ABERDEEN — A pair of victories on Thursday kept the Richmond Senior High School boys’ bowling team locked in the second-place spot in the Sandhills Athletic Conference standings.
Rebounding from two losses last week, the Raiders bowled big games against rival Scotland and Southern Lee high schools to earn 8 points and remain within close range of conference leader Pinecrest.
The Raiders defeated the Scots and the Cavaliers by matching scores of 4-1, winning three games and earning the extra point for having the higher pin total.
Richmond took the first match against Scotland by game scores of 160-157, 206-143, 158-144 and 176-184 for a pin total of 705-628. Richmond averaged 176.3 pins per game and finished with 16 strikes and 13 spares.
The second game score of 206 matched the team’s single-game high this season, and the 705 total pins were the second highest score of any match this winter.
In the team’s second contest against Southern Lee, the Raiders rolled scores of 151-133, 178-125, 140-148 and 157-118 to win 626-524. Richmond added 15 more strikes and 13 additional spares to average 156.5 pins per game.
“Last week we were one point behind Pinecrest and we didn’t bowl well to fall a little bit behind in the standings,” head coach Ralph Butler said. “Tonight we wanted to refocus and have a strong performance against Scotland and Southern Lee.
“Scotland was sitting behind us in third, so this was a big performance to get the win against them,” he added. “Getting eight points in the standings was helpful and I feel confident in the boys’ ability going forward.”
Junior William White found a rhythm early and closed all eight of his frames against Scotland. He knocked down a team-high six strikes and added two spares, while senior teammates Alston Johnson and Colin Wheeler each registered four strikes and combined for five spares.
Seniors Cameron Way and Cody Eason each had a strike, with Way adding three spares. Dexter Mabe also helped the Raiders in the win, bowling three spares.
Richmond took care of business against Southern Lee, defeating the Cavaliers for the second time this season. Of the team’s 15 strikes, Way led the charge with five and White chipped in three more.
Eason and Mabe both bowled two strikes and one spare against Southern Lee, and Johnson, Wheeler and freshman Sam Thompson each had one strike. Wheeler and White paced the team with three spares apiece and Way and Johnson had two spares.
“We had 705 pins against Scotland and that is a number the boys are capable of bowling,” Butler said. “We got back into the groove of things tonight, and William had a really great night bowling.
“Guys like Cameron, Colin and Alston continued to contribute like they always do,” he closed. “And it was good to see big numbers from Dexter, Cody and Sam when we needed them to help the team.”
The Raiders (7-3) will compete in another SAC regular-season meet next Thursday against Lee County and Union Pines high schools. Action in Laurinburg will begin at 4 p.m.
