TALLAHASSEE, Fl. (WTXL) - In the circle, Lincoln's Kelsie Rivers is a force to be reckoned with.
"I'm comfortable with her on the mound," said head coach Terese Waltman. "I know what she has, I know what she can do. Just having her out there being a leader has been a great impact for our program."
Rivers has pitched nearly every inning since her sophomore campaign. In her senior season - she's got 103 strikeouts in 80 innings of work. Pretty impactful.
"It's just a great experience to take such a strong role and do the best that I can," she said.
"She's the one out there cheering her teammates on, helping them out, picking them up here when they need it and just being a leader always on the field," added Waltman.
That leadership carries over to the classroom, where Rivers balances a 4.2 GPA.
"Wake up, go to school, come out out here to practice then go to bed basically!" she laughed when talking about her daily schedule. "It's not just coming out here and doing your best if you don't have good grades, you still need to get good grades to perform."
The stats are proof that hard work has paid off - but the final pay off for Rivers and company? Go out strong and win their first District title as Trojans.
"It's gone by very fast. I can't believe it," she said of her high school career. "It feels like I was just a freshman honestly. I hope we can dominate and just stay strong throughout the rest of the season."
"She's going to leave here and leave a legacy with her name here at Lincoln and within our area," said Waltman. "Then she's going to go on to college and be very successful I'm sure."
Success. Something Rivers knows a thing or two about when it comes to being inside the circle.
