River Shoemake made her presence known early for the Gore Lady Pirates softball team when last year as a freshman she hit .368 with a .667 slugging percentage. She credits a lot of it to the “sister act”. “I’m one of four sisters that have played softball. My oldest sister is Madison who played first base, then Harly who played third and Cadi who played shortstop and all three were also power hitters. It was kind of our thing that we all enjoyed. I don’t really feel pressure to be like them necessarily, I just go out and do my best and try to keep the team up,” said the sophomore who is in National Honor Society and FCCLA. Her coach, Kera Carter, takes a not-so-humble approach to River’s talents. “I coached against her at Webbers Falls last year and so I saw River consistently showcase her power and ability to get on base offensively last year and defensively, at third or catcher, where she made very few errors. Her all-around performance not only highlights her as a key contributor to the team’s success but also sets a strong foundation for her future in the sport. She’s a true leader and on top of all of that, she’s also an amazing young lady to be around and coach and I expect big things from her during her career,” said Carter. In middle school River did a lot of pitching and so moving to high school involved some challenges. “Moving from being a pitcher to playing more in the field was an adjustment for me.” She’s playing more third base than catcher this year because of the Pirates personnel make up even though she admits she likes playing catcher best. She also plays basketball and cheers as well as throwing the discus in track season. Although she doesn’t have a lot of high school experience to draw on, there is one highlight from her freshman year that stands out. “It was our district game against Porum, and I hit one out while we were trailing and it really boosted the energy of the team even though we ended up losing the game.” River says her favorite subject in school is math because the teacher, coach Brandon Estes, makes it fun and interesting. In her spare time, she likes to hang out with her family and go to the lake.
