Two days after leading South Warren to a third-place finish in the state softball tournament, head coach Chris Riggs has resigned.

Riggs told the Daily News he had made the decision that this would be his last before the season, but it was still very difficult to walk away.

“I don’t think there is a perfect time to get out because you form a lot of relationships and there is only one senior group you can go out with,” Riggs said Tuesday morning. “You can say, ‘I need to stay for next year’s seniors,’ but if you keep doing that it gets overwhelming because you would never get out.

“It was a decision that was not easy, but the timing is right for me. It’s time for someone else to take over. The time and energy involved is a lot, so it’s time for someone else to do that.”

Riggs has been South Warren’s only softball coach in the school’s seven years of existence, going from 11 wins in the school’s first year to a school-record 36 wins this season.

The Spartans went 149-92 in those seven years with one District 14 championship, three district runner-up finishes, two Region 4 championships and a region runner-up finish.

His final game as coach came Saturday as the Spartans wrapped up a third-place finish in the state tournament, going 4-2 in the event – with all four wins coming in the team’s final at-bats.

Riggs said knowing this was his final season made the run even more special.

“Once we got to the state tournament and got a couple wins under our belt… I couldn’t imagine a better way to go out,” Riggs said.

Riggs leaves a team that loses seniors Shelby Nunn, Karson Williams and Katie Conley but returns most of the core from this year’s state tournament run.

“For the first time this year we had a freshmen team, something we hadn’t had before,” Riggs said. “There are 30 kids in the program. It had built over the years. I think when we first started, I think we had 16. There are a lot of players and I will miss them, but I will come watch.”