LUMBERTON — All season long, Aniya Merritt got on base.

All season long, Tiara Stueck drove her in.

Both broke or tied multiple school records — and a team record for wins followed.

The two friends fed off each other’s production as part of a historic season for the Lumberton softball team. Now, the pair will share the honor of recognition as the county’s best.

Merritt and Stueck have been named Robeson County co-Players of the Year by The Robesonian, capping a season in which both played at a level rarely seen in Robeson County high school softball, even as they did so in two very different ways.

“Both of them complement each other well,” Lumberton coach Mackie Register said. “If Aniya doesn’t get on base, T doesn’t have RBIs; if T doesn’t knock Aniya in, Aniya doesn’t have the runs scored. It’s a good combination to have, and it’s sprinkled in there with some other good players around them too, so it’s a big team effort on that, to help both of them.”

Sharing the recognition with each other is meaningful for the close friends and longtime teammates.

“To share it with my bestie, Aniya, it means a lot to me,” Stueck said. “I grew up with that girl, and two best friends breaking records is, like, insane. I grew up with her, I put work in with her; we do everything together. I’m excited for me, and I’m excited for her.”

Stueck finished with 54 RBIs, the most in the state in 4A softball, to break Madison Canady’s previous mark of 42; the Pirates’ junior catcher also tied Canady’s program record with 10 home runs. She hit .455 and also had 11 doubles on the season.

“I’ve accomplished a lot, more than what I thought I could do this season,” Stueck said. “But next season, I want to double all the numbers, and the records, and break even more records.”

Stueck’s power was often showcased against even the strongest pitching faced by the Pirates this season, making her a threat to leave the yard or hit the gap in every at-bat.

“You could see glimpses of it last year, where she was coming out of her shell, and something clicked with her,” Register said. “T’s so humble, and she does it for the team, she really does. She just, whatever we need to do to win, she tries to do it — but that also benefits her. So she’s just a really good team player.”

“My power, it comes from work ethic, being in the weight room 24/7, getting reps in every day, running,” Stueck said. “When you’re in the box, you know you have to put the ball in play; even without two strikes, with runners on, you have to put the ball in play, so that’s all I tried to do. I love base hits more than home runs, because if you get base hits, home runs will come.”

Merritt tied Megan Skipper’s school record with 44 hits, scored 38 runs to break Morgan Britt’s previous record of 36, and stole 34 bases, speeding past Summer Prevatte’s existing record of 27. Merritt, a junior outfielder, hit .530 and had 21 RBIs.

“Honestly, I didn’t really know about the records, I just kept playing,” Merritt said. “As I kept going, (they said) you know you’re close to some of the records. I wasn’t setting a goal really to beat the record, but I just kept playing, and I wasn’t thinking about it too much, I just played.”

Merritt’s game-changing speed made her a threat to beat out any ball put in play, especially as a slap hitter who’s already an extra step or two closer to first base at contact.

“I feel like every game we’re promised one or two runs just by her, because she’s going to get on base, she’s going to make things happen, and the girls behind her were knocking her in,” Register said. “She’s definitely the table-setter, and with that speed, it’s almost like it’s disappointing when she doesn’t get on base.”

“When I’m on first, I try to help the next batter and steal second,” Merritt said. “It takes off a lot of pressure for the next few batters. I try to be in scoring position, so I can set my team in an easy place. … A lot of times, pitchers can’t throw whatever they want to throw (when I’m on base).”

The chance for both to post the numbers they did this season was aided by each other, with many of Stueck’s RBIs coming after Merritt hits and/or stolen bases, resulting in Merritt runs.

“When (Merritt) gets on, I just know I have to put the ball in play and let her score, because the second pitch, if I’m up there, she’s already at second base, so I know I just have to get that one run in,” Stueck said.

“I knew that if I got over, Tiara would hit in the gap, hit a homer, hit something hard where I could score,” Merritt said. “I played my role; I would try to get over as much as I can so when Tiara came up to bat, I knew that she could hit it somewhere hard so I could come in and score.”

Merritt and Stueck sparked a Pirates offense that scored 9.57 runs per game, a big reason for the team’s 23-5 record, the most wins in program history. The Pirates won a share of the United-8 Conference regular-season championship and reached the second round of the 4A state playoffs.

“What means the most in playing ball is team chemistry; if you don’t have that, you’re not going to win anything, because one player can’t win a game,” Stueck said. “The record, most games won, it meant a lot to me.”

Last week, Stueck committed to play collegiately at UNC Pembroke; Merritt is currently going through the recruiting process.

But both players — and several other key pieces of the Pirates’ core this spring — still have another year of high school softball to play.

“Me, T, (Alona Hanna), Alyssa (Stone) and all of us, we’ve been playing together our whole lives, so us all coming back on the field together, we’re going to be a great team next year,” Merritt said.

“We’ll still be a good team; we have to work to have more team chemistry,” Stueck said. “The last game ended not how we wanted it to. But that’s what it takes. Softball comes with failure, and you’re going to fail multiple times, but that’s when you get back up and go at it again. We should be good, and break more records.”