HAMLET — An expansion project that has been talked about for the last four years was finally approved for the Richmond Senior High School softball program.
In a special meeting called by the Richmond County Board of Education on Friday, the Board unanimously approved the construction of two separate facilities: an indoor hitting and practice building, as well as a new locker room for the Lady Raider players.
Currently, the softball program has no locker room near its field on the south end of campus, one of the only athletic programs at Richmond to be without one.
The idea for the much-needed structures was started by former longtime Richmond County educator Jean Way four years ago. The expansion project came to fruition after she helped obtain a grant that would pay for nearly half the project.
Way received $45,000 through a Cole Foundation grant, and the Board of Education’s vote was to match that amount. Additionally, head softball coach Mike Way added that “anonymous donors” contributed another $15,000 to the funding of the project.
According to Mike Way, who took over the softball program last summer, G.R. Kindley of Southern Builders, Inc. in Rockingham priced the project at $105,000. Additionally, Southern Builders will be the main contractor for the construction.
“We’ve had about five meetings ahead of time to get this to the Board,” Mike Way said. “My mom got the Cole Foundation grant that jump started the whole thing. Since then we’ve met with Dr. Jeff Maples, Mr. Dennis Quick, Jim Butler and Rob Ransom and the (RCS) maintenance department.”
The north half of Richmond’s softball complex houses an unpaved parking lot, and Mike Way said the indoor facility will be built along the northeast side near the current tractor shed. The hitting and pitching building will be 32 feet by 70 feet and run parallel to the shed.
Explaining that the manufacturing process of the building will take six to seven weeks, the head coach said he hopes for the “whole project to be completed by the middle of August.” The initial step now that the project has been approved is to “prepare the site and get the concrete poured.”
Some of the features of the indoor workout facility will be artificial turf flooring, indoor bullpens and several batting cages. Way said he hopes to have retractable nets installed so the space can be easily converted from a bullpen or batting cage to an open area for infield or agility drills.
Across the access road that splits the parking lot and the softball field, the new locker room will be built where the current outdoor bullpen is. Gone will be the outdoor batting cage, which will be replaced by an exterior bullpen.
The locker room, which will also have a restroom for players and a washer and dryer, will be 20 feet by 24 feet. Way said the size of the building could be increased, but that has yet to be determined.
“These types of facilities have become necessary, especially to keep up with the competition,” Way shared. “It’s all about trying to keep up and not missing days due to rain or cold weather.
“Both of these buildings are going to be a huge help to the program in general,” he closed. “We’re glad to finally see it approved and getting started.”
Currently, the Richmond baseball program has its own locker room near its field across campus, but Way said the hitting facility will be shared until another structure can be built in the future. He said it can also serve as an indoor practice facility for other programs like soccer.
This spring, the Lady Raiders only played three games before school and sports were suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic. They were 2-1 at the stoppage of play.
In keeping up with the competition and success, the program has won seven straight conference titles, made the state playoffs the last 13 years under former head coach Wendy Wallace and went to back-to-back Western Regional Finals in 2017 and 2018.
A name for the hitting building has been discussed, but nothing has been set in stone yet. ROSports will continue to update on this project as construction gets underway.
