ROCKINGHAM — After dropping the first two meetings against Hoke County High School this season, the Lady Raider softball team has earned back-to-back wins when they mattered most.
Kicking off the North Carolina High School Athletic Association 4A East playoffs on Tuesday, the No. 8 Lady Raiders bounced the No. 25 Lady Bucks 4-2.
It was deja vu for senior shortstop Allyiah Swiney, who led off the home half of the first inning with a solo home run.
The first of her two longballs in the win, Swiney also hit a leadoff dinger against Hoke County in the conference tournament last week.
Richmond jumped out to a 3-0 lead after the first two innings, and added an insurance run in the bottom of the fifth.
Junior pitcher Quston Leviner threw a complete game, and allowed two earned runs on five hits. She also struck out three batters.
After a 1-2-3 top of the first inning, Swiney got things started with an opposite field home run in the home half.
Facing starting pitcher Tamarah Lowery (6.0 innings, eight hits, four runs, five strikeouts), Swiney skied a shot over the right field wall on 3-1 count.
Adding an RBI single in the first to help her cause was Leviner, who barreled a single up the middle to score senior Kenleigh Frye (single).
Freshman Jakayla Steele extended Richmond’s lead in the bottom of the second, lasering an RBI double off the left field fence. Scoring from second was sophomore Christi Jacobs, who led off the inning with a hit-by-pitch.
Freshman Jakayla Steele stands on second base following her RBI double in the second. (Kyle Pillar/The Richmond Observer)
Leviner retired the Lady Bucks (15-12) in order in the top of the third, before surrendering a two-run homer to Lowery in the top of the fourth.
With runners on first and second in the top of the fifth and one out, Leviner worked out of a jam to preserve the lead.
Jacobs caught a fly ball in right field for the second out and junior first baseman Makayla Parks snagged a pop out in foul territory to end the threat.
Putting the exclamation point on the win, Swiney hit a one-out solo shot to center field in the home half. It was her sixth homer of the season, tying her with Frye for the team lead.
Richmond sealed the deal with an inning-ending double play in the sixth and a 1-2-3 inning in the seventh. Parks caught a pop up near first base for the final out.
Advancing to the second round, the No. 8 Lady Raiders (15-5) will get another chance to host a home game on Friday. Making the trip to Rockingham will be No. 24 Holly Springs High School.
Dating back to the 2012 season, the Lady Raiders have made it to the second round of the playoffs during each year they made the postseason (2012-2019, 2022).
Friday’s meeting, according to MaxPreps, will be the first matchup between the Lady Raiders and Lady Golden Hawks on the softball field.
Holly Springs (12-9) upset No. 9 Cardinal Gibbons High School 3-2 in the first round. Action will begin at 7 p.m. on Friday at home.
Sophomore Christi Jacobs records the second out of the fifth inning, holding a runner at second. (Kyle Pillar/The Richmond Observer)
