleigh Jones will be at second base and pitch, freshman Kenzie Paxson will be behind the plate at catcher, freshman Collena Reeves will pitch and play several other positions, and sophomore Brittany Costello and senior Cheyenne Neuenschwander will spend time at third base.
In the outfield along with Tarr, the Raiders will also have juniors Hannah Duncan and Jadyn Yencer.
Riley has been impressed by his team’s work ethic. He said his players are becoming much more confident since the first day of practice as well.
“We’ve had so many girls step up and just wow us,” Riley said. “I can honestly tell you every single girl that has came out has gotten tremendously better. They are just so coachable and so fun to be around.”
Riley said his bench should be deep as well, and that some JV players could join varsity later in the season. He said he encourages his players all to continue to work hard because the spot they currently have in the program is not set in stone.
“We’ve told all these girls, especially our JV staff, that just because you didn’t make the varsity right now, keep working hard because we’ve been around long enough where we’ve seen girls start off with the JV and be up with the varsity in a few weeks,” Riley said. “And we’ve told our varsity you’ve got to come in and keep working. If you’ve made the varsity, it’s not over. You’ve got to keep working because you could go right back down to JV.”
Riley expects the ACAC to be stronger top to bottom this season, with South Adams and Adams Central leading the way as they typically do. He added that Jay County is another program that is usually good, Woodlan is tough, Heritage could surprise some people, and Bluffton should also take steps forward this season.
Getting Southern Wells on the map starts this season. Riley said at their first team meeting the girls all said their goal was to win a sectional championship.
Winning a sectional is not something the Raiders have done since 2011, but Riley said it is something they will be working towards every time they take the field. He added that wins do not have to be glamorous. All it takes to win a game at any level is just one more run than your opponent.
“I tell them ‘how many runs does it take to win a game?’ and their answer is always one because that’s what we’ve told them. We may win 19-18 or we may win 1-0. That’s what it takes,” Riley said. “That’s been the mentality that we’ve instilled with these girls, and they’ve responded. That’s what they are shooting for.”
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