Turnaround season ends

Published 8:30 pm Tuesday, May 28, 2019

A turnaround season for Buckingham County High School’s varsity softball team came to a close Monday in the Region 2C quarterfinals as the Lady Knights, seeded No. 3 on the east (E) side of the bracket, lost 10-2 to host No. 2E Dan River High School after advancing past the first round Thursday.

“It was close going into the fifth inning,” Buckingham Head Coach Mark Christian said of Monday’s game. “… We had one bad inning, and that’s the way it rolled. As far as hits go, they had 10, we had nine.”

The Lady Wildcats gained a 2-0 lead in the first inning, and the score remained unchanged until the bottom of the fifth when they added their other eight runs. The Lady Knights scored their two runs in the sixth.

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“I’m proud of the girls and what they’ve done this year,” Christian said. “They faced a really good pitcher today, and they made contact. I think we didn’t have but six strikeouts all day, and that kid was throwing the ball at 60 all the time. I was impressed with their pitcher. They’re a good ballclub as far as hitting as well, and they put the ball in play.”

Each team committed two errors.

Buckingham had three players to finish with multiple hits: Junior Alivia Newton went 2-for-3 with an RBI, sophomore Morgan Randolph went 2-for-4 with a run scored, and senior Jayda Chambers went 2-for-4. Junior Tyshea Chambers also went 1-for-2 with a run scored.

Lady Knights junior Mia Garrett recorded a hit and pitched the entire game, throwing six strikeouts.

On Thursday, Buckingham hosted No. 6E Nelson County High School in the regional first round, falling behind early before rallying late for an 8-6 victory.

“The girls just came out flat, and I guess it took a while for them to figure it out,” Christian said. “The other girl was throwing a little bit slower than what we were used to, and man, it took its toll on us. But we finally figured it out, and the girls did a good job at the end.”

The Lady Governors built up a 5-0 lead after the fourth inning, but the Lady Knights tied the game in the bottom of the fifth.

“Shamari Wingfield is who really started us all off,” Christian said. “… When I put her in, I said, ‘Look,’ I said, ‘All we need you to do is turn the water on.’ And she looked at me really crazy, and I said, ‘One drop of water is all it takes, and it’s going to start.’ And I said, ‘You’re the drop of water that we need.’ I said, ‘Just turn the faucet on; that’s all I’m asking.’ I said, ‘You’re going to be the one who starts it.’ And she slapped a double into right field …”

And then the hits started coming for Buckingham, which finished with 10 for the game.

Nelson briefly regained the lead, 6-5, in the top of the sixth, but the Lady Knights added three more runs in the bottom half of the inning to go ahead for good.

Wingfield, a senior, went 2-for-2 for the game with two runs scored.

Garrett, who pitched a complete game and threw seven strikeouts, also led her team on offense, going 3-for-4 with three RBIs and a run scored.

Freshman Cadence Campbell went 2-for-2 with two RBIs and two runs scored.

Tyshea Chambers went 1-for-3, hitting a two-run homer. Jayda Chambers went 1-for-3 with two runs scored.

“It was a good win for us,” Christian said. “I was proud of the girls.”

Buckingham finished the season with an overall record of 12-8 after starting the year 3-7. The coach shared how he will remember the 2019 Lady Knights.

“I’ll remember them from a slow start, and we started playing to our potential towards the end,” Christian said. “We went on a nine-game winning streak, which I can’t remember the last time that the school has had a nine-game winning streak in softball. It’s been quite a few years. That was a heck of an accomplishment. We have a lot of kids that if they do what they’re supposed to do and return next year, it’s a lot to build on. I really hated to see my seniors go because they gave us a lot of speed that we haven’t had in the past … Jayda and Shamari both, they’re good ballplayers.”