Winning is no sweat for Riverview softball

The Riverview High softball team prides itself on having fun above all else, and that’s come easy this season.

The Rams (11-0) are ranked as the No. 13 team in the state per the Florida High School Athletic Association and have beaten all the area’s top teams, including Venice, Sarasota, Lakewood Ranch and Braden River.

Four seniors are powering that success, producing eye-popping stats and pivotal qualities that don't show up in the box score.

If not for the fun the Rams have been having, senior Allison Cole — Riverview’s ace and one of its top hitters — likely wouldn’t be playing.

Cole didn’t play varsity softball for her first two years at Riverview because she was uneasy about making new friends and playing for new coaches.

She finally gave it a shot last season as a junior to play with longtime friend Isabella Thompson during her senior season, but Cole’s adjustment wasn’t immediate.

Photo by Vinnie Portell

“Neil (Bain), one of my assistants, and I said whatever happens, we have a good bunch of girls as it is,” Riverview head coach Tom Forkan said. “We just want to produce an environment where (Cole) feels comfortable and having fun so she can enjoy the game again.”

Forkan said some of his visits to Cole in the pitcher’s circle last year met with frustration and doubt, but that changed about midway through the season.

One of the best moves Forkan made was empowering Trandem, the team’s catcher, to call pitches. That forced Cole and Trandem to trust each other, and a friendship has blossomed. 

It didn’t take long for Cole to make friends with several of her other teammates as well. Forkan said the players now make a habit of going to Starbucks together and going over to each other’s houses after practice.

Those friendships have turned Cole into a more confident and comfortable player, and the stats speak for themselves.

The senior right-handed pitcher/first baseman has pitched 67⅓ of Riverview’s 71 innings this season. She owns a 10-0 record with a 0.42 ERA, 143 strikeouts and has permitted just 41 baserunners, including a 19-strikeout no-hitter in a 2-0 win over Palmetto on March 25.

She has performed at the plate, too, with a .444 batting average, five runs, 10 RBIs, four doubles and a home run.

Cole’s newfound confidence came in handy in one of Riverview’s tightest games of the season, a 7-6 win over Sarasota in eight innings on March 13. 

The Rams were leading the Sailors 6-0 through five innings, but allowed Sarasota to tie the game with six runs over the next two innings.

“For a while there, we didn’t think we were going to make it,” Forkan said. “I went out to the mound to visit Allie and I said, ‘How are you doing?’ She goes, ‘I’m fine. Don’t worry about me.’ Anxiety? If she has anxiety, I don’t know about it.”

Cole isn’t the only Riverview senior who has helped the Rams win games.

Photo by Vinnie Portell

Senior shortstop Sierra Lipton leads the team with a .588 batting average, 20 runs and nine stolen bases. 

Trandem (.382 batting average) has been a key factor too, while senior Isabella Bain (.353) has provided some pop with two home runs. 

The difference these seniors have made — especially Cole — is easy to see. 

Riverview went 11-35 in the two seasons before Cole arrived and its current crop of seniors were underclassmen.

Those past struggles make this season even more special, and the Rams acknowledge this is their year to make some noise in the postseason. 

After losing to Lakewood Ranch in the district tournament last season, Riverview has set its sights on a district championship, and a run at the regional tournament.

But that still comes secondary to smiling along the way.

“I'm just happy that the girls are having fun,” Lipton said. “Like, I know winning is a lot, but everyone's having fun while we win, so that's what's most important.”