The Lady Bearcats suffered a 6-0 loss to Richmond on Wednesday, but the coaches said the team played defense better than it has most of this season.
Like most of the other teams at the high school, Coach Terry Ponds has primarily underclassmen on his team, and most of his team doesn’t play travel ball like many of their competitors do. The team also had two injuries during the game, with one player, sophomore Sally James (#1), now out of the rest of the season after suffering a re-injury during the game, Ponds said.
The Raiders made three runs in the first inning, one in the fifth, and two in the sixth. “We just couldn’t manufacture any runs,” Ponds said of the Lady Bearcats. The girls made a good effort, but “we couldn’t get them together to get any pressure on them,” he said.
Still, both Ponds and assistant coach Hailey Jarman said the girls did well. “They played good defense for most of the game,” Ponds said. “The sixth [inning] was weak.”
Freshman Taylor Austin (#17) was 3-3 during the game, and freshman Cydney Livingston (#11) made one hit up the middle, according to Ponds. Junior Katelyn Howell (#3) hit a double and freshman Kelsey Brown (#14) hit a single. Kendal Diggs (#10) was one for three. “Cydney’s pitching is pretty good,” Ponds said. “But [Richmond is] a good team. Good teams can sometimes hit good pitching.”
Both Ponds and Jarman said the girls are improving, even if their 2-11 season looks discouraging. “We’ve battled all year long, and are definitely making progress,” Ponds said. “It doesn’t look like it on the record, but we’ve corrected some bad habits and changed a lot of little things on the side. Hailey has helped with that a lot.”
Jarman agreed. “We’re winning, it’s just not on the scoreboard,” she said. She played for the Bearcats while in high school and has returned to coach. “It might be hard to tell as an outsider, but I think if you know about the sport and about this team, you’d see it. If they had 10 more games, there’s no telling what they’d do. I think the light would come on for them.”
The improvements are important, but subtle. “A lot of good things are happening,” Ponds said. “Sometimes you’ve just got to be a coach to be able to see it. The general fan may not see it.”
Ponds believes the team will only improve from here. “If they stick with it and keep doing what they’re doing and keep buying in and stick with it, I think their future is bright,” he said.
Jarman said the key will be encouraging leadership for future seasons. “Some of these kids now will be juniors and seniors and we’ll have awesome leadership, and I think the team will start to mesh,” she said.
The girls will play at Piedmont High School in Monroe on Friday at 6 p.m., and at Anson High School against Cuthbertson on Monday at 4:30 p.m.