Riley Bigler has never been short on confidence.
As a sixth grader, Bigler came out to Riverside softball games and watched the Lady Warriors play. She’d always tell herself one thing at those games.
“I feel like I could be out there,” Bigler would say. “I really do.”
There's one difference between Bigler and most. Bigler had no interest in waiting until she was in high school to play at that level. She wanted to play as soon as she was allowed.
“I just started working really hard towards being able to play as soon as I could,” Bigler said. “And because of that work, it ended up how it is now.”
How it ended up? Bigler is currently starting — and starring — for the Lady Warriors as a seventh-grader.
Despite being the youngest starting player in the entire region, Bigler is batting .368 and leads the team with 17 RBIs. She also boasts a 5-0 record on the mound.
“Before the school season, I went and watched Riley play at a tournament at Tyger River Park and saw what she could do,” said Riverside softball head coach Jason Gabrel. “I spoke to her dad that day and told him when our tryouts were, and told him he needed to send Riley over here to try out for us.
“I know she’s a seventh grader, and she still has a lot to learn, but for her age, she’s advanced. As soon as I saw what she could do with a bat and on the mound, I knew she was varsity material.”
Bigler says she was nervous at first to try out. The Riverside Middle School student was even more nervous when she found out she’d made the team and would be competing against girls up to six years her senior.
But Bigler's teammates welcomed her in from the start, treating her as part of the group.
“Everyone here has just been so nice and supportive,” said Bigler. “Pitching to older girls is hard, especially with me being 12 and some of them being 17 and 18. But all of the girls here treat me like one of their own. They include me in everything, and they talk to be about whatever. They’re so inclusive.”
Bigler boasts a 5-0 record on the mound this season along with a .368 batting average. She also leads the Lady Warriors with 17 RBIs.
“Honestly, Riley is more mature than half of the girls our age out here,” said Riverside junior right fielder Emma Manley. “She never gets down on herself. Even at 12 years old.”
Bigler pitched a complete game in a win over Gaffney on April 21, also going 2-4 at the plate with two RBIs and two runs. She followed that performance with two more RBIs and four innings of solid work in a win over Wade Hampton on April 22.
Against talented softball players — many who have likely been playing the sport since before Bigler was born — the seventh-grade sensation is more than holding her own.
“I’m just thankful to have this opportunity,” said Bigler. “I think it shows the amount of hard work I’ve put in to get here, and I’m just happy to be able to play with these girls.”
And Bigler is a big part of what’s to come for the Lady Warriors.
“I haven’t told her this yet, because I don’t want to put too much pressure on her,” said Gabrel. “But she’s the future of Riverside softball.”
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