Johnny Riva gaining knowledge, confidence pitching for the Pistol Shrimp

The past couple of years have been a little crazy for former La Salle-Peru School standout athlete Johnny Riva.

“I went to North Central College and played basketball one year, but I made the transfer to not only baseball but to Illinois Valley Community College last year,” Riva said. “I loved everything about North Central and the game of basketball, but I felt like I was there for all the wrong reasons. I fell back on the other game I love, baseball, and I’m working on being the best player I can be at it.”

The left-handed throwing Riva recorded just a handful of innings with the Eagles, but this summer has gotten a few more with the Prospect League’s Illinois Valley Pistol Shrimp and gained not only a boost in confidence but knowledge heading into his sophomore season at IVCC.

“This summer has been a huge learning curve for me,” said Riva, who has appeared in six games, including one start, with four strikeouts in 4 1/3 innings. “It has been quite the transition from basketball to baseball, but I’ve enjoyed the process. My team at IV has really helped me along the way and so have the guys here on the Pistol Shrimp. We have pitcher’s that have and are pitching at higher levels college-wise, so I’m doing my best to try and learn from them and take things away that I feel can work for me. Our pitching coach here with the Pistol Shrimp, Mark Sheehan, knows so much and has been a huge help for me as well. The knowledge I’ve gain about pitching this summer has been amazing.”

Riva said the chance to pitch for the Shrimp has been exactly what he needed as he continues to work to improve his pitching skills.

“There are some really good players we played against at IV, but in this league most, if not all the guys playing for teams are very good,” Riva said. “I’m learning as a pitcher that I have to be mentally ready every day we play. Even if you’re not scheduled to pitch, you just never know what can happen and you have to be ready to go when called.

“In this league you have to go after batters because most of them are coming to the plate wanting to be aggressive. The key I’m working on is using that aggressiveness to my advantage. This summer has and will make me a better pitcher going into next season at IV.”

The summer stint with the Pistol Shrimp has brought with it some great memories for Riva.

“My best moment so far was IVCC night here at home. My mom, who has always been one of my biggest supporters, threw out the ceremonial first pitch to me,” Riva said. “It was a pretty special moment, and then I also got to pitch in that game, so it was just an all-around cool night for me and my family.

“This team has had such a great vibe right from the start. I’ve gotten to meet so many great, down-to-earth people this summer through this chance, and it’s hard to put into words how happy I am to have gotten this chance.”

Riva says he likes watching and following pitchers Justin Steele of the Cubs and Clayton Kershaw of the Dodgers, as well as a Pistol Shrimp teammates perform at the plate.

“I enjoy watching them pitch. They are both lefties like me, and they both always seem to either have great stuff or find away to get by with maybe average stuff. I love to watch them because they know how battle.

“I could pick a lot of guys on our team for different reasons, but [Milikin University’s] Kyle Gibson is so fun to watch hit. He just has that presence about him, not cocky but confident. You just know that if he’s coming to bat in a big situation that nine out of 10 times he’s going to come through.”