St. Pauls' first girls soccer season ends in rout ST. PAULS — For the St. Pauls girls soccer team, Wednesday was, in a word, bittersweet.
The Bulldogs, who made the playoffs as the only 2A team in the Three Rivers Conference, got the excitement of a home playoff match, but also got the competition that comes with in a 10-0 loss to Eastern Randolph that ended at halftime.
But for coach Brent Martin, the sports’ inaugural season at the school wasn’t about the ending, but in the progress made ...
Lady Pirates move into second round LUMBERTON — When the Lumberton girls’ soccer team took the field in Wednesday’s NCHSAA playoff opener against South View, an opponent the Pirates had beat twice in the regular season, coach Kenny Simmons emphasized an early attack.
“We talked about wanting to come out from the very beginning, pushing hard and putting them on their heels,” Simmons said. “The fact that we played them earlier in the year and beaten them twice, I didn’t want the ...
Thursday's Roundup: NCHSAA finalizes playoff brackets FAIRMONT — Four of Robeson County’s five playoff-bound baseball teams and four on the softball side earned home games in Friday’s first round according to recently released playoff brackets by the North Carolina High School Athletic Association.
Fairmont (14-4), champions of the Three Rivers Conference for a fourth consecutive year, earned one of eight No. 1 seeds in the 2A bracket and plays host to Reidsville. Based on league seeding priorit...
UNCW’s BIG CATCH: Former Fairmont star Bass enjoying banner senior year WILMINGTON — See it and hit it. The approach at the plate for Michael Bass sounds simple, but it’s the result of countless off-the-clock workouts and strenuous mind games over the last three seasons that has catapulted him into college baseball’s realm of elite hitters as a senior. Coming into Tuesday’s game at N.C. State, UNC-Wilmington’s table-setter held a .404 average putting him just outside the top 10 for Division I sluggers. Pitch rec...
Monday's Roundup: UNCP's football opener to be televised The Lumberton and St. Pauls girls soccer teams will host first-round playoff games Wednesday at their respective schools, the NCHSAA announced Monday.
The Pirates (15-4-1) earned a No. 2 seed from the Southeastern Conference and will host South View (8-11-4), the No. 3 seed from the Mid-South Conference, at 7 p.m.
It will be the third time the teams have played this season, with Lumberton getting both wins during the regular season.
St. Pau...
Rams look for success at Monday’s regional golf meet PEMBROKE — When the Purnell Swett boys’ golf team started the season, coach Jamie Locklear heard plenty of people who were unsure of his team’s ability on the course. It left the question of whether or not the Rams would make it to their sixth straight regional tournament.
“They’re like ‘you’re not going to have to worry about this team Jamie. This is going to be the team that won’t make it to regionals, you don’t have the talent,’” Locklear ...
Crawford: Baseball an oasis for Hoke coach during ALS bout Mike Ray needs baseball.
Never one to complain or let problems linger, the game’s his outlet during personal times of torment, no moments worse than what he’s battled through this season from the dugout at Hoke County High.
Held upright by a walker, Ray’s not his usual self. His right foot drags the turf and he can no longer swing a bat for infield practice before games. Assistant coaches have taken the reins of in-game duties while Ray watc...
FRINGE: Swing for Life raises $19K The Southeastern Health Foundation held its 23rd annual Swing for Good Health tournament Thursday at Pinecrest Country Club, and per usual, the event served its cause.
More than $19,000 was raised for academic scholarships that benefit individuals planning to work locally after completing training for careers in medicine, nursing, and allied health.
The foursome of Donnie Beck, Tommy Britt, Larry McNeill, and Jeff Wishart won with a score of...
Concussion software added to county's athletic training program LUMBERTON — Starting this football season, student-athletes in Robeson County will utilize a new method when it comes to concussion evaluation.
This week the Southeastern Health Foundation donated $12,500 to SeHealth Rehab Services’ athletic trainer program to implement Impact, a computerized concussion evaluation system.
“We know how important it is for our student athletes to be safe and that they not return to sports after a concussion un...
Pirates lose 6-1 in SEC soccer title game LAURINBURG — The first two times the Lumberton soccer team played Pinecrest, it was close.
The Pirates lost the first game by one goal, the second by two.
