Lumberton’s Tiara Stueck puts the ball in play during Thursday’s game against Scotland in Lumberton.
Chris Stiles | The Robesonian
Lumberton’s Halona Sampson throws a pitch during Thursday’s game against Scotland in Lumberton.
Chris Stiles | The Robesonian
Lumberton’s Aniya Merritt puts the ball in play during Thursday’s game against Scotland in Lumberton.
Chris Stiles | The Robesonian
Lumberton’s Alona Hanna puts the ball in play during Thursday’s game against Scotland in Lumberton.
Chris Stiles | The Robesonian
Lumberton’s Jaelyn Hammond puts the ball in play during Thursday’s game against Scotland in Lumberton.
Chris Stiles | The Robesonian
LUMBERTON — After a program-record 23 wins last year, the Lumberton softball program was prepared to test itself in nonconference play in the first week of the 2024 season.
The Pirates now sit 1-2 to start the new campaign after a 7-2 loss Thursday against Scotland.
“We wanted to play playoff-caliber teams in the first week of the season, that gets us ready for conference play,” Lumberton coach Mackie Register said. “We played Hoggard and Scotland, both teams are going to be playoff teams and they’re going to make runs and stuff.”
Against both Hoggard and Scotland (1-0), the Pirates were held to four hits.
“Right now we’re cleaning up our defense, and our bats are going to come,” Register said. “Our pitching has been good enough to win games … we just haven’t swung the bats.”
After Madison Dixon’s two-RBI single in the first inning for Scotland, Lumberton got a first-inning sacrifice fly from Tiara Stueck and an RBI single in the second from Halona Sampson to tie the game at 2-2.
A Marissa Smith RBI single gave Scotland a 3-2 lead in the third before a Dawson Blue two-run homer to left-center field extended the Scots’ lead to 5-2 in the fourth. The Scots scored twice more in the fifth on a Kinsey Hamilton sacrifice fly and an Addie Johnson RBI single.
“They hit two balls hard; other than that they had some seeing-eye singles and some bloops in some timely spots, and we didn’t get that same thing,” Register said. “We struck out way too much, but we struck them out 11 times too.”
Halona Sampson took the loss for the Pirates, allowing nine hits with 11 strikeouts and two walks.
Aniya Merritt, Alyssa Stone, Ava Hanna and Sampson had hits for Lumberton, with Merritt and Hanna coming around to score the Pirates’ two runs.
Avery Stutts allowed two runs on four hits with 11 strikeouts against just one walk in the circle for Scotland.
Johnson had three hits and Blue, Dixon and Smith had two apiece for Scotland; Johnson and Blue each scored twice.
Lumberton begins United-8 Conference play Tuesday at Cape Fear.
“We’re going to be there,” Register said. “Next week’s when (conference play) starts, next Tuesday. I’m not upset about losing the two games and being 1-2; I know we’ll be there at the end.”
Sports editor Chris Stiles can be reached at 910-816-1977 or by email at [email protected]. You can follow him on X/Twitter at @StilesOnSports.
