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By Brian Pitts

Enterprise Record

The Davie varsity softball team’s scores against Carson, Glenn and Reynolds were what everyone expected. The War Eagles outscored those opponents 65-1 over four games and 12 and a half innings.

Coach Nathan Handy did little celebrating after four wins in four days because much bigger tests await. The War Eagles entered the week in third place in the Central Piedmont Conference, but only one game out of first in the loss column.

The top four going into April 8: Reagan 9-1, West Forsyth 7-1, Davie 6-2, East Forsyth 5-2. Davie has two games coming up against East and one each against Reagan and West. Buckle up. The stretch run is going to be fun.

“We are not out of this battle yet,” Handy said. “We’ve got a big week coming up.”

Davie 11, Carson 1

This home nonconference game on March 25 was a confidence-booster on the heels of three grueling losses: 2-1 to Northwest Guilford, 2-0 to West Forsyth and 3-2 to West Rowan.

“It was a good game for us to be able to get some hits and put the ball in play – see ball, hit ball,” Handy said.

Jadyn Davis (2-4, two doubles) and Addie Brown (2-3, double) paced the offensive assault. Raelyn Lankford (triple) and Carleigh Croom (double) added extra-base hits as Davie racked up 11 runs in the first three innings.

“Raelyn had a good hit (over the right fielder’s head) to start the game,” Handy said. “Jadyn had one that she pulled foul. It was going to be a homer easy, but she got out in front of it too much. In the fourth, she sent one all the way to the warning track (for a flyout). She did not catch the ball quite enough. Addie had a good double in the (left-center) gap in the first. It was a shot. Carleigh had one to left-center that was a good double.”

Handy gave all three pitchers some work. Riley Potts, Addie Hendrix and Raney Phelps combined for nine strikeouts in five innings.

The Cougars (1-8) did themselves no favors, not only finishing with just two hits but also committing six errors.

“They made quite a few mistakes,” Handy said. “It was a good confidence-builder for us.”

The next day Carson was drubbed by East Rowan, marking its sixth straight run-rule loss.

Davie 19, Glenn 0

Davie clubbed the ball all three innings in Kernersville on March 26. Davis turned in the biggest numbers, going 3 for 3 with two doubles, a triple and six RBIs. Phelps was next, going 2 for 2 with two RBIs and two walks.

Potts, Hendrix and Phelps again shared the pitching duties as Davie rolled through Glenn (4-8 overall) for the 11th straight time in the series.

“Glenn just needs a pitcher; that’s all they need,” Handy said. “They don’t have a bad team. They have three or four good, solid players. Their coach told me next year they have a good class coming in, so they will be much better next year.”

Davie Sweeps Reynolds

In a home doubleheader on March 28, the War Eagles picked up right where they left off at Glenn and dominated another overwhelmed opponent.

In the 17-0 breeze in game one, Lankford (3-3, double, homer, five RBIs) and Davis (3-3, four RBIs, two triples) banged three hits each. Ashley Bledsoe and Brown both went 2-2 and Phelps hit a home run. Potts and Hendrix had a combined no-hitter with eight Ks in three innings.

Game two against the Demons was a repeat, 18-0. Phelps (2-2), Davis (2-2, five RBIs, two homers) and Gracie Garwood (2-3, double) pounded two hits apiece. Croom homered. Landry Parsons and Abbey Lankford laced triples, and Lankford doubled as Davie eased to 10-5 overall.

Potts, Hendrix and Phelps worked one inning each in a no-hit effort. The Demons fell to 2-9 and lost to Davie for the 57th consecutive time.

“(The whole week) was a good opportunity for us to build confidence in the batter’s box,” he said. “It was also a good opportunity to give some (backups) a chance to perform.”

Of the five homers against Reynolds, one of them sailed over the fence. That was a blast by Davis.

“We’ve been waiting for that to happen,” he said of the .500 hitter. “With her power and her ability, it was just a matter of time.”

Davis is far and away the No. 1 bat, going 20 for 40 on the season. The top seven batting averages include R. Lankford (.428), L. Parsons (.411), Phelps (.388), Bledsoe (.370), Brown (.346) and Croom (.343).

The top three in runs are R. Lankford (18), Phelps (17) and Davis (15). Davis (20), R. Lankford (15) and Phelps (14) are 1-2-3 in hits. The doubles leaders are Davis (8), Brown (4) and R. Lankford (3). Davis has four triples, followed by Croom with two. Davis leads in home runs with two. The top three in RBIs are Davis (22), Phelps (14) and Croom (12). R. Lankford has the most HBPs/walks with nine, while Phelps and Jaedyn Altiers have eight each. Croom and R. Lankford share the stolen-base lead with six each, while J. Altiers has five.

In the circle, Potts’ pitching stats are breathtaking. Not only does she hold a 1.01 ERA, the junior has 128 strikeouts in 62.1 innings.

“It’s absolutely insane the number of strikeouts that Riley has already accumulated,” Handy said. “We’re only halfway through the season and she’s at 128. That’s a heckuva number.”

With the March 25-28 creampuffs in the rearview mirror, the tale of this season will be told in the next two weeks. The War Eagles are overdue for things to break their way; they’re 0-4 in games decided by one or two runs. There are emotional scar tissues from narrow losses to Reagan and West Forsyth. Those 1-0 and 2-0 defeats are memories the War Eagles would love to extinguish.

They will have a bunch of Little Leaguers cheering them on Friday against Reagan. It will be Youth Night at Davie.

“If they wear a uniform, they get into the game free,” Handy said. “Little League, travel ball, it does not matter. We want to get the youth excited about coming up to the high school and playing.”