DEEP RUN — Tears of sorrow after the season-ending third out were quickly followed by smiles and hilarity in the post-game huddle.
But isn’t that what families do? Laugh and cry together?
“We’ve been a family all season; that wasn’t about to change because we lost a game,” said South Lenoir softball coach Lisa Smith after her team’s 11-9 defeat to South Granville on Friday ended one of the most successful year’s in school history. “This is an amazing group of young women. I know right now they’re hurt and disappointed, but they have nothing to be upset about. This was a great season by any measure.”
The Blue Devils finished with a sterling 22-5 mark and advanced all the way to the best-of-three Eastern Regional championship series as the second seed out of the East Central 2A Conference. In four playoff victories, they ran roughshod over opponents North Brunswick, Climax Providence Grove, Whiteville and West Bladen by a combined 36-9 margin.
Their only losses during the regular season were to Topsail (twice) and to 3A power Winterville South Central.
“It didn’t end the way we were hoping but the season was still a lot of fun,” said Brittany Lassiter, the Blue Devils’ left fielder and one of just two seniors on the squad. “I know when I look back on my senior year this will be on the highlights.”
The other senior, Taylor Sandlin, hit .341 and was the team’s top pitcher, compiling an 18-2 won-loss record in 95 innings. On March 27 she tossed a seven-inning no-hitter at Clinton as the Devils blanked the Dark Horses 6-0.
“There are so many wonderful memories from this season,” Sandlin said. “Not just the wins and losses, but the fact that all the girls got along so well also made it special. I am sad, not because we lost, but because I won’t be a part of this team anymore. I love every one of my teammates and coaches, and I can’t imagine spending my senior year any other way.”
Sandlin was the glue that held the young Blue Devils together, according to Smith.
“She was our captain and our mother hen,” Smith said. “Whenever things didn’t go our way and we needed a lift the girls looked to Taylor, and she would always come through, either on the field or with words of encouragement. The leadership she and Brittany provided was huge for this team.”
Even without Sandlin and Lassiter, South Lenoir projects to be pretty good next year. They return leading hitters Brianna Williams, Madison Herring, Morgan Mentz and Mattie Beyer, who drove in five runs in the season finale against South Granville.
Other returning starters are Meredith Sanderson, Hannah Meready, Cassidy Willoughby, Anna Wetherington and Hailey Daniels.
To go along with all of the returning talent, the Blue Devils will also return the chemistry and sense of family that helped make this season so unforgettable.
“In the huddle after the (South Granville) game everyone was so heartbroken and let down,” Smith said. “I told a couple of inside jokes to lighten the mood, but then I reminded them how much they loved each other. That’s when the tears stopped because at the end of the day every member of this team has always been there for each other. Even in defeat, they had each other’s backs and that means more than wins and losses ever will.”
