ROCKINGHAM — A night after combining to go hitless at the plate, senior shortstop Savannah Lampley and senior ace Greyson Way redeemed themselves, helping the Lady Raider softball team complete the early-season sweep of Purnell Swett High School.
Thursday’s game between Richmond and the Lady Rams was moved up from Friday due to the potential of rain, and it was the Lady Raiders who brought the boom with the bats in an 8-3 win. Richmond also won Wednesday’s game 8-1.
Lampley and Way both hit solo home runs, their first of the season, off freshman pitcher Summer Bullard in the bottom of the third inning. Way’s shot was the 31st of her career, tying the program record set by Owen Bowers in 2018.
As a team, Richmond collected nine hits, four of which were for extra bases. The win marked the 15th straight time the Lady Raiders have beaten the Lady Rams (dating back to 2012), and made it their 41st consecutive regular-season conference win.
“We were a little more aggressive at the plate tonight, and I can tell we’re getting more comfortable up there, too,” head coach Wendy Wallace said. “It’s just a matter of us seeing more live pitching.
“I had a feeling Savannah would go 3-for-3 tonight,” she smiled. “It was a good night for her to bounce back. Her and Greyson want to do well every night, and they’ll have games like (Wednesday) where they don’t. But as seniors, they expect to be able to have nights like they did tonight.”
Lampley went 3-for-3 at the dish with three RBIs and was a triple shy of the cycle. She also scored a game-high four runs, and reached base in all four at-bats (drew a base on balls in the first inning). Through three games this season, Lampley has scored 10 of Richmond’s 32 runs.
Way was equally as impressive, also going 3-for-3 with three runs driven in. She added two singles to her homer, and scored two runs. From the circle, she earned her third win of the season, going seven innings, giving up five hits and striking out four batters.
“Greyson has been hitting a lot of pop ups in practice, but she adjusted tonight by staying on top of the ball,” Wallace said. “She did really good pitching and cut down on her walks. She got ahead of hitters early, and it’s tough to pitch back-to-back nights against the same team. Her change-up was the best it’s looked.”
After Way sat down the Lady Rams in order in the top of the first, the first of four times during the game, Richmond took an early 2-0 lead. A leadoff walk and two stolen bases by Lampley led to a Way RBI-single on an infield hit.
In the next at-bat, Taylor Parrish would reach safely on an error at second base, allowing Way to move to third. A Bullard wild pitch to Kayla Hawkins let Way safely cross home.
An athletic 6-4-3 double play in the top of the second inning got Way out of an early jam. Lampley dove to her left, pitched the ball to Kenleigh Frye at second, who turned the play to Parrish at first, who extended out to complete the play.
Lampley and Way were responsible for doubling the lead in the home half of the third with their longballs. In her at-bat, Lampley took a backside screwball and sent it to the opposite field over the left-center wall. A middle-in pitch to Way two at-bats later yielded a similar result, as her’s went to straight-away left.
Purnell Swett would cut the deficit to three runs in the top of the fourth when freshman Chandra Locklear hit a solo home run, the first of her season, to center field.
A three-run bottom of the fourth by Richmond helped put the game out of reach. Freshman Allyiah Swiney (error) and Payton Chappell (single) led off the inning, and Lampley brought the pair home when she slapped another opposite field hit, this time a double, off the base of the left field wall.
Parrish would bring Lampley home on a fielder’s choice back to the circle to new pitcher Jaileana Deese to push the score to 7-1.
Back-to-back hits by Chelsey Wilkes and Locklear, a double and single, respectively, in the top of the fifth, coupled with an error, scored the final two runs for the Lady Rams. Lampley would score for the fourth time in the next half inning on a Way RBI-single to shallow left.
Parrish finished the night 1-for-4 with an RBI, and the only other hits for Richmond came from Chappell and Swiney.
“Purnell Swett gets stronger as the season goes along, and they’re a great team,” Wallace closed. “It’s good to get two conference wins to start the season.”
Richmond (3-0, 2-0 SAC) is scheduled to play non-conference Uwharrie Charter Academy Friday.
