Softball season locally is in full swing, with the staple of spring break on the horizon as the Robeson County Slugfest begins on Saturday. United-8 Conference teams are several games into conference play, while Southeastern Athletic Conference programs began league play Tuesday night.
With a large chunk of the season now in the books, and some big games coming up soon, here is a look at each Robeson County team’s progress thus far this season, listed alphabetically.
Fairmont Golden Tornadoes
Fairmont (1-6, 0-2 Southeastern) fields a young team this spring, looking to grow into and through the season with several freshmen in the starting lineup.
Key returners for the Golden Tornadoes include Kimberleigh Stevens, a 2023 All-County selection, Madalyn Godwin, Skyler McNeill, Sydney Bass and Kensley Newberry.
The Golden Tornadoes have played three of their first five games against schools from larger classifications, and a fourth against 2023 1A East Regional runner-up East Columbus. Fairmont outscored West Columbus 15-0 on March 19 for its only win of the season; the Golden Tornadoes average 5.0 runs per game, though they’ve struggled with run prevention and are allowing nearly 12 per contest.
Fairmont will face East Columbus again in its Robeson County Slugfest opener at 1 p.m. Saturday at Lumberton.
Attempts to reach Fairmont coach Donnie Carter for this story were unsuccessful.
Lumberton Pirates
After a program-record 21 wins last season, Lumberton (10-2, 7-0 United-8) is off to another strong start, having won its last nine games after Tuesday’s win over Purnell Swett.
“We’re playing pretty good. We’re still working on some things; we’ve got to get better in some areas,” Pirates coach Mackie Register said. ‘Hopefully going into the Slugfest we’ll get some things worked out and get back rolling for that second half of the season.”
Lumberton has scored 12 straight games in five consecutive games and six of its last seven.
“We’ve got some girls catching fire after a slow start,” Register said. “Which, hitting is usually behind at the beginning of the year, and we did the same thing last year, we started out slow and then started peaking towards about this time.”
That success is led by lineup catalysts Aniya Merritt and Alyssa Stone atop the lineup card, and the “two-headed monster” of Tiara Stueck and Alona Hanna driving in runs in the heart of the order. The Pirates are also getting production from the bottom half with “little things,” Register said, such as Carlee Register leading the team in walks, hit by pitches and sacrifice bunts and Jaelyn Hammond getting on base.
Halona Sampson is the Pirates’ No. 1 pitcher, while Ava Hanna has given Sampson a break with some key innings throughout the season.
The Pirates look to do one better than last year’s Slugfest runner-up finish — they host the tournament and will face North Brunswick at 7 p.m. in Saturday’s opening round — and hope that can also propel them through the second half of the season and to a deeper playoff run after losing in the second round in several recent postseason trips.
Purnell Swett Rams
Purnell Swett (4-5, 3-3 United-8) fields a young but talented team, with the goal for growth this season, coach William Deese said.
“We’ve got a lot of inexperience at a lot of key positions, but each game we play we’re going to get that experience,” Deese said. “Right now we’re 4-4, so we’ve played some good games and we’ve played some games where it shows that lack of experience.”
Early-season results have been a roller coaster, with all four of the team’s losses and three of its four wins decided by 10 runs or more.
“Those games have been up and down, and it just shows that … we’re getting better,” Deese said. “Even though I’ve got a lack of experience, we’re very talented. We’ve just got to get a few key pieces to get better and we’ll be OK.”
Jayla Graham, Tomya Hunt and Lanna Haggans have brought consistency in the lineup for the Rams.
In the circle, Deese is starting two freshman, Kamryn Locklear and Braci Woods.
“They’re going to be good, they’ve just got to get those innings and get that experience,” Deese said.
Ahead of Saturday’s 10 a.m. Slugfest opener against Red Springs, Deese provided the blueprint for what would be a good result for the Rams over the rest of the season.
“Finish .500 or above, to do well in the Slugfest and possibly make the playoffs, that would be a good season,” Deese said. “I think a 10-win season’s not out of the question. Just hopefully the pieces will fall in and we’ll be OK.”
Red Springs Red Devils
After a one-win season last year, Red Springs (3-3, 0-1 Southeastern) has already tripled that total through its first five games this season.
“They’ve already beaten my expectations for the year by winning three already,” Red Devils coach Chelsi Oxendine said. “We’re hoping to advance in the win column this season.”
Telinda Pate has led the way at the plate and in the circle for the Red Devils. Other impact players in the lineup include Ava Goins, a freshman, Kamarah Purcell and Emily Brooks.
“As long as we can put our bat on the ball and keep our heads in there we should be fine,” Oxendine said. “All I can do is be proud of them and hope we keep building with the young team we’ve got, keep advancing.”
Sabria McPhatter, who pitched a shutout Monday against Seventy-First, is the No. 2 pitcher behind Pate.
Moving into conference play, Oxendine hopes the Red Devils can be competitive at a level not seen from the program in recent years.
“Everybody’s young in the conference right now, so hopefully we can jump out early … as long as we can keep our heads up, their biggest problem is they get in their heads if they make a few errors,” Oxendine said. “That’s what I’m trying to build on this year so we can advance it into the future.”
After two Southeastern games with St. Pauls this week, the Red Devils open the Slugfest against Purnell Swett at 10 a.m. Saturday.
St. Pauls Bulldogs
St. Pauls (5-3, 1-0 Southeastern) hoped to use its nonconference schedule to build into league play, coach Phillip Tyler said. The Bulldogs began their conference slate Tuesday with a winning record.
They’ve done so by scoring nearly 11 runs per game.
“We’ve got in the cage and stuff and hit the ball pretty good, we’ve been working on that,” Tyler said. “Just relax and taking your time and having quality at bats. That’s what I try to tell the girls always … don’t get in there and try to rush yourself.”
Hailey Ray, Angel Purcell and Yomaris Vasquez have been the leading hitters for the Bulldogs, while others have been productive but inconsistent, Tyler said.
Vasquez has also been the leading pitcher, while Jerzey Jacobs and Kayla Williams have also contributed innings to the cause.
St. Pauls also started well last year but struggled to a 5-7 record in conference play; Tyler hopes this team can better continue its early-season momentum through the second half of the schedule.
“We’ve just got to go continue to play sound defense and hit and put the ball in play,” Tyler said. “You can’t go up there striking out, you’ve got to put the ball in play. That’s what I always try to tell kids, make sure you put the ball in play, and that can help us continue our momentum.”
St. Pauls takes on Hoke County at 4 p.m. Saturday in the first round of the Slugfest.
