The Riverside Rebels made history last season, bringing home the 2A State Championship for the first time in school history. Coach Ben Hogard’ s squad finished the year 29-5 and are returning some key pieces from last season’ s team.“ We have a good balance of older guys that can really play and younger guys getting their first shot at some action,” Coach Hogard said.“ We need our veterans to play like they have in the past and our young guys to continue to learn and develop. Our team strength is our returning pitchers. We have three really good arms coming back led by Zain McClure and Maddox Stone. Our area of concern would be playing a lot of new faces and we have a couple of key contributors coming off of injuries.” McClure will return as the leader on the mound and at the plate. The senior went 6-2 on the mound showcasing good velocity and control. McClure had 66 strikeouts with an ERA of 1.51. At the plate, he hit. 430 with 25 RBI and 35 runs scored playing shortstop or third base when not pitching. Stone is another live arm the Rebels can run at you finishing last season at 4-1 with 29 strikeouts and an ERA of 2.19. Stone played shortstop hitting. 386 with 23 RBI, 34 runs scored, and 20 stolen bases. Caden Cavazos will have an expanded role on the bump after a season where he went 2- 0 last season. Cavazos hit at the top of the lineup with an average of. 374 with 28 RBI, 28 runs scored, and 19 stolen bases. He can play wherever he is needed on the field. Senior Tucker Emery brings power to the middle of the order and first base. Last season, Emery hit. 269 with 24 RBI and 33 runs scored. He should have plenty of opportunities to drive in runs this season with a strong top of the order. A talented group of younger guys will get the chance to step up and fill some big roles this season. Senior Eli Reed will have an expanded role both in the field and on the mound. Reed can eat some innings for the Rebels by throwing a lot of strikes and can play in the infield or outfield. Junior Eli Woodall has good speed in the outfield, while sophomores Gage Alsup and Lake Wolf should provide a big impact to the roster. Alsup is a solid fielder at second, and Wolf is a good athlete with a strong arm at catcher or in the outfield. The Riverside Rebels would love to duplicate the success of the championship season they had last year, but it may take a few weeks of games to get the newer faces in the lineup some experience. The veterans on the roster can shoulder the load, and the pitching rotation should provide Coach Hogard and the Rebels a chance to win every time they step on the field. Riverside should battle at the top of the 2A-3 and have a strong chance to get back to the postseason and make another deep run.
The Riverside Lady Rebels made it to their third straight 2A State Championship game winning their second title in that span. The Lady Rebels finished the season 25-8 and brought home more hardware to the trophy case. To get back to the finals a fourth straight time, Riverside will need to rely on a few returning players and some new faces including first year head coach Lauren Baker. Ryley Eakins returns and will be doing the bulk of the pitching this season. Eakins will replace Claire Womack who did the bulk of the pitching in years past. Senior Bennett Durham will be back in the outfield this season and will try to generate some runs in the lineup with her aggressive base running. Blakely Biggers will be at third and provide some pop in the middle of the lineup to drive in runs. The Lady Rebels will be without the services of centerfielder Carly Jo Womack, who will miss the season due to injury. Several new faces will need to step into bigger roles this year. Senior Mackey Morgan has good speed and a good glove as does Charlie Wrinkle. Sophomores Morgan Thomas, Colbie Cullum, and Shelby Clay should make an impact to the lineup. Thomas will help with the pitching load and can play first base, Cullum can provide a solid glove to the infield, and Clay has good speed in the outfield. Freshman Vada Mae Womack could be behind the plate and provide a solid bat to the lineup. Coach Baker likes the experience she has returning and says overall team chemistry is good. She is hoping the younger players grow up fast, and are ready when tournament time comes. The Riverside Lady Rebels should battle in the tough 2A-3 conference and even tougher 2A-2 regional. If some of the fresher faces get good experience early, the Lady Rebels could put together another good run in the postseason.