ORANGE PARK – Ridgeview High School softball has had a couple of rough years the past few and that had created a culture of desperation around the diamond as athletes and coaches alike have tried to find the formula for turning things around. Ridgeview last visited the region playoffs under coach Tom Frawley in 2002, 2003 and 2006 with a region win in 2002.

For first year coach Roger Harvey, a long-time Clay High assistant coach under Matt Lewis, the time may be closer than some people may think.

“After the first practice, I invited the four seniors; Kirsten Sutherland, Becca Medrano, Kelsey Solomon and Maxeen Torres, to dinner and we were going to talk about their team,” said Harvey, a 15 year assistant with Lewis at Clay. “I told them they have been here for the duration and have to take ownership of the team.”

There may have been some secret ingredient in that dinner sauce as the Lady Panthers have tallied off a slew of upset victories over ranked teams; a 5-3 win over 6A River Ridge (March 17), a deep region playoff team for the last 15 years with 4A runnerup finishes in 2002 and 2003, a second win over River Ridge via a 19-4 blowout (March 20) and a sneaky 6-3 win over a vastly-improved Middleburg High team, 6-3 (March 14). Harvey, who took his team to two tournaments over the Spring Break; the Brooksville Homeschool Tournament and the Hernando Leopard Tournament, sees his girls as getting close to believing that Ridgeview softball can be very competitive on the district stage.

“The highlight of the tournament down in the Brooksville area; the Brooksville Homeschool Tournament and the Hernando Leopard Tournament, was that the River Ridge coach came up to us after the first win, the 5-3 game, and said that he had coached us up and we were not supposed to be that good,” said Harvey, with a chuckle. “I told the girls we could go home after that one because that was about a good as it was going to get. The trip was a good team bonding experience.”

Ridgeview continued their strong presence at the tournament with two blips; a 6-5 loss to 5A-Hudson High and a 15-5 loss to 7A-Sunlake with their 11-4 overall record. The Panthers returned home for a district win over Menendez, 15-8 on March 20.

“We were on such a high and simply had a letdown in the seventh inning againt Hudson,” said Harvey. “Our pitcher, freshman Sarah Anderson, was playing with a flu and it may have caught up with her. We rebounded though.”

Led by seniors Kirsten Sutherland, Kelsey Solomon and a handful of energetic freshman that have club ball experience in the area, led by Chloe Chambers and her .466 batting average with 18 runs batted in, Harvey has a collection of players that, minus miscues, can play against most area teams. “Coming to Ridgeview, my objective was to quickly establish a family atmosphere and to make the game fun again,” said Harvey. “We still have the innings with errors, but we are learning to learn from them instead of putting our heads down.”

Against 7A-Bartram Trail High on Wed., March 22, a long-time region and state playoff team with large, expansive banners on their outfield fences reminding opposing players of their rich history, Ridgeview clawed to a 6-4 lead after falling behind 3-1 off timely hits from Sutherland and Alyssa Adams who both hit RBI-doubles to push the Panthers to 4-3 in fourth.

“We walked into their field and I told them to look at the banners and read what their history has been,” said Harvey. “Then, I said let’s get to work and get one of those banners on our field.”

Bartram Trail would react to tie the game at 4-4 off a field error from Solomon at third, but Ridgeview answered with another two-run double from Adams in the sixth to lead 6-4. From there, though, the Bartram Trail experience took a turn to grab an 11-6 lead behind four doubles in the bottom of the sixth. “When we have played these high powered teams, I encourage the players to watch what the coaches do, say and how they react,” said Harvey. “That’s all part of the game and the more we can learn the little things like that, then we can react to it quickly and intelligently.”

Upcoming after the Spring Break, Harvey and his Panthers have their second chances at Clay and Ponte Vedra, two district 4-6A rivals that provided shutout losses earlier in the season; 4-0 from Clay and 11-0 from Ponte Vedra.

“I’m excited to see how the improved attitude plays out in both of those games,” said Harvey. “If we get a few breaks, anything can happen. I told Lewis (CHS coach) I will be wearing one of my 20 Clay Softball shirts to each practice to get the kids fired up for the game.”

Ridgeview (9-10, 2-3), with their third district loss to Orange Park High, sits in third in the district lineup with Clay (7-3, 4-0) on top and Ponte Vedra in second (7-4, 1-1).