ROCKINGHAM — A six-run top of the seventh inning by the Lumberton High School softball team was the difference maker in Thursday’s series final against the Lady Raiders.
Holding a 2-1 lead with just three outs separating them from another win, the Lady Raiders and senior pitcher Greyson Way saw things unravel late, as Lumberton won 7-2.
The loss ended Richmond’s 38-game regular-season conference winning streak. The last time the Lady Raiders lost in conference play was to Scotland High School on April 12, 2016.
The five-run loss was also Richmond’s largest margin of defeat since losing by seven runs to Purnell Swett High School on May 5, 2011.
A night after recording 12 hits and five runs against Lumberton pitcher Morgan Britt, the senior shut down Richmond’s bats, allowing two runs and just one hit.
“We didn’t play good enough to win tonight,” head coach Wendy Wallace said. “After getting 12 hits off of (Britt) last night, we got only one hit tonight. If we do that, we have to be able to play defense and limit their chances.
“Lumberton carried the momentum over and came ready to play today,” she added. “They hit a lot of balls hard tonight. The difference was the last inning when we got behind in the count and gave up a couple walks. The top of the lineup was able to roll over and capitalize.”
The lone bright spot offensively for the Lady Raiders was sophomore Paige Ransom’s two-run homer, her fifth of the year, in the bottom of the third inning. The ball cleared the left-field fence, scoring fellow sophomore Payton Chappell, who led off with a hit-by-pitch.
Both teams traded scoreless innings for a majority of the game, and Lumberton cut the deficit to one run in the top of the six following a Madison Canady ground ball back to Way in the circle, allowing Britt (double) to score.
Way ran into trouble with one out in the top of the seventh. Following back-to-back walks and a Richmond error, Kasey West unloaded the bases with a double to make it 4-2. A Canady double would score two more before another error allowed the final run to cross home.
“It just wasn’t our night,” Wallace concluded. “We weren’t aggressive at the plate like we were in the first game.”
Richmond (11-2, 9-1 SAC) will get back on the diamond Tuesday at Seventy-First High School (1-11, 0-9 SAC) at 6 p.m.
