ROCKINGHAM — The Richmond Observer’s “Top 10 Sports Stories” of the 2018-19 countdown is officially complete, but this three-part series will look at some other top athletic moments that just missed the cut.
In the final segment, the Richmond Senior High School girls’ soccer and basketball teams are featured, along with individual performances from senior baseball player Jake Ransom and freshman softball player Allyiah Swiney.
Now graduated softball players Savannah Lampley and Greyson Way cap the honorable mentions list. The events are in no particular order.
Lady Raider soccer downs Jack Britt on penalty kicks
Eighty minutes of regulation time and two five-minute overtime periods weren’t enough to settle Richmond’s matchup with Sandhills Athletic Conference opponent Jack Britt High School on March 12. Playing at home against the Lady Buccaneers, the game would come down to penalty kicks.
It was the first such instance since the new rule had been implemented this season, as the Lady Raiders used regulation goals by freshman Kaitlyn Huff and junior Valery Standridge to come back and knot the game at two.
In the PK round, Huff, junior Avy Lucero and senior Morgan Hooks would all boot a ball past Rebecca Karris in net for the win. Hooks’ goal served as the game-winner, and sophomore goalkeeper Kelly Hoffman also made two saves against Jack Britt. Read the original game story by clicking the photo below:
Lady Raider basketball holds off Jack Britt with late free throws
In his first season as head coach, Teddy Moseley wanted to work on several aspects of the Lady Raider basketball program — one of which was connecting on free throws down the stretch. At home against Jack Britt on Jan. 4, his team did just that in order to earn a crucial SAC contest against the Lady Buccaneers.
What finished as a 36-33 win for Richmond in a low-scoring defensive battle, senior Taliah Wall and junior Allexis Swiney hit clutch free throws in the final minutes to earn the win. Wall sank the go-ahead shot with 1:42 to go, while Swiney tacked on two more free throws with just 1:19 remaining.
A steal by freshman Allyiah Swiney gave Richmond the ball back, forcing Jack Britt to foul. Junior Layne Maultsby and sophomore Jakerra Covington iced the game with a free throw each. Read the game story by clicking on the photo below.
Ransom and Swiney find grand slam power
Hitting a home run in a high school baseball or softball game is exciting for any player, but to do it with the bases loaded adds a little more gas to the fire. Even more exciting, perhaps, is to hit more than one grand slam in a season.
Jake Ransom proved to come up big twice in a two-week span for the Raider baseball team earlier this spring. On March 5, Ransom broke the game open against Purnell Swett High School with his first grand slam of the season in the fifth inning. A couple of games later against Pinecrest High School on March 12, the big man unloaded for a seventh-inning grand slam that helped the Raiders defeat Pinecrest High School in a pivotal SAC game at that point in the season.
On the softball field, Allyiah Swiney solidified her spot on the team as a freshman with a pair of grand slams in the same game. Richmond traveled to Seventy-First High School to play a rain-out double header on April 10, and in the second game, Swiney hit grand slams in the first and fourth innings for a career-high eighth RBI night. The Lady Raiders combined to outscore the Lady Falcons 41-0 in two five-inning mercy rule wins.
Lampley and Way repeat as 4A District 4 Player and Pitcher of the Year
Two of the most successful players in Richmond softball history wrapped up their careers this spring after four years at the varsity level. UNCW commit Savannah Lampley and UNCG commit Greyson Way put the final mark on their careers with their second-consecutive All-District top individual award recognition.
Lampley was named District 4’s “Player of the Year,” while Way earned “Pitcher of the Year.” Both beat out nearly 30 other players for the top spots in the district as both juniors and seniors, with the pool of players spanning 11 different counties.