But the third time was no more of a charm for Lumberton Wednesday as Pinecrest used slick passing and overall possession dominance to win 6-1 in the Southeastern Conference tournament championship.
“I would have liked to think coming in that we could have gave them a better game, a game m...
Red Springs seizes top 1A postseason seed in one-game playoff FAIRMONT — Red Springs coach Chris Howell worried his baseball team had lost its mojo after a non-enthusiastic shutout loss to West Columbus on April 9.
In the midst of a five-game slump, the Red Devils appeared to be headed south in the Three Rivers Conference after an unexpected 8-0 start shifted focus away from front-running Fairmont in Robeson County.
An impressive win at St. Pauls coupled with three victories over their final four games...
Wednesday's Prep Roundup: Scots down Pirates LAURINBURG — With two home runs, a team-based hitting attack, and a defense that refused to give up a rally, the Lumberton softball team saw many elements from a Tuesday win back in play on Wednesday night.
But where the Pirates played the aggressor in the previous round’s mercy rule win over Hoke, they found themselves on the opposite end 24 hours later during an 11-2 loss at Scotland in the Southeastern Conference tournament semifinals.
“T...
Rain washes out Three Rivers tournament LAKE WACCAMAW — Athletic directors and head coaches from the Three Rivers Conference convened Wednesday and decided East Columbus High’s fields were unplayable for this week’s league tournament due to recent storms. Instead of moving the schedule of games to an alternate site, conference officials voted on wiping away the baseball and softball tournaments in their entirety. Red Springs will play West Columbus today in a 6 p.m. tiebreaker at Fa...
Mistakes prove costly for Rams in SEC semis LAURINBURG — In Wednesday’s 3-1 loss at Scotland, Purnell Swett simply didn’t execute the way it had hoped.
Though starting pitcher Austin Lee Locklear threw a complete game and allowed only four hits, it was shaky defense and a struggling offense that hurt the Rams in the Southeastern Conference tournament semifinal game.
“We didn’t do the little things,” said Purnell Swett coach Bryan McDonald. “We didn’t play small ball and didn’t run the...
Lumberton soccer advances to SEC final LAURINBURG — Lumberton is moving on to the Southeastern Conference championship in soccer after defeating Scotland 2-1 in a semifinal match Tuesday.
The Pirates took a two-goal lead and fended off the Scots to set up a third meeting with Pinecrest in the final on Thursday night.
Scotland, which clinched a playoff berth after Pinecrests’ 6-0 victory over Hoke in the first game of the day, played another even game with the second-seeded Pirates....
Local Roundup: Lumberton softball routs Hoke LUMBERTON — Late in the regular season, Lumberton coach Mackie Register noticed his team was hitting too many fly balls, so the Pirates have spent a hefty amount of time recently on hitting line drives.
The efforts paid off Tuesday as Lumberton beat Hoke 12-2 in five innings in the opening round of the Southeastern Conference tournament, taking advantage of 12 hits and two home runs over the left field fence.
“Both of those balls were line d...
Swett escapes upset bid from Hoke in SEC first round Editor’s note: A feature on Hoke coach Mike Ray and his battle with Lou Gehrig’s disease will appear in Sunday’s print and online editions. PEMBROKE — Neither starting pitcher would give in during Tuesday's Southeastern Conference tournament opener at Purnell Swett. With Swett's Christian Collins staying ahead in counts and retiring the first batter of every inning with ease, Hoke's Jordan Virgil matched his counterpart with several popout...
Rain alters league tournament schedules PEMBROKE — Prep baseball on Saturday?
That’s not out of the question this week according to Purnell Swett athletic director Jerome Hunt who said Monday that the Southeastern Conference tournament could move to a Thursday-Friday-Saturday schedule if wet weather continues to flood playing fields in the region.
Heavy rain drenched the Rams’ home baseball field on Monday, site of an SEC first-round game later that evening against Hoke County. Co...
St. Pauls wrestling gets $2K in donations in first month ST. PAULS — In late March, members of the St. Pauls High School wrestling team came face to face with idea that they might not have a program next winter.
Citing a lack of conference support and budgetary concerns, the team and its supporters were told in a meeting with school administration that they would need to raise $3,000 privately by July to keep the program for another season.
“It was pretty hard to deal with,” said Jacobi Jacobs, a ...
