Veteran infielder hails from storied Buff & Blue family
WASHINGTON - Arizona Ritchie is coming home to join GW softball for her final collegiate season.
The daughter of GW baseball Hall of Famer and current head coach Gregg Ritchie and rowing alumna Kelly (Siegel) Ritchie, the veteran infielder joins the Buff and Blue as a graduate transfer after playing the past four years in the ACC at Virginia.
"GW is a very special place for my family and I," said Ritchie, who will pursue a master's in Environmental Resource Policy in Foggy Bottom after earning her undergraduate degree in Sociology with a minor in Global Sustainability. "I'm excited to continue the GW legacy and represent the Buff and Blue on and off the field!"
Ritchie brings extensive experience to Head Coach Chrissy Schoonmaker's squad after making 168 starts at UVA, including all 120 games over the past three years.Â
"We are thrilled to welcome Arizona to GW," Schoonmaker said. "Arizona is a tremendous student-athlete who competes with passion, grit and composure. She has excellent leadership skills, can play multiple positions around the diamond as a gifted infielder and is an extremely hard worker.Â
"Arizona comes from a family who bleeds the Buff and Blue, and we look forward to her making an immediate and lasting impact on our program."
Arizona Ritchie (far right) poses with the GW graduates in her family - parents Gregg and Kelly and older sister Riley.
Last spring, Ritchie was among the ACC's best defenders at second base, committing just two errors on 162 chances for a .988 fielding percentage, while also hitting .213 (26-for-122) with a career-high .304 on-base percentage, 18 runs and 14 RBIs vs. top-flight pitching.
The Stafford, Va., native helped the Cavaliers compile a 28-26 mark, including a program-high-tying 13 ACC victories, and earn the top seed at the National Invitational Softball Championship where they were joined in the 12-team field by GW.
Across 170 collegiate contests, Ritchie has posted 95 hits with 22 of them for extra bases as well as 52 runs and 45 RBIs. She has a career fielding percentage of .948 while seeing time at second and shortstop.
Last summer, she gained experience in international competition when she represented Israel at the European Championships in Italy.
Before heading to UVA, Ritchie was a four-time All-Conference honoree, three-time All-State pick and two-time All-Area Player of the Year at Brooke Point High School from 2015-18.
Ritchie and her three siblings were raised on the diamond and, of course, cheering on the Buff and Blue, and that connection only grew stronger when their father was named head coach at his alma mater in the fall of 2012 after a lengthy career in the professional ranks.
She joins a GW squad that went 36-17 in its first season under Schoonmaker on the way to its second consecutive A-10 regular season title and third straight postseason berth.
