ROCKINGHAM — As ROSports’ “Top 10 Sports Stories” countdown of the 2018-19 school year reaches its midway point, the Richmond Senior High School softball team powered its way into the No. 5 spot.
Earlier in the countdown, the Lady Raiders also fell into the No. 8 spot with its Beach Diamond Invitational Win over West Brunswick High School during spring break. This time, however, a collection of games make up the No. 5 top moment.
Richmond has been no stranger to hitting the long ball the past couple of seasons, as the Lady Raiders flirted with setting the all-time North Carolina state record in 2018 and 2019. A season ago, Richmond blasted 55 home runs to tie Madison High School’s state record, and Richmond sent 53 shots over the fence in 2019.
The No. 5 moment narrows down the 53 dingers hit this season to a three-day span in mid-March, when the Lady Raiders teed up 14 home runs in three games.
During that stretch, Richmond played its two-game regular-season series against Sandhills Athletic Conference opponent Pinecrest High School, while squeezing Uwharrie Charter Academy in between for a non-conference matchup.
In the first Pinecrest game on the road on March 12, Richmond hit four bombs: senior Taylor Parrish hit two, accompanied by shots from senior Savannah Lampley and sophomore Payton Chappell.
A night later at home against Uwharrie Charter, it was five homers from five different players: Parrish, senior Greyson Way, junior Kayla Hawkins, sophomore Paige Ransom and freshman Allyiah Swiney. Way’s home run put her into the RSHS record books, as it marked her 32nd career blast, making her the all-time program leader.
To cap the rare feat, five more homers for the second-straight night from four players led to a rout against Pinecrest at home on March 14: Way smashed two longballs, followed by round-trippers from Hawkins, Parrish and Ransom.
The three wins saw Richmond outscore the Lady Patriots and Lady Eagles 36-3, and they were a part of a nine-game winning streak to start the season.
Click the photo below for the link to the original game story from the three-game finale, written by sports editor Kyle Pillar for the March 15, 2019, edition of the Richmond Observer:
