Every morning junior Leah Rinne climbs into her grey Jeep and drives to Eastern. She’s probably wearing her favorite black vest, white sneakers, and pearl choker. She goes to six classes a day, like anyone else. But there’s a difference. Since childhood, Rinne has been addicted to softball.

  “I started my softball career at four years old, joining as the only girl on my brother’s T-ball team,” Rinne said, “I’ve been addicted ever since.”

  The seventeen year old pitcher and power hitter said softball is always on her mind, she has team group chats going on all day, she dreams about getting that winning hit at night. Lucky for Leah Rinne, that dream came true.

  Her proud moment came last summer. “I scored the winning home run for my team at a tournament in Maryland,” She said. That team, the Pitbulls, has taken her from Pennsylvania to South Carolina to Florida. Rinne also plays for Eastern’s softball team in the spring, pitching at Varsity and JV games.

    “I definitely have to thank my parents and my coaches, they’ve pushed me to do better and supported me through my whole career,” Rinne said. Her optimistic attitude is shown in her everyday life, as she always makes time to talk to friends, hang out, go to school, and manage softball, even while her father fought heart problems in the hospital.

  Needless to say, Leah Rinne has worked diligently at her time management skills to balance her schedule and decide her priorities.

  She’s a fighter, she’s a softball player, she’s a sister, she’s a teammate, she’s a daughter, she’s a friend, and she’s a survivor. She’ll sing along to Ed Sheeran, she watches Netflix, and she’ll spend hours a day at team workouts, practices, gyms, and private coaches to refine her softball skills.

  Many consider Pitching one of the most difficult positions in the game, but Leah often makes it look easy.

  As she moves through her junior year, Rinne knows what teachers and policies she will miss the most. “I definitely think Mr. Bougs is my favorite part of the school, he’s an awesome coach,” she said.

  With constant playing for the school and travel teams, it’s not a surprise Rinne has big college softball plans. She has the attitude to take it on. Rinne plans to play for her college and go into coaching or athletic training.

 Rinne said, “I’ve been so lucky to get where I am, but it’s taken hard work. I just can’t wait to see what the future holds.”