ABERDEEN — A total team effort saw the Richmond Senior High School girls’ bowling team sweep its competition to start its new season on Thursday.
Returning six starters and using the help of two newcomers, the Lady Raiders picked up where they left off last season.
Competing against Southern Lee and Pinecrest high schools, Richmond collected a pair of 4-1 victories.
The Lady Raiders earned eight out of a possible 10 points to jump near the top of the Sandhills Athletic Conference standings.
“The girls bowled really well all day, especially right off the bat with a 187 in their first game,” head coach Ralph Butler said. “They picked up right where they left off and that’s really good to see.
“If they can continue to bowl the types of numbers they did today, like the early games against Southern Lee, they’re going to be hard to beat. When you get up in the 180s or 190s, you’re going to win most of your games. I was really impressed by all of the girls.”
Lady Raiders use 10 strikes to roll past Southern Lee
Like they did in both of their matches, the Lady Raiders started the day by winning three of their four games against Southern Lee. Scores were 187-135, 174-92, 103-127 and 117-97.
The additional point came courtesy of out-performing the Lady Cavaliers in the total pin count, which ended 581-441.
Five of the eight Lady Raiders who competed recorded at least on strike, including senior Ashlyn Bouldin and sophomore Ava Thompson, who both had three of the team’s 10 perfect rolls.
Thompson chipped in three spares across the four games, and Bouldin picked up two spares.
Senior Cadence Thompson, who served as the rotation’s anchor, contributed two strikes and three spares. Also knocking all the pins down were seniors Molly Erwin and Addison Massey, who had one strike and one spare apiece.
Newcomer seniors Savannah Jordan and Carly Leggett both had one spare, rounding out the team’s dozen pick-ups.
Through the four games, the Lady Raiders averaged 145.3 pins per contest.
Strong first, fourth games help earn win over Pinecrest
Facing one of the conference’s better teams in their second match, the Lady Raiders relied on timely rolls to also defeat the Lady Patriots 4-1.
Despite not bowling as well as their first match, the Lady Raiders won by scores of 123-98, 132-133, 112-109, 146-109. Again, the additional point came thanks to winning the pin total 513-449
This time around, Richmond only had six strikes. Three of them came from Jordan, who made her high school debut on Thursday. Adding one apiece were Bouldin, Leggett and Massey.
Another dozen spares proved to be the difference maker, especially in the first and fourth games. Ava Thompson led the way with five spares and Massey added three of her own.
Two more from Cadence Thompson and one each from senior Rylie Bohman and Bouldin secured the win.
“To go 4-1 against both teams is a great start to the season,” Butler closed. “And to do it against Pinecrest, which has one of the better bowlers in the conference (Catherine Vierwinden), made it a really successful night. I’m proud of all of them.”
The Lady Raiders (2-0) have two more matches next Thursday against Hoke County and Union Pines high schools. To be played at Laurinburg Lanes, the first match will start at 4 p.m.
