ROCKINGHAM — With Monday’s non-conference game knotted at five runs to start the bottom of the seventh inning, the Lady Raider softball team manufactured the game-winning run to celebrate its seniors on senior night.
Hosting Uwharrie Charter Academy, Richmond earned a 6-5 win on a walk-off wild pitch.
Junior Allyiah Swiney, who led off the inning by beating out an infield single, raced home when Uwharrie Charter’s pitcher Mollie Bulla threw a ball high to the back stop.
Using her speed, Swiney slid under the tag to end the game. To set up the game-winning run, Swiney stole second, one of her three swipes in the game, and was moved to third by tagging up on a Kenleigh Frye fly out to right.
“It was a well-earned win and we scratched out that final run,” head coach Mike Way said. “Allyiah hit a home run early on, but the rest of the runs, we fought for. We got one here and one there, and that’s our mentality.
“Our game plan is to always get the leadoff runner on, and Allyiah did that in the seventh,” he added. “That makes all the difference in the world. If it’s her, Kenleigh or Payton (Chappell) who reach base with no outs, we’re going to score a lot of the time because of their speed to steal bases or we’ll put the ball in play to move them around.”
Prior to the opening pitch, the Lady Raiders honored their three seniors: Payton Chappell (third base) and Paige Ransom (pitcher), both four-year starters, and Kearston Bruce (pitcher), a Bridgewater College commit, who played two and a half years at the varsity level.
“Payton said her favorite memory was a walk-off hit on senior night against Scotland her freshman year, and that shows that it’s not just the seniors who remember these wins,” Way said. “It’s a heck of a lot better of a memory that it was 6-5 us and not them. All three seniors have contributed a lot.
“It’s crazy how time flies,” he added. “I remember standing along the fence watching Payton and Paige play as freshmen and it felt like it was two weeks ago. They are both four-year players and that’s nothing to sneeze at. Kearston’s couple of years on varsity have been cut short, but she pitched well when we needed her to.”
Left to right: seniors Payton Chappell, Paige Ransom and Kearston Bruce. (Michelle Parrish)
Ransom got the start in the circle for the Lady Raiders, and pitched three innings. She gave up three earned runs on three hits, while striking out two batters. Sophomore Quston Leviner pitched the final four innings, and gave up just two runs on five hits and punched out six.
“It was a really proud moment for me to start on senior night,” Ransom smiled. “With it being my senior year, that was it for me. It was a good way to finish it out for our last home game.”
The Lady Raiders took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first when Swiney (walk) scored the first of her team-high four runs on a wild pitch. Bulla pitched a complete game for Uwharrie Charter, giving up six runs (five earned) on seven hits with 12 Ks.
Answering in the top of the second with a run were the Lady Eagles on a passed ball.
With one out and Bruce (walk) on first base to start the third, Swiney took Bulla’s second offering deep over the center field fence for a two-run blast. Swiney’s team-leading fourth homer of the spring put the Lady Raiders up 3-1.
Four runs by Uwharrie Charter in the top of the fourth flipped the script, 5-3, but Swiney and Frye would respond in the bottom of the fifth to tie the game.
Swiney drew a one-out walk, stole second and trotted home safely when Frye lasered an RBI double to the left field corner. Frye advanced to third on a ground out and knotted the game on another wild pitch from Bulla.
With two outs and a runner on first in the top of the seventh, Way gambled by intentionally walking two Lady Eagles to load the bases. It paid off as Leviner got Bulla to hit a grounder to end the inning, seeing Bruce at second flip the ball to Katie Way at first for the easy putout.
“It was a good way to go out with a win on our home field,” Chappell said. “The momentum was really on our side and we didn’t let being tied in the seventh defeat us.”
“For a 1A team, they were really good,” Way said. “Their pitcher was good and they had some hitters.
“It was a tough game and I wish we would have played them earlier in the season to prepare us a little better. But we played with the urgency we needed to tonight, and it was good to see.”
Bruce, who missed most of the season with an ankle injury, returned to the lineup for the first time since March 29. To get to play on her home field one last time meant a lot to her.
“It felt great to be back, and I wish it was two weeks instead of four weeks,” Bruce said. “But I’m glad to be able to get back out here and play with my teammates at home one last time.
“The win will help us heading into our game with Scotland because it was a good win against a good team,” she added. “Now we are going to take that momentum with us to Scotland.”
Fourth-place Richmond (7-5, 6-5 SAC) will conclude its regular season on Wednesday with a trip to third-place Scotland High School (8-3 SAC). On April 6, the Lady Scots defeated the Lady Raiders 9-3, pulling away late.
Current playoff projections have the Lady Raiders as one of the first 10 teams to not qualify for the 4A state tournament.
