ROCKINGHAM – The postseason accolades for the Richmond Senior High School varsity softball team keep rolling in as five Lady Raiders were selected to the 2018 4A All-District 4 team.
With the team announced earlier this week by the North Carolina Softball Coaches Association, it was deja vu for the five Richmond players, as all of them were named to the All-Sandhills Athletic Conference team just two weeks ago. Seniors Brianna Baysek and Owen Bowers, juniors Savannah Lampley and Greyson Way, and freshman Paige Ransom helped headline an SAC-dominated lineup.
In conjunction with their general selections, Lampley and Way each earned individual honors. Lampley, a left-handed leadoff batter, was recognized as the District 4 team’s “Player of the Year,” while Way, a right-handed strikeout wizard, nabbed the title of “Pitcher of the Year.” It is both players’ first time receiving their respective honors.
Save for Ransom, who had a tremendous breakout season as a freshman, the other four Lady Raiders are no strangers to the All-District team. Bowers, Lampley and Way have each been named to the All-District squad for the last three seasons (Bowers during her sophomore through senior seasons; Lampley and Way during their freshman through junior seasons). Baysek has added her name to the roster during her junior and senior years.
“I’m very proud of the five Richmond players for making the All-District team,” 12-year head coach Wendy Wallace noted to the Richmond Observer. “Their hard work and dedication earned this honor. Several SAC players made the team which speaks volumes about the talent and growth of our conference.
The District 4 team is compiled of 27 players, and all but one player came from the SAC. That was South View High School’s sophomore third baseman and outfielder Mia Ayers. The other 26 players were spread out across five teams, with 4A state champion Jack Britt High School earning a district-best seven selections.
Selected by district committees formed by the NCSCA, both Lumberton High School and Purnell Swett High School came in with six selections. Hoke County High School rounded out the roster with two nominees.
“Continuing to place (so many) players on the All-District team year after year shows the talent, work ethic and high expectations that our program has each year,” Wallace added. “We want to continue to build our program every year to be one of the best programs in the state.”
And Wallace’s quote has the evidence to back it up, as the 2018 Lady Raiders had another historic season. After making its way to the Western Regional Finals in 2017, this year’s Richmond team managed to get back this season, while tying and breaking several records along the way.
The powerful Richmond lineup led 4A competition in several categories as a team, batting a 4A-best .403, while slapping classification bests in hits (329), doubles (83) and home runs (55). The 55 dingers the Lady Raiders hit (1.90 homers per game) tied the North Carolina High School Athletic Association’s all-time record, previously set by Madison High School in 2014. In their 29 games, the Lady Raiders also led the state in runs scored with 328, which is the equivalent of 11.3 runs per game.
Baysek, Bowers and Ransom all played a pivotal role in the offensive success of the Lady Raiders this past season.
During her senior campaign before heading off to Florida SouthWestern State College to begin her collegiate playing career, Bowers had a top-notch second half of the season that saw her come through clutch several times during the SAC tournament and the playoffs. A four-year starter behind the plate as catcher, Bowers cranked six homers over a four-game span in late going, including two two-homer games in the playoffs.
She batted .378 during her senior season, with a .549 on-base percentage and an .865 slugging percentage. She blasted a team second-best 10 home runs, and finished her career as Richmond’s all-time home run leader with 31. Bowers had 35 RBIs on 31 hits, 19 of which were for extra bases (10 homers, eight doubles and one triple).
Baysek, who was an integral part of a defensively sound outfield in center, improved drastically from her junior season to her senior season. Going from a .273 average in 2017 to a .412 average in 2018, Baysek was one of five Lady Raiders to eclipse the .400 mark.
She collected 42 total hits in her final season, which was third-best on the team. She was also third on the team in doubles (10) and hit seven home runs, which was fifth-best on the team. Her slash line for the 2018 season was a .412 batting average, .483 on-base percentage and a .754 slugging percentage. She’ll be attending UNC-Wilmington in the fall.
