Bianco Leads Lady Sharks In Comeback Season
Raissa Bianco is back.
After sitting out a year due to the pandemic, the Lady Sharks’ third baseman is slugging her way through the Southern Conference.
Bianco leads the team with a .470 average, 32 RBI and eight stolen bases. She has also made two pitching appearances. In eight innings, she has 11 strikeouts and 0.88 earned run average.
“[Raissa] takes ownership out there on the field,” said Lady Sharks’ Head Coach Gina De Agüero. “She talks the whole entire game and she really has good energy. She gives it 100% all the time in everything she does.”
Her potent bat is paying dividends for the Lady Sharks. The team has won six of their last eight games. They are 17-15 on the season including a 3-1 record in conference play.
With 20 games remaining on their regular season schedule, the Lady Sharks only need one more victory to tie last season’s win total.
“The last few years, we’ve been rebuilding,” De Agüero said. “This year we started off a little rocky but we’ve really been able to turn it around. The team has come together.”
Bianco is a major reason for that turnaround. She has recorded three or more hits in six games. On Feb. 26, the infielder had a game-winning triple in a 4-3 victory versus Seminole State College of Florida.
“She’s the most determined person I’ve ever met in my life, hard working, very outgoing, always [willing] to help people when they need it and an all-around great athlete,” said Lady Sharks outfielder Kaila Mullett.
Softball has always been a major part of Bianco’s life. When she was seven, she tagged along with her older sister—Raquelli Bianco— who was one of the star players for Central Glória in Brazil. At the time, Raissa was more content with playing in the field’s clay dirt but eventually the team’s coach, Lana Calixto, convinced her to give the sport a chance.
“She slowly started to talk to me and be like, ‘Oh, can you grab me that ball? And then oh, can you throw me that ball?” Raissa fondly recalled. “Little by little I started to practice. I would go with dresses and then I felt more comfortable going with leggings so I could play. It was just for fun in the beginning.”
The sport eventually took Raisa to Taipei City in Taiwan where her Brazilian national team was invited to the II IBAF 12U Baseball World Cup in 2013. The team finished in 8th place in the tournament.
She spent her last four years in Brazil traveling to the United States to play summer ball. During those stretches, she impressed De Agüero who offered her a scholarship to play at Miami Dade College.
At MDC, Raissa has capably followed in the footsteps of her older sister, Raquelli, who carved out an impressive career at the College from 2012-14, winning 10 games as a freshman and hitting eight home runs the following season.
As a freshman, Raissa led the Lady Sharks with three home runs, 27 RBI and a .460 average. The veteran, who is now 21, hopes to lead the Lady Sharks even farther.
“We have high hopes for this season,” Bianco said. “We’re aiming at Nationals.”
