Throughout childhood, Riley Osborne wanted one thing above all else: to blend in. Born with a partial left arm, she disdained the special attention she received from coaches, teammates, parents and sportswriters, even when it was well-intentioned.

These days, her mindset has changed.

"I've come to realize representation is important, and having my story out there … you never know what little kid is going to see it and get inspired like I was inspired by Jim Abbott," she said of her hero — the former Los Angeles Angels star pitcher who was born without a right hand.

Riley, 10 years old, meeting her hero, Jim Abbott.

This past season, the rising senior drew plenty of attention on the diamond, not only because of her limb difference, but because of her dazzling defense in right field.

"I love making diving catches," she said. "It's the best."

On top of starting 33 of 37 games, Riley recorded 47 putouts — the second-most among the Regals' outfielders. Her season was defined by multiple game-saving catches, her first hit in a Cal Lutheran uniform, and receiving the prestigious SCIAC Character Award, an honor reserved for just one student-athlete in each sport.

No one has relished Riley's success more than her mother, Lisa, who drives from the San Luis Obispo area — more than two hours away — with Riley's younger brother, Cooper, to attend every home game in Thousand Oaks.

"All Riley ever wanted was to be out there and playing like everyone else," Lisa said. "It's taken a lot of time, but she's grown into the role of being the center of attention. It wasn't always that way."

In fact, Riley nearly gave up softball before middle school. After a season in which she did not record a single hit, 10-year-old Riley told her mother she wanted to quit.

"She said, 'I don't think I can do this. It's too hard,'" Lisa said. "So I asked her if she still enjoyed playing, and she told me she loved playing with her teammates. I told her, 'I'll get you a hitting coach, and by next season, if you still don't think you can figure it out, you can stop."

Riley spent the next several months learning how to swing a bat with one arm. That spring, she recorded her first hit … followed by a second … then a third.

"Since then, she's never stopped playing," her mother said.

Not LA, not the Bay

Lisa and her husband, Matt, a Santa Barbara County fire captain, raised Riley and her siblings in the seaside Central California community of Pismo Beach. A middle child, the 21-year-old has an older sister, 23-year-old Christie, and a younger brother, 16-year-old Cooper.

Despite Riley being born with amniotic band syndrome — a rare, non-hereditary condition that causes limb differences — the Osbornes never gave a second thought to putting their daughter in sports.

"(Matt and I) always played sports so we just figured our kids would play sports," said Lisa, a former software manager at Boeing. "We didn't put Riley in sports because of her arm. We wanted all of our kids to play sports and we weren't going to treat Riley differently."

The early days were tough — the awkward looks, the pestering questions and the occasional cruel remark. For obvious reasons, soccer came easiest, followed by basketball, where Riley excelled almost immediately. But softball was different. That was going to require some work.

Before she could play in the field, Riley had to learn how to catch and throw with the same hand in one motion, a technique known as "The Abbott Switch." Abbott won 87 games as a pro between 1989 and 1999, including a no-hitter against the Cleveland Indians in 1993 as a member of the New York Yankees.

Riley catches the ball, quickly tucks the glove under her left armpit and then slips her hand out to make the throw. She executes the motion so seamlessly now that her mechanics are nearly indistinguishable from those of a two-handed player.

Hitting is another story.

"Pitchers know they can come inside on me because I'm not able to get the bat around as fast," she said. "So I really choke up and I use … the lightest bat possible."

By the time she reached ninth grade, Riley didn't just prove she belonged — she began to excel. At Arroyo Grande High School, she lettered in both softball and basketball. When the time came to decide where to attend college, Riley wasn't ready to give up sports. She also wasn't ready to leave California. She turned down offers from Division II schools in the middle of the country for the chance to walk on at Cal Lutheran.

"I wanted to be where my parents could come watch my games," she said. "Plus, I want to work in sports, and I figured being close to Los Angeles would be best for that."

