(Marion) — On Wednesday, Marion High School senior Gianna Ricarte signed a college letter of intent to play softball at McMurry University in Abilene.
Ricarte signed her name on the dotted line during a ceremony at the high school. A three-year letter at Marion, Ricarte has earned all-district accolades in each of her first three seasons in the infield and at catcher. In her junior season last year, she hit .372 for the Lady Bulldogs driving in 36 runs with 12 doubles, 39 runs scored and 13 stolen bases.
Marion head softball coach Sammy Scribner talked about Ricarte during the ceremony. He looked back at a big moment for Ricarte as a freshman in a playoff game in 2022 when she drove in the winning run with a bunt single in the bottom of the seventh inning against Comfort in the bi-district round.
“She’s been a big part and a big asset to this program. Even as a freshman one of my fondest memories of her is probably when we were in the playoffs and the winning run is at third and we ask her to squeeze bunt,” Scribner recalled. “She got the bunt down, (and) won the game.
“She means a lot to our program. She leads real well. Softball is her life and you can tell on the field, she has a big passion for it.”
When asked about her upcoming senior season, Ricarte talked about the relationship with her teammates.
“For this season I want the chemistry to be there and to have a strong bond and just to grow as a team really. To win games, we have to dig deep.”
Ricarte will study psychology at McMurry. She has plans to be a therapist following her college career.