RED SPRINGS — After starting the season 0-3 with three losses in Three Rivers Conference play, the Red Springs baseball team was getting better game by game, according to coach Chris Howell.

“The guys were improving even though it was just a couple games,” Howell said. “We were inexperienced and were just trying to get as much experience through game situations as possible.”

The improvement took an abrupt halt last month when the NCHSAA put all high school athletics on hold. The Red Devils’ senior class represented most of the starters, but followed a big senior class that also crowded the starting lineup last season, leading to the inexperience.

Seniors Kevin Bryant and Michael Bowen were contributors last year that were starting in the middle infield for the squad. Bryant announced over the weekend he was going to play baseball at Greensboro College next year. Dave Onta Wallace, Carl Locklear and Chandler McMillan were all starting in the outfield for the Red Devils in their final seasons. John Beasley and Cameron Locklear were corner infield starters and key bats in the order for the Red Devils. Terrance Scott was a common face around the football and basketball teams, and also was on the baseball roster for his final year at Red Springs.

Wallace and Beasley have plans in June to enlist in the military, and McMillan is earning college attention during the break from the season.

“I hate it for them to have that taken away because this year was cut short,” Howell said. “It’s something that we have never dealt with before. It’s an emotional situation. I hope and pray that we can come back and finish this at some point.”

During the break, Howell has kept in touch with his players and the conversations haven’t been solely baseball related.

“I’ve talked with them about once a week just checking in on them, making sure they are doing their school work and just trying to talk to them in general,” he said. “They seem upbeat, but the main thing is I’m letting them know that I’m here for them if they need anything.

“I care about their well being more than anything.”

The Red Springs softball team is the only spring sports squad that currently has a win after opening the season at home with a 17-15 win over South Columbus.

“That was a big win for us because I don’t know the last time, if ever, Red Springs beat South Columbus in softball,” coach Robert Dove said. “It hasn’t happened since I’ve been here. It was a great way to start the season, but then we went down to their place and came back to reality.”

Back-to-back losses to South Columbus on the road and then against West Bladen followed.

“We had a top-loaded schedule, playing some of the top dogs in the conference,” Dove said. “I felt good with how we started and I felt like we had a seed to start a decent season.”

The Red Devils have a strange situation with no seniors on the roster this season, but Dove is concerned about what the lost time could mean for the underclassmen that are all expected to return next year.

“Last year we were an extremely young team full of sophomores that are now juniors,” he said. “What they are missing this year is that season of experience so next year we will have a senior dominated team, but because they lost this year they will not be true seniors.

“We were thinking that next year with all these seniors for a senior dominant team we could see what we could accomplish. With what’s going on this is a big disadvantage.”

Like the baseball and softball teams, the girls soccer team needed in-game experience to help the underclassman nucleus grow. The Red Springs girls soccer team started the season 0-1 after a loss to East Columbus.

“We just never had the chance to see our full potential. I felt like we needed more practices to work on a better understanding of the game and we would’ve got better throughout the season,” coach William Judd said. “The hard part is we didn’t get a victory and it was cut short after one game. I feel like we would’ve been all right.”

The Red Devils had one senior, Maria Mendez, and she hadn’t played in two years. Judd said that her younger sister joining the team was a main reason for her return.

“She had great control in the midfield,” Judd said of the senior.

The rest of the team was mostly freshmen and sophomores that gives Judd hope for the future.

“That’s something to look forward to for the next two to three years because our better players were the ninth and 10th graders,” he said.

Judd said that this team also bonded better than other teams in the past.

“They were one of the most cohesive teams as far as you would see them walking in the hall together or eating together in the cafeteria,” he said. “I’d never seen a team like that before this year.”

Jonathan Bym | The Robesonian file photo Red Springs’ Michael Bowen squares up a bunt last year in a game against Whiteville. Bowen was one of eight seniors on the Red Springs baseball team.
https://www.robesonian.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/web1_DSC_0931.jpgJonathan Bym | The Robesonian file photo Red Springs’ Michael Bowen squares up a bunt last year in a game against Whiteville. Bowen was one of eight seniors on the Red Springs baseball team.
Baseball, softball, girls soccer reflect on capabilities

Jonathan Bym

Sports editor

Jonathan Bym can be reached at 910-816-1977 or by email at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @Jonathan_Bym.