ROCKINGHAM — Although the high school softball season doesn’t officially start until the end of February, several members of the Lady Raider programs took to field this week to spruce up the ballpark.
The biggest project on hand was remodeling and repainting the home dugout along the third base line. Over a half dozen players, including seniors Kayla Hawkins and Madison Jordan, juniors Payton Chappell and Paige Ransom, sophomores Kenleigh Frye, Kassie Smith and Allyiah Swiney and freshman Ashton Alexander, turned out for the project.
First-year head coach Mike Way explained that there had been discussion this fall of redoing the home dugout. Earlier this week Hawkins, the team’s catcher and a Coker University signee, messaged Way and asked to paint on Thursday.
With the help of her dad, Keith Hawkins, along with Smith’s dad, Jeff Smith, among others, the team removed the racks on the back wall and cleaned out the dugout. They painted a three-layer scheme of kelly green, gold and white to give the home dugout a fresh new look.
“This was all Keith,” Way said of the project. “The dugout looks really good, and I’m really pleased with how well it turned out.”
Contributed photo: the new paint scheme of the Lady Raiders’ home dugout.
Since being named the program’s new head coach over the summer, Way has been busy working on several aspects of the field. With the help of assistant coach Andy Shuler and Danny Lampley, one of the biggest undergoings has been to reconfigure the infield.
“We’ve spent a lot of time reconfiguring the infield a little bit,” Way shared. ”The work on the infield has been to work on some drainage problems, and we’re still working on getting everything settled.”
The sod that has been pulled from the infield has been moved to the left field line to fill in the warning track between the fence and the left field grass. Way said the ultimate goal is to sod in the track from the foul line to the fence on both sides of the field.
Other new additions to the field this offseason have been a new home plate and pitching rubber. Way said another future project will be to update the visitors’ dugout along the first base line.
“This is all part of just trying to change some things,” Way said. “The dugout project was a personal need for the team because it was really cramped in there. All of this is just part of a new start for the program.
“Eventually we’re hoping to add locker rooms behind the dugout,” he closed. “There are many other things we want to do before the season starts, and we’re meeting on Monday to address some more things.”
