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Andalusia High School senior Erin Riley is excited about the next chapter of her softball career after signing with Southern Union State Community College Thursday, May 19.

“I am looking forward to meeting new people and being around new teammates. Southern Union’s facilities are like no other community colleges are. The campus is beautiful along with a good coaching staff,” Riley said. “It has always been a dream of mine to play in college, so I am grateful that I finally got an opportunity. Go Bison!”

She started playing softball when she was four years old.

“I enjoyed playing with my friends at that age. As we all got older, we fell in love with winning and doing our best to represent our school in a positive way. Having this opportunity means the world to me because I have waited and waited for an opportunity like this to come.”

Riley, who played center field for the Lady Bulldogs, will always remember the times she spent at AHS and on the field.

“I will miss the traditions that Andalusia High School keeps alive along with being around all of my classmates. The addition of Coach (Michael) Fox to the staff this year really helped us. He has so much knowledge about the game and taught everybody how to be a better player and how to keep our bodies healthy and ready to play. The biggest highlight of my career at Andalusia was making it to the championship game at regionals this year after beating our rival Charles Henderson,” she said.

She added that she was grateful for the support she received from her loved ones, whether they were in attendance for home games or on the road. “Having my family behind the fence at every game means everything to me. They travel wherever they need to in order to come watch me play.”

Riley graduated from Andalusia High School on Friday, May 20. She is the daughter of Scott and LeAnn Riley with two siblings, MereKatherine Riley and Ridge Riley.

“We are pleased Erin will continue her softball career with Southern Union State Community College. I have watched her compete since she was five years old, and she has become a tremendous athlete who will excel at the next level. She stepped into a leadership role for us her senior year and did a great job with everything we asked her. Andalusia is very proud of Erin, and I couldn’t be any happier for her on receiving this opportunity,” said AHS Head Coach Anthony Mikel.