LUMBERTON, N.C. – Early Friday morning, MaxPreps released its most recent set of high school softball rankings. And while the Richmond Senior High School softball team had been hanging around in the two-hole behind Fuquay Varina High School the last two weeks, it finally surpassed the Lady Bengals for the No. 1 ranking in 4A classification.
The Lady Raiders also jumped from the sixth-ranked spot in the state (for all classifications) to No. 2, being outdone by 2A’s North Johnston High School (Kenly, N.C.; 12-0). In terms of strength of schedule, Richmond’s mark of 11.8 is over four points stronger than the second closest 4A team (E.A. Laney High School, 7.6) and is 3.3 points tougher than North Johnston.
And on the road Friday against Sandhills Athletic Conference opponent Lumberton High School, which is third in the conference, the Lady Raiders played like a No. 1 ranked team – after settling down in the middle innings.
Coming off a 13-0 rout of the Lady Pirates at home Tuesday, which included a nine-run first inning, Richmond hung double-digit runs again, defeating Lumberton 13-6 to remain perfect in SAC play. However, the Lady Raiders (13-3, 10-0 SAC) didn’t get off to a hot start and found themselves trailing by three at the end of the third inning.
After senior catcher Owen Bowers slid safely into home on a Morgan Britt wild pitch in the top of the first inning, Lumberton (11-5, 5-3 SAC) got the upper hand on Richmond ace Greyson Way. The Lady Pirates collected a walk, four straight base hits and a sacrifice fly to plate four runs in the home half of the third inning. Not finding herself in trouble very often, Way (13-3, 1.74 ERA) settled down and gave up just two more runs in the game’s final four innings.
“She (Britt) started throwing the ball well tonight, and our girls were swinging under it,” head coach Wendy Wallace said after the game. “So, we moved up in the box, and we were able to make contact with the ball. We made some adjustments (later in the game) and squared up a little better.
“We don’t really talk about it,” Wallace added about being No. 1 in 4A. “But we did mention it before the game. Last year we got ranked No. 1 heading into the conference tournament and we lost to Lumberton. It’s nice to say we’re No. 1, but that doesn’t change what we’ve got to do. We still need to win conference.”
Helping her team get a run back, senior Brianna Baysek roped a leadoff double in the top of the fourth inning, and scored three batters later when freshman Paige Ransom tallied one of her three hits and team-leading four RBIs on the night, a long single to center field. But Lumberton would add a run of its own in the bottom of the fourth, courtesy of a Kasey West RBI single. Up 5-2, the Lady Pirates seemed to be en route to give Richmond its first SAC loss of the year.
But then the Lady Raiders found the pop in their bats, finally figuring out Britt, who put forth a better performance Friday than she did Tuesday, when she lasted just 1/3 of an inning and gave up seven earned runs. As her players trotted into the dugout to start the fifth inning, Wallace made it loud and clear: it was the fifth inning and it was time to “hit the ball.” And that her players did, as they would score 11 runs over the next three innings, including four runs in the fifth and six more in the sixth.
Junior shortstop Savannah Lampley, who leads the Lady Raider in batting average (.556) and hits (30), led off the fifth with a bullet single to center field. Bowers drew a walk, and then Way helped her cause in the circle when she muscled a 2-2 pitch high and deep to left-center field, resulting in her third home run of the season. Hitting the roof of a gazebo, Way’s dinger tied the game at five and sparked a momentum change for the Lady Raiders.
“I just had to settle down, focus in on hitting my spots every pitch and take it one inning at a time,” Way explained of her pitching performance Friday. “When I walked up to the plate (in the fifth), I knew that I had to step up for my team. I cleared my mind and stayed patient.
“As a pitcher, you have to forget about what happened when you were on defense sometimes so that doesn’t get in the way of your offensive game,” she continued. “I just waited for a good pitch that I knew I could hit hard, and as soon as I saw it, I took advantage.”
Greyson Way earned the win Friday, as well as going 2-for-4 with a homer and three RBIs.
Ransom would add Richmond’s fourth run of the inning to regain a lead it wouldn’t surrender, by singling to left field and scoring teammate Kayla Hawkins from second base (who had reached on a four-pitch walk).
In their most explosive inning at the dish, the Lady Raiders sent 12 batters to the plate in the top of the sixth inning, collected nine hits (five singles, three doubles and a home run), and scored six more runs to break the game wide open. Freshman Payton Chappell led off with a single and moved to third on a double by Lampley (her team-leading ninth of the season). Both ladies would score on the next at-bat when Bowers, who has found her stride lately, traded places with Lampley at second with a 2-RBI double.
Way and Baysek kept things going with back-to-back singles, but Richmond was doubled up on a Hawkins infield fly rule pop out, and Baysek was tagged out trying to advance on the play. But no harm was done, as Taylor Parrish started a two-out, three-run rally with an RBI single to center field to score Way. Three pitches later, Ransom crushed her team-leading seventh home run of the season, a two-run shot to dead center field, and gave the Lady Raiders a 12-5 lead.
“When Paige came around third base (on her home run), I told her she took a few games off and I was thinking about taking her out of the lineup,” Wallace joked. “She’s been hitting well all year. Payton and Taylor had a good hit tonight. There were different people at different times who came up with big hits. It’s also good to see Greyson and Owen hit the ball well after not having the kind of year they’ve had the last couple seasons.”
West would add Lumberton’s final run of the game in the home half of the sixth when she hit her team-best third hit of the night, a double that scored Ashley Prevatte. Baysek would cap off the game’s scoring in the top of the seventh when she displayed her patience in an 11-pitch at-bat which resulted in a towering fly ball over the left field fence, a solo shot, and her fourth longball of the year.
Through 16 games this season, Richmond has hit 26 home runs by seven different players, and according to a home run calculator, are on pace to hit 42 by season’s end. The all-time school record as a team is 35, which was set last season.
In the come-from-behind win, the Lady Raiders tallied 16 total hits, including four doubles (Baysek, Bowers, Chappell and Lampley) and three homers (Baysek, Ransom and Way). Leading the team with three hits each were Baysek and Ransom, and the latter drove in a game-high four RBIs. To date, Ransom leads the team with 22 RBIs on the year.
After her early-inning struggles from the circle, Way settled down and pitched a complete game, giving up nine hits and six runs (four earned) in seven innings. She also racked up six strikeouts.
With the regular season winding down with sixth games left on the docket, Richmond will face SAC cellar-dweller Seventy-First High School (1-10, 0-9 SAC) twice next week (home Tuesday, away Friday, both at 7 p.m.). The Lady Raiders will also play non-conference opponent Anson High School (7-6) on the road Thursday (6 p.m.).
“We need to stay disciplined at the plate and hit strikes,” Wallace commented about the game plan for next week. “We’re still going to go with the philosophy that we’re not going to swing out of our shoes in front of everything, and try to keep hitting the ball up the middle.”
