ROCKINGHAM — Sophomore softball player Jakayla Steele has been named the Official Richmond County Female Student-Athlete of the Week presented by HWY 55.
Coming up big at the plate in three games last week, Steele helped the Lady Raiders pick up a pair of pivotal Sandhills Athletic Conference wins.
Continuing to do her part in her new starting role at third base, Steele earned her first career recognition by The Richmond Observer.
Athletic Profile
Year: Sophomore
Spring Sport: Softball
Position: Third Base
Years on Varsity: 2 years
“ON THE DIAMOND” WITH JAKAYLA STEELE
Richmond started the week undefeated but suffered its first loss to Marlboro County High School last Monday. The Lady Raiders responded with a pair of SAC victories, starting with a 2-1 win over Lee County High School on Tuesday.
Two nights later back on their home field, the Lady Raiders outlasted Union Pines High School in a 13-10 final, a game that saw Steele have her best performance of the season.
Across the three games, Steele was tied with senior teammate Makayla Parks for the most hits (4), connecting on a pair of singles and a pair of home runs. Batting 4-for-9, Steele led the team in batting average (.444) and runs batted in (6).
She crossed the plate three times in those three games and led the Lady Raiders with a 1.111 slugging percentage.
In the loss to Marlboro County, Steele cut into an early deficit with an RBI single to center field in the bottom of the first inning.
A night later at Lee County, Steele recorded a single in a low-scoring affair. It was just one of six hits for the Lady Raiders, her second single of the week.
Bringing the bat to do damage on Thursday against the Lady Vikings, Steele went 2-for-3 with a pair of longballs and five RBIs. She also scored three runs, drew a walk and reached on an error.
In the bottom of the first with Richmond trailing by three runs, Steele hit a three-run blast to center field to tie the game 4-4. Scoring ahead of her were Trinity Lockhart and Ryelan Lyerly.
With one one and two outs and the Lady Raiders up by two runs in the bottom of the fourth, Steele unloaded again, this time a two-run shot over the wall in left field. Lyerly also scored to make it 11-7.
Reaching on an error earlier in the game, Steele scored on a wild pitch.
Through nine games, Steele is batting .381 at the plate with eight hits and eight RBIs. She’s tied for second on the team with three doubles and is one of five Lady Raiders with at least two homers.
Richmond (8-2, 5-1 SAC) will host Southern Lee High School (7-4, 2-4 SAC) on Friday at 7 p.m.
RAPID RESPONSE VIDEO WITH JAKAYLA STEELE
In her interview, Steele talks about her two-homer game, the Lady Raiders’ impressive start to the season and explains how she chose her walk-up song.
The Richmond Observer will publish two more Official Richmond County Student-Athletes of the Week next week.
