ROCKINGHAM – It wasn’t the thrashing the Lady Raiders softball team gave Hoke County High School Tuesday night, but victory was never in doubt Thursday, as they finished the regular season series against the Lady Bucks with a 9-1 victory.
It was Richmond’s ninth win in the last 10 games, and it remained perfect in Sandhills Athletic Conference play. Playing their third game in as many nights, the No. 5 Lady Raiders (9-2, 8-0 SAC) collected 13 hits, two of which were home runs, to rebound from a tough loss on the road at No. 1-ranked West Stanly High School Wednesday.
Behind head coach Wendy Wallace’s philosophy of staying patient, yet aggressive at the plate, Richmond put together a string of timely hits to beat the now fourth-place Lady Bucks (9-3, 4-3 SAC). In the two games played between the teams, Richmond outscored Hoke County 31-3, and collected 25 hits (six of which were home runs by five different players) to the Lady Bucks’ six.
Of the 10 different batters Richmond sent to the plate Thursday, nine of them collected a hit, with Brianna Baysek, Owen Bowers, Savannah Lampley and Paige Ransom getting two each. Baysek and Ransom powered shots over the wall in the win, their second and team-leading fourth home runs of the season, respectively.
“Paige is on fire, and we’re gaining more confidence at the plate,” Wallace commented. “Owen got two hits and that’s a start for her. We took last night’s game (at West Stanly) and learned from it knowing we have to jump out early and score runs. We put the loss behind us and put the foot on the gas from the get-go.”
Over the last four games, Richmond has started to find its groove at the plate, and Lampley and Ransom have stacked the stat sheet at the dish. Combined, they’ve gone 18-for-31 (.581 batting average), with 10 extra-base hits, including five home runs (Ransom had a grand slam Tuesday at Hoke County). Together, they’ve also accounted for 19 RBIs and 12 runs scored.
In that span, Lampley, who leads off for Richmond, has jacked her season batting average up to a team-leading .553, and had a four-hit performance earlier in the week. She homered in three straight games, her most damaging a walk-off shot in the 10th inning against Jack Britt High School last Friday. Ransom, a freshman, is batting a cool .480 on the year and is tied with Lampley with 15 RBIs to lead the team.
Richmond didn’t waste any time scoring Thursday, as Baysek delivered the first of her two RBIs on the night with an infield single to shortstop Autumn Hardin in the bottom of the first. Bowers, who blooped a single into shallow centerfield off the end of her bat two batters before, scored from third to give Richmond a 1-0 lead.
Hoke County’s Alexis Blackwell erased the deficit with a lead-off solo home run in the top of the second inning. It was the Lady Bucks’ only offensive spark of the night, as they would only collect two more hits in the final five innings. Richmond ace Greyson Way (9-2, 1.93 ERA) faced just four over the minimum, pitching seven innings and striking out 13 batters.
Ransom hit a solo bomb to center field with one out in the bottom of the second, which proved to be the game-winning run. Lampley extended the lead to 3-1 with a line drive RBI-single to center, plating Payton Chappell from second.
After a quick 1-2-3 inning from Way, Richmond hung four more runs on the board in the bottom of the third inning to put the game well out of reach at 7-1. Baysek’s second home run of the season came with one out, and cleared the ball park in a matter of seconds. Back-to-back singles by Kayla Hawkins and Taylor Parrish allowed Ransom to belt an RBI-single to left field.
Chappell would hit into a 6-3 fielder’s choice to bring in Parrish, and Ransom ended the inning by rushing home on a passed ball.
Richmond would add its final two runs of the night in the bottom of the sixth inning. Lampley beat out a perfect bunt to the pitcher, scoring Madison Jordan (who hit a double off the base of the left field wall). Lampley then scored on a Way double.
While most of Richmond’s spring sports athletes will have the next 10 days off for spring break, the Lady Raiders are packing their bat bags and heading to the beach for the three-day Black Diamond Invitational tournament at West Brunswick High School. Richmond will open the tournament on Monday against Whiteville High School (1A), which it defeated 1-0 in a pitcher’s duel last week.
