ROCKINGHAM — Carrying her team at the plate and in the circle, junior pitcher Quston Leviner has been named the Official Richmond County Female Athlete of the Week presented by HWY 55.
Helping the Lady Raider softball team to the Sandhills Athletic Conference tournament championship game, Leviner proved to be a big bat and clutch while pitching en route to Richmond finishing as the runner-up.
This is Leviner’s second career selection, her first coming earlier this spring after getting the Lady Raiders off to a 3-0 start.
Athletic Profile
Age: 17
Birthday: Sept. 12, 2004
Year: Junior
Spring Sport: Softball
Position: Pitcher
Years on Varsity: 3 years
Experience: 9 years
“IN THE CIRCLE” WITH QUSTON LEVINER
The Lady Raiders played three games last week and defeated Lee County and Hoke County in the first two rounds to face Scotland in the championship game.
No. 2 Richmond cruised past the winless No. 7 Lady Yellow Jackets in the first round 13-3 in five innings. Leviner got the win, threw 4.2 innings and struck out seven batters. She also allowed just two hits.
At the plate, she had two extra-base hits — a double and a two-run homer. Her shot over the wall, one of four home runs by Richmond, plated two runs in the bottom of the third.
A night later against a tough No. 3 Hoke County team, Leviner threw a complete game shutout in a 2-0 win. It was her fourth shutout this season and Richmond used a pair of solo homers from Allyiah Swiney and Katie Way in the first inning to advance.
Leviner struck out nine batters, gave up two hits and stranded four base runners. She picked up a bases-loaded strikeout in the top of the sixth to end the inning and preserve the lead. It was the first time in three meetings that Richmond earned a win.
In the championship game, the Lady Raiders lost 4-1 to No. 1 Scotland. Leviner accounted for the lone run, hitting a solo shot over the wall in right-center in the second inning. It was her fifth longball of the spring.
From the circle, she allowed four unearned runs on seven hits and struck out four batters.
Through 19 games this spring, Leviner is in the top four on the team in several offensive categories, including batting average (.357). She’s tied for second in home runs (5) and is third in RBIs (21) and hits (20).
From the circle, Leviner has tossed 109.2 innings, won 13 games, struck out 109 batters and has an earned run average of 1.92.
No. 8 Richmond (14-5) is set to begin the NCHSAA 4A East playoffs on Tuesday at home against familiar foe No. 25 Hoke County in the first round. Play will begin at 7 p.m.
Junior pitcher Quston Leviner throws a pitch during the second inning of Richmond’s win over Lee County. (Kyle Pillar/The Richmond Observer)
RAPID RESPONSES WITH QUSTON LEVINER
ROSports: What are your thoughts on your performance during the SAC tournament? What allowed you to be a big threat at the plate and while pitching?
Leviner: “Going into the conference tournament, I knew Lee County wasn’t the best competitor, and because of that I didn’t pitch my best. So, I knew I had to be better against Hoke since we needed to win that game to help us in the playoffs.
“I was able to get ahead in the count, dig deep and trust my defense during the tournament. At the plate, most of the time I have someone on base or am leading off. I tried to focus on finding a way to get on and bring runs in.”
ROSports: The playoffs start on Tuesday and Richmond will play a tough Hoke County team. How will you and the team prepare for them to advance?
Leviner: “Our team feels really good coming off the win against them in the conference tournament. We had two homers in the first to get the win, but we know we need to hit it better to beat them again.
“If we’re focused on hitting the ball hard and minimizing our errors against them, I think we can win. Hoke is one of our biggest competitors and we want to even up the series when it matters.”
ROSports: What is a word or phrase you would use to describe this year’s team and why?
Leviner: “I’d definitely say we are a passionate team. Every single person has heart, plays for each other and is not afraid to help each other and clear each other’s minds.
“We know that we can’t win or lose by ourselves, so we encourage one another and keep each other up to play positively.”
The Richmond Observer will publish two more Official Richmond County Athletes of the Week next week.
