Maysville's Riggle aiming for more

NEWTON TOWNSHIP - There isn't much missing from the resume of Madison Riggle.

She's been a dominant pitcher for much of three seasons at Maysville, good enough to set the school record for single-season and career strikeouts. At the plate, she is a power threat with enough sock to hit more home runs than anyone in Panther history.

She's still waiting on a Muskingum Valley League title, but Riggle is determined to change that.

Following Friday's win against Tri-Valley, Maysville now has a two-game lead with a week left.

"It would mean so much," Riggle said. "Our team has worked so hard, but we've always seemed to fall short every time. It would be awesome if we could do it."

She's determined not to let history repeat itself.

She felt unsatisfied with her junior season, when a lingering sciatic nerve injury in her back hindered her performance. Nonetheless, she still had a 1.64 ERA and managed to lead the Panthers to the Division II district championship.

The back eventually healed and she won 13 games for the Ohio Classics summer travel team. But she wanted more as a senior, which led her back to longtime pitching coach Randy Moziejko, of Workhouse Fastpitch. She brought along her new catcher, Panthers incoming freshman Rylei "Smidge" Miller, in an effort to help her get acclimated.

Both missions were deemed a success.

"He's just awesome," Riggle said of Moziejko, an assistant coach at Pickerington Central. "He has all these drills. Once I got so far with pitching— I've mastered all of my pitches, now it was just getting me faster, so we worked on different things in the summer. That was the big thing. All winter that was my goal. I've already got all my pitches. I want to keep those up, but now it's just my speed. That's the only thing we really worked on."

With an improved fastball, to go with her already varied arsenal of pitches, Riggle's arm and bat helped the Panthers win their first 15 games before suffering a 4-2 loss at Tri-Valley last Wednesday. She avenged that loss two days later, shutting down a potent Scotties lineup to the tune of a five-hitter in a 3-1 win that gave the Panthers some key breathing room.

Maysville coach Greg Vaughn said having a steady, even-keeled personality like Riggle in the circle jibes well with all facets of the team. While reserved by nature, Riggle has emerged as a more vocal presence as a senior.

"I just think I'm more confident in myself," Riggle said. "I've matured a lot. I'm 20 times more confident out there than I have been. I don't know what happened. I don't even think I was that confident last year, it's really just been this year."

Vaughn has noticed. He said she "didn't say much to anybody" her freshman and sophomore seasons, but maturity has allowed her personality to surface. She has also gotten noticeably stronger, he said, due to weight training.

It's all led to her best season to date, in the circle and in the batter's box. Riggle said she prides herself on being a complete player, a big reason she earned a scholarship to Robert Morris as a sophomore.

Vaughn feels her game will transfer well to that level of play.

"She's not just a pitcher," Vaughn said. "She's a softball player."

While it's not something the team discusses openly, Vaughn knows winning the league would carry substantial weight. It would especially mean something to Riggle, who has endured her share of heartbreaking losses to area opponents.

"We've had success in tournament play and everything, but personally I think she'd want to win an MVL title," Vaughn said. "I think it would mean a lot to her. … It's not going to be easy. The MVL is not an easy league. There are a lot of teams that can play."

sblackbu@gannett.com

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Twitter: @SamBlackburnTR