PETER PETROFF
Special to the Independent Tribune
HARRISBURG â On Thursday, the Hickory Ridge softball team defeated Lake Norman, 8-3, to advance to the third round of the Class 4A state playoffs.
The top-seeded Raginâ Bulls play host to fourth-seeded South Caldwell today at 6 p.m.
While the Raginâ Bulls finished with a comfortable margin of victory Thursday, it was a comeback win over the eighth-seeded Wildcats, who led 2-1 â with no earned runs heading into the bottom of the fifth inning.Â
What came next, though, was nothing less than explosive.
The first to bat for the Raginâ Bulls was Alycea Gilliam. After a few foul balls, she rocketed a single to far left field. Then came a pair of bunt singles from senior captain Jadyn Jonasse and sophomore Grace Bechtol, loading the bases with no outs. Suddenly, the Raginâ Bulls were in tremendous scoring position.
HARRISBURG â The dream was just on the horizon.
That is what the Hickory Ridge softball team thought as it started the 2020 season undefeated.
But as the coronavirus pandemic has extracted a heavy toll on people all over the world, the Raginâ Bulls were no exception.
When spring sports all over North Carolina were canceled last year, Hickory Ridge lost the opportunity to make a run at its sixth straight conference regular-season and/or tournament title â and perhaps even a run at a state championship.
Hickory Ridge softball coach Justin Davies
âI think last year taught us a lot about enjoying every moment for what it is because you never know when it is going to be taken away from you,â Raginâ Bulls coach Justin Davies said. âWe always talked about times where you get hurt or canât play for some reason, but even beyond playing softball, the whole world was turned upside down for all of us.â