Trib HSSN diamond team of the week – Riverside Panthers softball

Coach – Geri Lynn Cummings (10th year)

Records – Riverside finished in fourth place in Section 1-2A, two games behind champion Laurel and one game behind both Neshannock and Shenango. The Panthers are 9-5 overall this season.

#Earned – From 1989-2013, the Riverside softball program took a back seat to nobody.

The Panthers reached the WPIAL championship game 11 times and took home six district titles.

In the middle of most of it was the artist formally known as Geri Lynn Stockman, now known as Coach Cummings.

She played for Riverside in the late ’90s and was part of its 1996 title run before moving on to then Malone College.

She was an assistant under Riverside hall of fame coach Pam McCarty, and then took over for her after the 2016 campaign.

There were some growing pains early on, but Riverside has enjoyed six consecutive playoff seasons since covid shut down the 2020 season, with five winning seasons this decade.

The Panthers lost in the first round of the 2021 and 2022 playoffs, were bounced in the quarterfinals in 2023 and 2024, and last year reached the district semifinals before losing to Chartiers-Houston. They then lost in the opening round of the PIAA playoffs.

They entered the 2026 postseason as the No. 7 seed following an 8-5 regular season.

Against No. 10 Brentwood, they scored a run in the first, three more in the third and then putting the finishing touches on a fourth straight opening-round win with two runs in the fifth inning to win, 6-1.

For the Panthers, success is a family affair.

Coach Cummings has her two daughters on the team, senior Joci and sophomore Ava, along with her niece, junior Emma Stockman.

Then there are the Drake sisters and the Yohe sisters.

Addison Drake is a junior and Stevie Drake is a freshman, while Addy Yohe is a sophomore and Eva Yohe is a freshman.

Standout performers – Hitters two through five in the Riverside batting order carried the day against Brentwood with eight of the team’s 10 hits.

Junior Addison Drake was 2 for 3 with a home run and three RBIs.

Junior Saeryn Hoover was also 2 for 3 with a double and a home run and three runs driven in.

Sophomore Adelaide Burry was 2 for 4 with two doubles and senior Joci Cummings was 2 for 3.

The four combined to score five of the six runs in the victory.

Coming into the game, Addison Drake was hitting .529, Burry was at .488, Stevie Drake was at .467 and Hoover gave her .323 average a boost.

Joci Cummings was the winning pitcher, allowing one unearned run and four hits in seven innings pitched with two walks and nine strikeouts.

A big challenge lies ahead for Riverside as it battles No. 2 seed Chartiers-Houston on Monday at Pleasant Valley Elementary School in Peters Township at 4 p.m.

The Bucs have eliminated the Panthers in two of the last four district postseasons, including a final four loss last year, 7-1.

2026 Trib HSSN Diamond Teams of the Week

Week 6 – Indiana Little Indians baseball

Week 5 – Elizabeth Forward Warriors baseball

Week 4 – Thomas Jefferson Jaguars softball

Week 3 – Thomas Jefferson Jaguars baseball

Week 2 – North Allegheny Tigers softball

Week 1 – Eden Christian Academy Warriors baseball