MOSES LAKE — Family, friends, teammates and coaches gathered at the Moses Lake High School commons Tuesday afternoon to celebrate senior Paige Richardson signing to play softball for Walla Walla Community College.

“It’s really exciting; it feels real now, now that all that’s done,” Richardson said. “Overwhelming, but exciting.”

Richardson has been a three-year starter for the Maverick fastpitch softball team, earning numerous accolades from the Columbia Basin Big 9. In the 2024 season, Richardson was the Big 9’s Most Valuable Player and a unanimous first-team pitcher.

“For both slowpitch and fastpitch, she’s been sort of the backbone so to speak,” Moses Lake head coach Mike Hofheins said. “In the circle, being dominant and growing and getting better every year. Even as a freshman, she didn't act like a freshman. She belonged on varsity since day one.”

Richardson went on her first visit to Walla Walla CC at the end of her junior year, noting the environment as “great.”

“Small campus, small town – I like that,” she said. “There was something about the coach where I like how he did everything. I went on and played summer ball and got some offers from different schools, and then I went back to (Walla Walla) again.”

She received her official offer on her second visit and decided to commit later that week.

“It’s not too far from home. I’m still getting out of town and getting my foot in the door to my new life, but it was the environment there,” Richardson said. “I thought it was going to be a lot of fun, I knew some people there. I thought it was going to be the best fit for me because I’m going into cosmetology, and they have a great cosmetology program. That’s what got me leading there.”

Two of the people Richardson knows at Walla Walla CC are Raegen Hofheins and Mikayla Schwartz, who both graduated from Moses Lake last May and are playing softball for the Warriors this spring. All three were on Moses Lake’s varsity team from 2022-24.

“I’m excited, I hope it feels like old times,” Richardson said. “Me and Raegen actually played together when we were like 10 years old, so we’ve been playing together for a long time. I think it’ll be exciting to all be back on the same field.”

“That’s fun, and they’re good friends,” Hofheins said. “I’m sure the familiarity of knowing some of those girls there helped with the decision a little bit. I think it was a good fit for her regardless of that, but I think it’ll be fun to have three Mavericks playing together next year on that team.”

Richardson began playing softball when she was 5 years old, citing her interest in playing as coming from her father and older sister. Through all that time, she’s always been a pitcher.

“(My dad) was always coaching, and even watching him play slowpitch, I was always around (softball),” she said. “It’s in my blood; there’s no escaping it. It has had a great outcome for me; all the hard work that I’ve put in, my dad coaching me, all my coaches that I’ve had, they’ve all put their dedication into me and now we’re here.”

Moses Lake had five players sign to play at the collegiate level last year; Raegen Hofheins and Schwartz, who signed with Walla Walla CC; Morgan Ross, who signed with Spokane Falls Community College; and both Trinity Nations and Emmie Olsen, who signed to play for Big Bend Community College.

“It’s super fun, fun for me to see them take that next leap into what’s next for them,” Hofheins said. “... I’m excited for her, because I think she’s going to love it and she’s going to thrive.”

    MLHS senior Paige Richardson pitches the ball during a game in the 2024 season. Richardson has been a three-year starter for the Maverick fastpitch softball team.
  

    MLHS senior Paige Richardson, in white, swings her bat during a game last spring.