It’s a good bet that anyone who has seen Riverdale High School’s Rachel Albritton pitch softball in the last couple of years would be surprised to know she was once cut from a team.
“It was the first time I had tried out for a travel team, and I was the only one that got cut,” Albritton said of an experience during her elementary school years when her family lived in the Mount Juliet area. “That motivated me from there on out.”
The Lady Warriors’ senior right-hander was all-state last spring and has signed scholarship papers with the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. Riverdale plays locally today at 2 p.m. against fellow Class AAA power Soddy-Daisy at Clifford Kirk Stadium.
Albritton said she grew up in an athletic family and was exposed to various sports at young ages. She used to play volleyball, which is the sport of choice for her twin sister, Olivia, who also plans to attend UTC. But after reaching high school, Rachel narrowed her athletic focus to softball.
“She’s not just a player but a great kid at our school,” Riverdale coach Jeff Breeden said. “She does the right things on and off the field. She’s just somebody you like having on your team and somebody I enjoy coaching every day.”