FAIRMONT — With a very young team, Fairmont baseball coach Sandy Thorndyke saw this season as a chance to give his team some invaluable in-game experience.
That all changed when the North Carolina High School Athletic Association suspended the season earlier this month with a return date still up in the air if it will ever happen this school year.
“We started off 2-0 with a very young squad and the main thing was just about getting them some game experience,” Thorndyke said. “I have five sophomores and two freshmen that were going to play significant time.”
The core group of underclassmen included returning sophomore starters Colby Thorndyke, Cam Hodge and Stevie Smith along with a pair of sophomore transfers in Jacob Conner and Jaridan Finch. Freshmen Noah Parker and Malachi Gales were also seeing the field in the two games for the Golden Tornadoes.
That 2-0 start for Fairmont included a win over West Bladen on the Monday and West Columbus on the Tuesday before all athletic events were called off on that Thursday, March 12 for all county schools. The eight-inning win over the Vikings gave Sandy Thorndyke a glimpse of some intangibles of the team.
“It was good to see those kids battle. We went up against their ace, who is going to Carolina, and were down 5-1 in our last at-bat, but the kids didn’t give up,” Thorndyke said. “Another good part is we will mostly have the same kids for the next two years.”
The seniors were expected to take on bigger roles with the team this season after working for their rightful place over the last three seasons.
Thorndyke said that Michael Richardson was going to be the lead-off batter for Fairmont and the most valuable player on the team as he had one final season to try and draw college programs’ attention. Juwan Scott and Mason Thomas both were going to see more playing time, according to Thorndyke and Jamearos McLeod was a South Robeson product that didn’t get a chance to take the field in the two games.
The veteran coach is taking an optimistic view on the short time the team got if that does end up as the only time they get to take the field.
“Two games is better than no games so that’s one way to make it positive,” Thorndyke said. “The seniors were disappointed, but what made it a little easier for the kids to handle as it was a statewide thing. We still stay in touch but that’s about it.”
Thorndyke and softball coach Donnie Carter still maintain the fields at Fairmont for the time being to stay prepared for possibly when the moment they have optimistically hoping for does come to fruition.
Carter was coaching his first season with Fairmont after serving as the softball coach at South Robeson before the schools merged. Fairmont’s softball team was 1-1 after defeating West Columbus by run rule before the suspension of the season and Carter said he felt good about the direction of the team.
“From what we saw, this team looked like it had the potential to be good with speed, power, ability to hit the ball and our outfielders were one of the fastest outfield groups I’ve ever had,” he said. “The biggest thing that bothers me is they didn’t get a chance to play.”
On top of learning a new crop of players, Carter also had to balance the transition with rivals becoming teammates. Because of the mixed group of seniors had players from South Robeson and some at Fairmont before this season, Carter said the transition was already made when the team started the season.
“The biggest thing was making sure all the kids adjusted, especially the South Robeson crowd at a new school. The seniors helped make sure that transition well,” he said. “Given the situation, some of them were South Robeson players and some were from Fairmont, but the leadership couldn’t have been better. It could’ve been awkward with two groups coming together, but they made everybody feel like they were all one team. The seniors were ones that led that.”
Former South Robeson players Haliya Williamson, Kerosen Riveira and Effie Oxendine gelled with Ashton Turner and Kaitlyn Hunt to help the cohesion of the group. The five were also leaders on the field with their play as well. Hunt knocked a Grand Slam in her first at-bat of the season during the loss to open the season against West Bladen while the three former Mustangs were expected to be big pieces at the plate and in the circle for the Golden Tornadoes.
Carter also said underclassmen like Santana Anderson and Makoa Riveira were going to leave an impression on this season.
For now, all spring sports athletes and coaches can do is sit and ponder about the what ifs of this season and Carter has several scenarios in his mind.
“It came about so quickly and I was disappointed for the ladies looking forward to the season. The seniors were especially disappointed,” Carter said. “I was disappointed for me with new players, new school and new environment and I was looking forward to a new season where we could accomplish new things that the program hadn’t accomplished in several years.”
