TALLMADGE, Ohio — The Tallmadge Blue Devils softball team has been growing all season long. They rave about their chemistry, on and off the field. Now with the postseason in front of them, the team is looking to rally around each other—especially after their pitcher Riley Jackson's recent outing.
Jackson is straight-faced when she's standing in the diamond. A small smile might creep on her face momentarily in an interaction with a teammate or coach, but for the most part, she's as stoic as can be.
It's a trait that has boded her well in her game.
"Riley shows zero emotion, which I love," said head coach Brittany Lightel. "That alone is scary to a lot of other teams. Actually, she kind of scares some of our own players, I think, and maybe some of our coaches."
As the Blue Devils took the field Monday against Fairview Park, Jackson was chomping at the bit to take the mound.
"She asked, 'Hey, am I throwing,'" said head coach Brittany Lightel. "I said 'Of course you're throwing.' And then from that point forward, she was ready to rock."
Jackson came out hot, striking out the first 11 batters she faced. She had had strong outings before, coming close to a complete, and at times nearly perfect, game, but never was able to close it out.
"I've come close a lot of times. And then I'd mess up at the end by that one hit," Jackson said.
But Monday was different.
"I went to our coach and our coaching staff and I was like, 'I keep her in, right? She's having a perfect game. And they're like, 'Yeah,'" Lightel said.
The first 11 batters turned into a complete showcase of her talent as Jackson recorded 13 strikeouts, no walks and no hits—a perfect game.
"It felt good to pitch a perfect game," Jackson said. "And that was my 115th strikeout of the season."
The moment had her team cheering for her and her coaches rushing out to celebrate—but for the even-keeled Jackson, it was business as usual.
"I think they were more excited than I was," Jackson said coyly."But that's why I said the team's really close. Everyone was also happy for me for getting that."
The perfect game was a remarkable feat for Jackson, but the takedown of Fairview Park was a true team effort.
The Blue Devils walked away with the 22-0 win, showcasing their dominance at the plate as well.
Lightel believes that her girls feed off each other. So when Jackson threw a perfect game, there was little question the bats would step up to support their pitcher's efforts.
The Blue Devils continue their competition in the Ohio High School Athletic Association's Regional Tournament, hoping to build off the momentum of Jackson's perfect game and the team's big win Monday.
"All of our girls are just rallying around her at this point," Lightel said. "I just told them, 'We're going to go in tomorrow, as long as you guys keep hitting like you're hitting and we can back up Riley, and she's as dominant as she was the other day, then we'll have no problem.'"
Watch live and local news any time:
Download the News 5 Cleveland app now for more stories from us, plus alerts on major news, the latest weather forecast, traffic information and much more. Download now on your Apple device here, and your Android device here.
You can also catch News 5 Cleveland on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, YouTube TV, DIRECTV NOW, Hulu Live and more. We're also on Amazon Alexa devices. Learn more about our streaming options here.
