LAURINBURG — A week after opening with a pair of wins, the Richmond Senior High School girls’ bowling team lost two close matches on Wednesday.
The Lady Raiders continued Sandhills Athletic Conference play against Hoke County and Union Pines, which entered the day atop the standings.
In their first match, the Lady Raiders fell to Hoke County 5-0 behind scores of 72-155, 85-95, 107-125 and 98-100. The Lady Bucks earned the fifth point for winning the overall pin total by a score of 475-362.
Richmond collected just three strikes and six spares across its four games with Hoke County. Juniors Ashlyn Bouldin, Addison Massey and Cadence Thompson each had one strike in the loss.
Bouldin’s three spares against the Lady Bucks were a season-high for her, as Thompson, junior Molly Erwin and freshman Ava Thompson added one spare apiece.
“The girls struggled in the first matchup and I talked to them about making some adjustments,” head coach Ralph Butler said. “They started doing a little bit better, but they weren’t closing out frames. There were some difficult pick-ups, too, which was one of the problems.
“I told them to look at the arrows and stay on their line,” he added. “They did a little better with that in their second match.”
Junior Ashlyn Bouldin bowls during Richmond’s match against Hoke County. (Kyle Pillar/The Richmond Observer)
The Lady Raiders nearly made a comeback against Union Pines, winning the final two games. But the Lady Vikings edged Richmond 3-2 with a final pin total of 438-429.
Scores in the close contest were 100-120, 87-121, 122-109 and 120-88.
In that match, Richmond recorded a season-high 9 spares as a team in a single match, with Ava and Cadence Thompson, and Massey, all having two.
Erwin, Bouldin and junior Rylie Bohman accounted for the other three spares. The Lady Raiders also tallied five strikes in the narrow loss — Cadence Thompson (2), Bouldin, Erwin and Ava Thomspon.
“The girls were cheering each other on toward the end, and they were watching each other to see where they needed to improve,” assistant coach Lily Sager said. “They were aware of when they weren’t looking at their arrows or if their arms were crossing their bodies.
“They got better with some of the smaller technical things, and the girls started closing out more frames. Morale went up, and when that happens, we bowl better.”
Richmond (2-2 SAC) currently sits in fifth place after two weeks of play with 10 points. The Lady Raiders will play just one match against Lee County next Wednesday in Aberdeen, starting at 4 p.m.
