FAYETTEVILLE — Getting hot at the right time is something Richmond Senior High School’s head bowling coach Ralph Butler hopes to see his teams do.
And both of Richmond’s teams showed some late-season spark in their most recent match.
In action for the first time in two weeks Thursday, the Raider and Lady Raider bowling teams travelled to Fayetteville to close out their regular season. Competing against Sandhills Athletic Conference opponents Hoke County and Seventy-First high schools, the boys’ team went 2-0, while the girls’ team bowled to a 1-1 finish.
The Raider team began the day with a 4-1 win over the Falcons, and defeated the Bucks by the same score. Beating Hoke County “was big” for the Raiders, explained Butler, because it was a bounce back from an earlier season loss.
“We lost to them earlier in the season, so it shows improvement on their part,” Butler said. “D’Nautica Everett played really well, closing out about 70 percent of his frames today and picked up several key strikes.”
Also having a good day for the boys were Cameron Carraway and Evan Hudson, two of the team’s strongest bowlers. Butler noted that both bowlers closed out “over 50 percent” of their frames in the two matches.
The Lady Raiders weren’t as successful against the Lady Falcons, falling 5-0. But against Hoke County, they rebounded with a 5-0 win to even their day.
Senior Savannah Lampley, who has served as the Lady Raiders’ No. 1 bowler the past two seasons, matched Everett’s performance by closing out 70 percent of her frames. Rounding out the girls’ efforts were Jessilyn Hubbard and Josie Standridge, as the pair closed out just under 50 percent.
With the regular season in the books, the individual championships will begin this week. Up first will be the girls’ tournament on Thursday, Jan. 31, followed by the boys’ tournament on Thursday, Feb. 7.
Richmond’s season will come to a close on Thursday, Feb. 14, when both teams compete in the SAC championship tournament.