Earning her role

After an overuse injury to her right arm kept her out of her first year, the sports management major made her debut for the Regals in 2025. This spring, head coach Kecia Davis made her a permanent fixture in the starting lineup, usually as a flex player, meaning a designated hitter took her spot in the batting order.

"She has one of the strongest arms of anyone on the team," Davis said. "I wanted that runner tagging up on third to think they could go home because I knew Riley would throw them out."

Though used sparingly as a hitter with just 27 at-bats, Riley had her moments. Her first hit of the season came off SCIAC Pitcher of the Year Rose Malen of Chapman, and she went 3-for-4 with a double and four RBIs against Hamline on March 11.

"From day one, she's said 'Don't treat me any differently,'" Davis said. "And I didn't. She knew she was going to be held to the same standard as everyone else. You need to hit good pitches, you need to hustle . . . if I didn't think she gave us the best chance at the plate in a particular situation, then I would put in a pinch hitter."

Davis said Riley is her own "harshest critic."

"She's such a competitor," the veteran coach and trainer said. "She doesn't want to let anyone down."

Davis learned about Riley's thirst for new challenges last year when she decided to join the school's inaugural women's flag football team.

"She asked me if I minded since it was also happening in the spring … What was I going to say, 'No'?" Davis laughed. "She had her heart set on it and I wasn't going to stand in the way.

"And not only did she play … she was one of the best girls out there. She kicked butt."

Special bond

Riley adopted Abbott as a role model even though she was born several years after he pitched his last game. She dons the No. 25 in his honor.

In fifth grade, she had the opportunity to meet the ex-pro at a charity event in Santa Barbara — an interaction she called brief but life-changing. The two played catch and she showed him her special technique for tying her shoes. He signed a ball and a picture, items that remain on her desk 10 years later.

The inscription on the photo reads: "Nothing can stop you."

Her mother said that was the moment she stopped seeing standing out in a bad light.

"She saw how much he cared about trying to help and motivate other athletes with disabilities . . . and she realized 'I need to be that for other people,'" Lisa said.

Abbott and Riley remain in touch to this day. The Orange County resident sent Riley a short video this season to offer words of encouragement.

"I'm wearing my (University of) Michigan hat and (displaying my) jersey because I wanted you to know how much college athletics meant to me," Abbott says from his home office. "I still look back on those days as my favorite. … So keep fighting, keep up that great spirit and I just wanted you to know I'm rooting for you."

Riley returned the favor when she was invited to submit a column for Angels Magazine, the official publication of the Los Angeles Angels. In a piece appearing in their 2026 Yearbook, Riley writes, "As the years went by, and sports continued to be a big focus for me, I knew one thing for sure: I wanted to be the next Jim Abbott."

In addition to praising Abbott, she shares the significance of earning a starting role at Cal Lutheran.

"My greatest lesson is that just because things take me longer to adapt to doesn't mean I can't do them or do them even better than my peers," she writes, adding, "My biggest superpower, I feel, is being underestimated."

"Jim Abbott was the first in my world, but just one of many professional limb-difference athletes worldwide. I hope to someday be that first for someone, a young girl with a limb difference wanting to play softball, basketball, or anything she puts her mind to."

Riley credits Cal Lutheran adjunct professor Jeff Moeller — a communications and public relations professional with three decades of sports media, PR and broadcasting experience — for helping her embrace the media spotlight.

"We've talked a lot about (my situation), and he's always said, 'You've got a great story — share it," Riley said of Moeller.

Riley isn't just setting an example, she is actively dedicating her time to supporting athletes with physical challenges. This summer, she is working at NubAbility All Sports Camp in Illinois, a program designed specifically for young athletes with limb differences.

As her final collegiate campaign awaits, Riley said she is focused less on personal goals and more on what the Regals can accomplish as a team. The program is about to welcome its third head coach in four seasons.

"I love all my teammates, and I think that's been the biggest thing," she said. "Because you can have a million coaching changes and if you have an amazing team, you'll be fine."