SOUTHERN PINES — The Richmond Senior High School boys’ bowling team opened its season Thursday with a pair of victories.
Sticking with its previous conference alignment, the Raiders held on late in one match and completed a comeback win in the other.
Opening the meet against Union Pines High School, Richmond erased a two-game deficit to win 3-2. The Raiders’ second match against Southern Lee High School also resulted in a 3-2 victory.
“It was good to finally get out of practice mode and see what we could do against two pretty good teams,” head coach Chris Larsen said. “Our team this year has more new faces than we’ve had in recent seasons and I think the guys adjusted well, especially those who moved into new roles.
“Our lineup isn’t definitively set, which allows for some flexibility to change things when we need to,” Larsen added. “That worked well for us today when we came back after getting down early against Union Pines. Today was a good starting point for the season.”
In its two matches, Richmond combined to close 43-of-87 frames (49.4%). Leading the team in overall closing percentage were senior veteran Owen Hancock (13-for-19, 68%) and freshman newcomer Trenton Woody (7-for-12, 58%).
Raiders rally in first match to defeat Union Pines
A slow start in their first match didn’t deter the Raiders, who managed to bowl well in the third and fourth games to earn a 3-2 win over Union Pines.
After losing the first two games 104-107 and 124-127, respectively, Richmond surged to the win with scores of 131-105 and 137-91 in the final two games. Breaking the tie for the winning point was Richmond’s pin total of 496-430.
Rolling nine strikes and 10 spares as a team, the Raiders closed 19-of-44 frames (43%) and averaged a game score of 124.0 pins. Hancock was the frontrunner for the team, bowling two strikes and four spares to close 75% of his frames.
Woody and senior anchor Azariah Daniel, a multi-year bowler for Richmond, each closed 50% of his respective frames.
Daniel closed out the fifth and 10 frames in all four games, ending the match 6-for-12 with two strikes and four spares. In his four frames, Woody had a pair of strikes, one of four Raiders to have two perfect rolls in the match.
Sophomore Mason Taylor closed three of his eight frames with two strikes and a spare. Chipping in for the win were seniors Tate Craven and Carter Visingard, who had a strike and a spare, respectively.
First, third games make difference against Southern Lee
A back-and-forth match with Southern Lee resulted in a 3-2 win for the Raiders, who again got the match-winning point thanks to the final pin count.
Game scores in their second match were 160-93, 133-134, 154-147 and 123-150. Richmond secured the final pin count 570-524.
Averaging 142.5 pins per game, the Raiders had a better overall closing percentage against the Cavaliers, going 24-for-43 (56%). As a team, they bowled 16 strikes and eight spares.
Craven bowled six frames and closed four of them (67%), all of which were strikes. Hancock was a few percentage points behind, closing 7-of-11 frames (64%), but he had a team-high five strikes to go with two spares.
Coming in clutch in the anchor spot during the third and fourth games, Hancock had four strikes and a spare, including three straight strikes to end the third game.
Woody contributed three strikes and two spares in his eight frames (63%) and Taylor added two strikes and two spares (50%). Daniel had a strike and two spares in eight frames and Visingard, who rolled two frames, had a strike.
With its two combined wins, Richmond earned six total points in the conference standings.
The Raiders (2-0) have off until after the upcoming holiday break and will return to the lanes Jan. 8. The meet will be held at Laurinburg Lanes as the Raiders will face Hoke County and Scotland high schools.