For Ransom, she exploded onto the scene during her freshman year by smashing an SAC-best 11 home runs, and broke Richmond’s freshman record (seven set by Way in 2016). She was two home runs off the mark for the most in the state. She led the SAC in slugging percentage (1.013), and Ransom batted a team second-best .473, with 35 hits and the second most RBIs (38). She played in the Powerade State Games in Greensboro, N.C., earlier this week.
Lampley Earns All-District “Player of the Year”
Lampley has been one of the most consistent players on Richmond’s softball team since she broke into the ranks in 2016. She’s made the All-SAC and All-District teams in each of her three seasons to date, and led Richmond and the state in several offensive categories this season.
The UNCW commit collected a team-best .535 batting average, had a 21-game hitting streak for a majority of the season, and led Richmond in on-base percentage (.629). Lampley also led the state in three categories: runs scored (56), stolen bases (36) and doubles (17). She also roped four homers on the season, with two of them being game winners.
“Getting Player of the Year is a huge honor, especially considering we come from one of the toughest conferences in the state,” Lampley said of her top-player award. “We also have tons of talent in our district. This award is definitely toward the top of my list. We had such a great season and so many memories were made — so being named Player of the Year for our district will always be special to me.
“While I still feel like we should have had more players named All-District, I am very proud of Owen, Greyson, Bri and Paige,” Lampley continued. “Everyone worked so hard this season. I am very proud of Greyson for getting Pitcher of the Year because she worked so hard last summer and during the offseason to make sure she could shut teams down during the season this year.”
Way Adds to Resume with “Pitcher of the Year” Award
Two weeks ago when the All-SAC team was announced, Way was named the conference’s “Player of the Year.” She adds to her already impressive resume by earning the All-District 4 “Pitcher of the Year,” thanks to her dominating performances in all 29 of Richmond’s games this season.
Way pitched every one of Richmond’s 177.1 defensive innings in 2018, collecting a 24-5 record during her first full year as the Lady Raiders’ ace pitcher. She led 4A competition in wins (24) and strikeouts (252), while keeping her earned run average (1.93) and opposing batting average (.180) in check. Way also threw four no-hitters, one of which was a complete seven innings.
Offensively, she batted .443 (third-best on the team) and plated a team-high 41 RBIs (led the team for the second season in a row) on 43 hits. She slapped 12 doubles and eight longballs, bringing her career total to 30 dingers, just one behind Bowers with an entire season to go.
“It’s an honor to be recognized for these things considering how tough our conference is and how many strong players we have in it,” Way said of her recognition. “It means a lot to me to see my and my teammates’ hard work pay off. I would rank the Pitcher of the Year award as one of the most meaningful (awards) because I’ve known for the past two seasons that I would be taking over the pitching role.
“I worked at it every day in the offseason and every day at practice to help my team as much as I could,” the UNC-Greensboro commit concluded. “And I had an awesome defense backing me up all year. I am so proud of my teammates — we all worked really hard all season on the field and in the weight room. Every one of them deserved it, and I am so happy for them and proud to be their teammate.”
The NCSCA All-State team should be released in the coming weeks, and the ROSports department will report on it if any Lady Raiders are selected. District 4 is comprised of the following counties: Bladen, Columbus, Cumberland, Harnett, Hoke, Lee, Montgomery, Moore, Richmond, Robeson and Scotland.
Below is a complete list of the 2018 NCSCA 4A All-District 4 team:
Jack Britt (7): Makenzie George, Kassady Hardee, Makayli Harris, Jessica McRae, Carlie Myrtle, Savannah Roddey and Rayven Shepard.
Lumberton (6): Morgan Britt, Madison Canady, Erin Maynor, Lee Ann Nobles, Rachel O’Neil and Kasey West.
Purnell Swett (6): Magan Barton, JaiLeana Deese, Kaitlyn Hunt, Kaitlyn Jones, Nakyra Mitchell and Madison Strickland.
Richmond (5): Brianna Baysek, Owen Bowers, Savannah Lampley, Paige Ransom and Greyson Way.
Hoke County (2): Alexis Blackwell and Jessyca Cardona.
South View (1): Mia Ayers.
