JC softball: Reichle sisters lead way as Fresno City heads to Super Regional

When it comes to playing softball, Paige and Cameryn Reichle push each other to the limit.

That happened for two seasons at Clovis High and more so this season at Fresno City College.

Batting 1-2 in the lineup, the former prep standouts have led the second-seeded Rams (37-5) to the Super Regionals, in which they’ll open against No. 7 Diablo Valley (28-14-1).

The four-team, double-elimination tournament begins at 2 p.m. Friday with Fresno City vs. the Vikings, followed by No. 3 Sacramento City vs. No. 6 San Jose City.

Fresno City coach Rhonda Williams calls the Reichles the Rams’ “table-setters” – and it helps that there’s a bit of sibling rivalry involved.

“I’m very hard on myself, offensively and defensively,” Cameryn said. “I don’t like to mess up, and I’m on her when she messes up. I’m like, ‘Come on, Paige.’ We just expect a lot out of each other.”

The Reichles took interesting paths to Fresno City.

Paige was recruited by star pitcher Sarah Santana and Aubrey Blankenburg. The Rams needed infielders, and Santana convinced Paige to join the team after she took a year off from softball.

Cameryn, meanwhile, was The Bee’s Player of the Year last season and committed to Fresno State. She spent the summer there “and it ended up not being a good fit,” she said. Paige convinced her sister to join her at Fresno City.

“It’s a better opportunity to come and play with my sister,” said Cameryn, a catcher/utility player. “I thought it would be a lot funner to play with my sister.”

Said Paige: “It’s a big advantage for us. She helps me a lot, and when she gets on (base), it makes me want to get on.”

For the season, Cameryn is batting .444 with seven doubles, 20 RBIs and a team-leading 32 walks. She was named to the All-State team. Paige is hitting .390 with four doubles and 20 RBIs and earned All-NorCal honors.

Leadoff hitter Cameryn leads the team with a .586 on-base percentage. Paige, who bats second, is seventh at .438.

That brings smiles to Williams, who never thought she would get the sisters to play for her.

“We had recruited Paige when she came out of high school,” she said. “It just didn’t pan out for her at that time. Sarah told me she had talked to Paige and she can play infield. My ears perked up right away because I knew what a good player Paige was. I saw her playing high school, and we jumped on that one right away. She decided she wanted to play.

“I knew Cameryn had gone to Fresno State. That scenario never entered my mind until we heard that it didn’t work out for Cameryn at Fresno State. She was looking for somewhere to play, and Paige had told me at that time that Cameryn is thinking about coming here and they would like to play together. I said that would be great. Obviously it worked out great for this team.”

This story was originally published May 12, 2016 at 5:47 PM with the headline "JC softball: Reichle sisters lead way as Fresno City heads to Super Regional."