LUMBERTON — The Lady Raider softball team continued its winning ways Monday as Richmond Senior High School recorded its third mercy-rule win in its last four games.
Extending its winning streak to four, Richmond used a seven-run fourth inning to break the game open, leading to a 15-3 sinking of Lumberton High School in five innings.
During the team’s current stretch of wins, the Lady Raiders have sent Pinecrest, Jack Britt and Lumberton home early in the fifth inning. Richmond’s bats have come alive, outscoring its last four opponents 47-7.
Entering Monday’s Sandhills Athletic Conference game against the Lady Pirates, Richmond head coach Mike Way said the Lady Raiders weren’t sure what to expect. But regardless, he said, his team was ready to play its style of softball and it resulted in Richmond’s largest win of the early season.
“We knew very little about Lumberton, and we were flying blind,” Way said after the game. “But I told our girls we needed to be ready and do what we do anyway. And if we play the way we’re capable of playing, like we showed tonight, it really doesn’t matter who we play.
“We have to continue to be the team that rolls downhill and stacks hits on top of each other,” he added. “Once we start hitting together, that’s when the home runs and the bunt hits happen. If we put pressure on them and they make a few mistakes, the next thing we know it’s out of reach for the other team. That’s the way we’re trying to play the game.”
Richmond tallied a season-high 14 hits in the win, including five doubles and three home runs. Eight of the nine starters had at least one hit, with senior pitcher Paige Ransom leading the way with three hits, including a double.
Senior Kearston Bruce, juniors Kenleigh Frye and Allyiah Swiney, and sophomore Quston Leviner all had two hits. Bruce and Frye, along with senior Payton Chappell and sophomore Macy Steen, all had one double.
Going yard for the Lady Raiders were Swiney (solo shot), Leviner (two-run homer) and freshman Katie Way (two-run blast), which was her team-leading second longball of the spring. Leviner’s shot was the first of her career.
Junior Allyiah Swiney was one of three Lady Raiders to hit a home run on Monday.
Steen led Richmond with three RBIs in the win, followed by two RBIs each from Chappell, Leviner and Way. Knocking in a run apiece were Bruce, Frye, Ransom and Swiney.
“We’re getting ourselves together at the plate,” Steen explained. “I’m happy to have started the season against Purnell Swett, which showed us what our biggest competition is. Even though we lost, we have used that to collect ourselves and we’re popping off at the plate a lot better.”
Ransom would earn the win for Richmond, facing the lineup just one time through the first three innings. She went 3.1 innings, allowed three runs (two earned) on two hits and struck out one batter.
Leviner pitched in relief the final 1.2 innings and didn’t allow any hits or walks, while also striking out one batter.
“I tried to throw outside pitches, which is what we’ve tried to do as a team this season,” Ransom explained. “My curveball worked well tonight, and winning four in a row is a really good confidence booster for the team, especially working up for Purnell Swett again.”
After stranding a runner on third base in each of the first two innings, the Lady Raiders plated four runs in the top of the third. Bruce, who led off the inning with a single to center, scored on a 6-3 putout on a Frye ground ball.
A pair of errors by Lumberton allowed Swiney (single) and Chappell (error) to cross home plate safely. Ransom capped the inning with an RBI single up the middle, scoring Katie Way, who also reached on an error.
With one out in the top of the fourth, Swiney took an 0-1 pitch from pitcher Halona Sampson and sent it over the center field wall for her first home run of the campaign. That started a hit parade in the frame, which featured six hits, including five that went for extra bases.
A double by Frye in the next at-bat was followed by an RBI double from Chappell. Two at-bats later with two outs, Ransom reached on an error, one of six by Lumberton in the game, allowing Chappell to score.
Leviner and junior Maylyn Wallace loaded the bases with a single and a walk, respectively, setting up a three-RBI double from Steen that found the gap in left field. Bruce added another run, scoring Steen, with a double to left field, putting Richmond up 11-0.
“(Sampson) was throwing a lot of curves and spins, and she finally gave me one that was flat,” Steen explained of her bases-clearing double. “The pitch was across the middle inside part of the plate and I just went after it.”
Sophomore Macy Steen recorded a team-high three RBIs in Richmond’s victory over Lumberton.
Lumberton (3-2, 2-2 SAC) would score three runs in the home half of the inning. A passed ball, followed by an infield single by Syniah Lancaster made it an 11-2 deficit, and Destiny Hunt later scored on another passed ball.
A pair of two-run shots from Way and Leviner with one out in the top of the fifth finished the game’s scoring.
“Paige and Quston pitched really well tonight,” Way said of his tandem of pitchers. “Through the lineup, everyone hit the ball well. I don’t want one player to be the focus — I want all 10 girls to be the focus during each game. If we play like we did tonight, we’ll be hard to handle.”
Senior pitcher Paige Ransom prepares to throw a pitch in the early innings of Monday’s game.
Due to Seventy-First High School not fielding a varsity softball team this season, the Lady Raiders (4-1) won’t play on Wednesday.
The next SAC game on the schedule for Richmond is a home contest against rival Scotland High School on Tuesday, April 6.
“We’re doing what we can to get ourselves ready for the rest of conference play,” Way said. “A few days of rest will be a good thing, but we’re looking to keep the momentum going.
“We will continue to play our game no matter who it’s against,” he closed. “We’re after playing well and playing right, and the rest of it will take care of itself.”
JV Lady Raiders edge Lumberton 3-1
The Richmond junior varsity softball team earned its second win in a row Monday, holding on to defeat Lumberton 3-1 in five innings. The game was called early due to the time limit ahead of the varsity game.
Lumberton scored one run in the second inning after loading the bases, but sophomore pitcher Syndey Smith followed with two of her 13 strikeouts to get out of the early jam.
In the top of the third, freshman Erin Fields led off with a double, freshman Addyson Hollingsworth drew a walk and sophomore Chaslie Holden reached safely on a bunt. Smith was hit by a pitch to plate Richmond’s first run.
Helping her team earn the win was freshman Ryelan Lyerly, who belted a two-RBI double for the game’s final runs.
Lumberton loaded the bases in the bottom of the third, but scored no runs after Smith struck out three batters in a row.
Head coach Jordan Fortune noted the JV Lady Raiders (2-1) “played well under pressure” adding Richmond “was able to get the outs we needed even when the bases were loaded.”
