ROCKINGHAM — Spring Break means no classes for the next week, but there won’t be as much of a break for the Richmond student-athletes who are members of the school’s baseball, girls soccer, softball and track and field teams.
Next week’s Beach Diamond Invitational at West Brunswick HS awaits both the baseball and softball squads, while the girls soccer and track and field teams are set to practice through the break in preparation for their regular-season finales.
The Invitational will be a chance for Lady Raider softball to redeem itself after losing in the tournament championship game in its last two appearances (2018, 2016) and Raider baseball to put an end to its recent three-game skid.
Thanks to four straight wins, girls soccer has already secured second place in the conference going into its idle week. Boys and girls track and field have their sights set on winning the conference championship meet once school is back in session.
Both the Richmond boys golf and tennis teams wrapped up their respective seasons this past week.
Here’s a look at how each team fared heading into Spring Break and what’s next:
BASEBALL (15-6, 11-3 SAC)
The Raiders are going back to the drawing board after a rough week.
They were still in good spirits after their 11-game win streak was snapped at Charlotte Christian last Thursday, Apr. 11, but being swept by rival Scotland in the final week of conference play was an unexpected blow.
Now, the Raiders have to shake off the thought of missing out of the regular season conference title — which would’ve been the program’s first since 2016 — and focus on bouncing back at the Invitational (Apr. 22-24).
If they were to run the table, it would be the Raiders’ second time in as many years being crowned champion of a Spring Break tournament. Last season, they beat Lexington Catholic (Ky.) 7-4 to win the Seahawk Invitational in South Carolina.
Richmond will face off against Morehead in the first round of the Beach Diamond Invitational.
GIRLS SOCCER (13-3, 11-2 SAC)
The Lady Raiders have put themselves in a great position.
A mercy-rule win over Seventy-First on Senior Night and a victory at Scotland on Thursday has them all alone in the conference’s No. 2 spot — marking the second straight season they’ve been able to finish runner-up to Pinecrest.
There’s still one conference game left on the their regular season schedule, however, as they’re due for a makeup match at Jack Britt on Monday, Apr. 29. The Buccaneers will be looking for revenge in that one, as the Lady Raiders escaped the teams’ first meeting this season with a 5-4 thanks to Morgan Hooks’ game winner in the PK shootout.
After the rematch, both teams will prepare for the SAC Tournament, which is set to begin Tuesday, Apr. 30.
SOFTBALL (17-2, 13-1 SAC)
Richmond fell to Lumberton a couple of weeks ago — its first conference loss during the regular season in three years — but has since ran off six straight wins and claimed its seventh consecutive regular season conference title.
That momentum, it hopes, will carry over into next week and result in four more wins.
It will be the third time in the last four seasons that the Lady Raiders will compete in the Beach Diamond Invitational. They advanced to the 2018 and 2016 championship games before falling to host West Brunswick both times.
Richmond is scheduled to play South Columbus on Monday, Apr. 22, and then face off against Whiteville (10 a.m.) and East Bladen (4 p.m.) on Tuesday, Apr. 23. The title game is scheduled for Wednesday, Apr. 24.
TRACK AND FIELD
Richmond’s girls and boys finished first and third, respectively, at New Century last week and then competed at Hoke County this past Wednesday to close out their outings at the four-team conference meets during the regular season.
The Lady Raider 4×200-meter relay team broke a 31-year old program record (1:40.60 seconds) and sophomore Jakerra Covington tied a school record in the high jump (5 feet, 6 inches) in Fayetteville. Ariel Brown, a junior, ran a time of 5:49 in the 1600m run and helped the 4×8 relay cross the finish line at the 2:30.00 mark in Raeford.
Seniors Preston Coker and Malik Stanback held it down for the boys team in the 100m dash at Hoke County. Coker topped the event with a blazing time of 10.48 seconds. Stanback was on his heels, clocking a 10.49 to finish in second.
It was a celebratory moment for Stanback, who tore his ACL nine months ago on the football field.
Next up for both teams is the conference championship meet at UNC-Pembroke on Thursday, May 2.
Richmond’s Luke Preslar, at the plate, prepares for a swing while teammate Garret Richardson, background, takes off for second base during a game at Seventy-First on Apr. 10, 2019.