ROCKINGHAM — Paige Ransom, a sophomore on the Richmond Senior High School softball team, has been named the Official Richmond County Female Athlete of the Week.
The Lady Raider softball team is off to its best start in the past couple seasons, currently sitting 8-0 and atop the Sandhills Athletic Conference standings. Ransom is coming off another solid week at the plate, helping Richmond sweep Jack Britt High School. This marks her second career Athlete of the Week recognition.
Athletic Profile
Age: 16
Birthday: April 26, 2002
Year: Sophomore
Spring Sport: Softball
Position: Right Field
Years on Varsity: 2 Years
Height & Weight: 5-3, 130 pounds
Experience: 8 Years
BOMBS AWAY WITH PAIGE RANSOM
RSHS Academics: With the final nine-week period of her sophomore year underway, Ransom is enrolled in the Health Science cluster at Richmond. This spring, she’s taking Civics Honors with Teddy Moseley, Art Intermediate with Andrea McIver, Health Team Relations Honors with Angela Butler, and Biology Honors with Leah Melvin.
Her favorite class this semester is Civics, explaining she “likes history and the class is fun” and that Moseley is “a good teacher.”
Ransom is an A/B honor roll student who currently has a 3.6 GPA.
Future Plans: Still with a little over two years left until she graduates in 2021, Ransom is already putting together her future plans.
“I want to be a nurse,” she explained. “I’m going to do a two-year CNA (certified nursing assistant) program through Richmond Community College starting my senior year. After that, I may go back to be a registered nurse after I see what it’s like.
“I think it’s a good career choice and I want to help people,” she added. “One school I’m considering in UNC-Greensboro.”
Some things she hopes to accomplish while still in high school are “starting the CNA program” and “maintaining good grades” in all of her classes.
Athlete of the Week Stats: Richmond’s biggest test of the season was last week’s two-game series with Jack Britt, the defending 4A state champion. Ransom and the Lady Raiders held their own, sweeping the Lady Bucs and extending their winning streak against them to eight games.
Ransom did her part in right field, but did the most damage at the plate. In the two games, she went a combined 5-for-8 with two home runs, three doubles and four RBIs.
On Tuesday in the first meeting, the Lady Raiders rolled to a 10-7 win, and Ransom blasted a two-run shot as part of a six-run sixth inning. She also had an RBI double in the bottom of the second.
To cap off the sweep, Ransom knocked her fourth homer of the season in the top of the third inning Friday (she hit 11 homers as a freshman). The solo shot was the first of Richmond’s two home runs in the game, with Payton Chappell hitting the go-ahead dinger in the sixth inning to win 2-1. Ransom added two doubles, bringing her season total to five two-baggers.
Paige Ransom (4) connects on her homer during Friday’s win over Jack Britt.
RAPID FIRE – FAST RESPONSES
1) What’s been the biggest reason for the team’s success to start the season 8-0?
“Our team-building skills and working together as a group,” Ransom explained. “Not one girl is for herself — we all want to help each other.
“It was a very big deal to beat Jack Britt because it’s hard to play them,” she added.”Carlie Myrtle was throwing a lot fastballs inside, so I tried to catch onto that early. I didn’t start out as hot this season, and struck out a lot, but now I’m trying to make contact.”
2) What are some of the team’s goals this season?
“We definitely want to win the whole thing,” Ransom said of a hopeful state title. “We have a sour taste from last year. Personally, I’m trying to make contact and I’m not worried about the homers. But it’s good when it happens.”
3) What’s unique about this team? What’s one word you’d use to describe it?
“We’re younger,” she smiled. “I think with less experience we can be just as good or better than last year. We are a ‘hardworking’ group — we all put in work all the time the time trying to get better.”
Coach’s Corner: Head coach Wendy Wallace talked about Ransom’s streak at the plate, noting a small superstition may have gotten her hot of late.
“She switched to her old number after the first couple of games,” Wallace said. “She was wearing No. 9 but changed it back to No. 4 and she started hitting the ball really well. Paige was anxious the first game or two because she wanted to show that last year wasn’t a fluke.
“She’s back on track this year. Her secret is that she sees a strike and hits it,” she added. “Paige is much more of a vocal leader this season on the field and in the dugout. She produces at the plate and she shows the younger kids that it’s okay not to think too much about what you’re doing. She’s really blossomed in personality.”
