All Riley Daly wanted was a stable, comfortable environment in which to play softball.
She thought she had it as a sophomore, then it went away. But it returned this season and has allowed the Allentown High senior to show exactly what she’s capable of.
A catcher/outfielder by trade, Daly was the Redbirds main shortstop this season but it never affected her hitting.
Entering the NJSIAA Central Jersey Group II Tournament, she led the Colonial Valley Conference in RBI with 35, was second in hits (40, two behind teammate Angelina Minerva), fourth in hitting (.506) and seventh in OPS (1.252).
“Outstanding person and outstanding player,” coach Rich Dawson said. “Just an intense kid who has a passion for the game. Too much of a passion because she hurts when she fails. She doesn’t understand you’re gonna fail 70 percent of the time in this game.
“But she’s so intense and she’s such a good player. She’ll have a great career when she goes to Rhode Island. She does her homework. She studies film on the pitchers. She spends a lot of time in the cages. She’s always the last one out of the cages. She’s just driven to succeed.”
Part of that success is due to Dawson, whose guidance has had a positive impact on one of his star players.
As a freshman, Daly attended Notre Dame with hopes of being part of the Irish’s powerhouse team. She got just 10 at-bats, however, and was dismayed at the lack of playing time. Especially since those at-bats produced a .300 average with two doubles and three RBI.
“I made a lot of great friendships there,” Daly said. “It was a hard decision to transfer back to Allentown, but ultimately it came down to playing time. I got to play with some very athletic girls but I was sad how that season turned out.”
When the Millstone resident came to the Redbirds, Dawson was the coach and he saw a dejected player who he knew could flourish.
“She was kind of demoralized because they didn’t play her at Notre Dame but I recognized right away ‘This kid can play,’ so I inserted her right away,” the coach recalled. “Her and I have similar personalities, we’re very intense. We clash but we get along very well. And her sophomore year she took off from there. I could see it in her.”
Daly had a solid 10th-grade season, hitting .353 with four home runs, four doubles, a triple and 22 RBI.
“I’m a big fan of coach Dawson,” she said. “After I transferred he really saved me mentally. When I was a sophomore I wasn’t anything special. I wanted to play for him and play for my teammates.”
But Dawson left last season and Daly’s average dropped to .323. She had five home runs but just 13 RBI.
“Last year we had a different coach and even though I was so much better as a player. I didn’t have any real guidance; and it was very unstable to me,” Daly said. “Especially because I loved having coach Dawson as a coach. I’m a very loyal person. I play for my team and I play for my coaches.”
Dawson returned this year and the results have been noticeable in Daly’s production. She not only praised the head man, but assistants Dave Boehm, the former Robbinsville coach, and Don Elwell.
“Coach B is amazing,” Daly said. “And coach Don, he’s the best. It’s my coaches and teammates that made the difference. I love this team; I love these girls. This is a great group of people and they are the ones who helped me to succeed.
“I try to compete; I love the sport. It comes pretty easy and when you have people around you who care about you and love you and you love them back it does make it so much easier. ”
As for her approach at the plate, it’s pure simplicity.
“I’m just trying to hit the ball,” she said. “Trying to hit it hard . . . as hard as I can.”
Her RBI total – which as of May 21 had equaled the combined amount of her first two years at AHS – can be attributed to batting higher in the lineup and having Angelina Minerva and Kelsey Loughlin hitting ahead of her. The two were constantly on base and scored a combined 69 runs through the Redbirds 18-6 start.
“In previous years I’ve batted a little bit lower in the lineup and all the runs were already driven in,” Daly said. “And last year I got walked a lot so I didn’t have those opportunities.
“This year I’m in a lot more situations. Angelina and Kelsey are always getting on base. I definitely have a lot more opportunities. I’ve always wanted to put the ball in play somewhere where I can drive in those runs.”
Daly’s desire to succeed is not lost on her teammates, according to Dawson.
“They all respect her,” the coach said. “I want them to have the same passion she has. But they follow her without even asking.”
Daly has been following her own softball dream since age 5 in T-ball. She began travel ball with the Jackson Wildcats at 9 years old, and got some important schooling from her head coach, Cory Hersh.
“I have to give all the credit to my first travel coach, he was always saying ‘If you can play a variety of positions that’s very valuable,’” Daly said. “I literally played all positions besides pitcher. He just taught me the game. It comes very easy for me now to play a position like shortstop that I haven’t played before on travel because I know the routine of how things are done. That’s why I can be successful there.”
She went from Jackson to the prestigious Lady Dukes and was coached by former Virginia Tech standout Lauren Gaskill. Daly credited Gaskill and assistants Michelle and Matt Kensler for getting her recruited.
“Those three coaches have a lot of connections,” she said. “I wasn’t getting the exposure before that. Those three are the reason why I’m committed.”
Her recruitment to the University of Rhode Island is somewhat humorous. She had been emailing the former and current coaching staff in hopes of getting a look, but got no response.
Last summer the Lady Dukes were playing a tournament at Armstrong Park in Ewing. Rams head coach Mike Coutts informed the staff he was looking for a utility catcher and Michelle Kensler motioned to Daly and said “She’s right there.”
Coutts and Daly touched base and a week later, while at a travel tournament in Massachusetts, she visited URI and immediately fell in love. It took one day for her to accept Coutts scholarship offer.
“It’s pretty funny,” Daly said. “I travel all over the East Coast to get recruited, and it happens thirty minutes from home.”
Coutts was impressed by Daly’s aggressiveness at the plate and also liked her catching ability. He became even more excited when Riley told him she played shortstop for the Redbirds all season.
“He recruited me as a catcher and outfield would be a secondary thing, and I love the outfield,” she said. “When I told him I was playing shortstop he was like ‘Oh my God, really?’ Their coaching staff is all for a player being versatile. They’re never going to limit someone to one thing.”
Daly was moved from catcher to shortstop by Dawson only because that gave the Redbirds their strongest defense. The coach praised her play calling, saying “When she calls the game she’s very mentally aware of the kind of game she wants to call.”
Sadly for Daly, the same field on which she was recruited was also the site of one of her biggest disappointments, as Allentown lost a 3-2 decision to Steinert in the Colonial Valley Conference Tournament championship game.
But she and her teammates put it in perspective as they prepared for the state tournament.
“I’m very proud of what we did,” she said. We were just talking on the bus ride home. If we knew we were gonna be 18-6 and lose to all good teams and make it to the CVC championship and lose by one, that’s pretty awesome.”
Almost as awesome as Daly’s decision to return to her hometown public school.
“I’m so happy,” she said. “I love Allentown, I love the culture with all the girls. I love the school; I love the teachers. I’m so happy I transferred here. It was the right decision. Everything happens for a reason, I believe it. I’m so grateful I’ve gotten this experience to be on this team.”
