A long way from its usual playing grounds in the Triangle, Chatham County Post 292’s inaugural season in the USA Softball 19 and Under Heroes League met the end of the road on July 30.
In the Heroes League 19U North Carolina state championship tournament held at Big League Camp in Marion, Post 292 dropped its first two games in a double-elimination bracket. Chatham County fell to the Cabarrus Responders, 8-5, in the opening game on July 29 and followed that with a 9-5 loss to South Wake the next day.
Against the Responders, Chatham County found early success at the plate, but it couldn’t sustain it down the stretch.
Jaylee Williams had the best offensive game for Post 292, leading the way with three hits in four at-bats, two RBIs and the leadoff single that eventually turned into a 1-0 lead for Chatham County by the middle of the first inning.
Shortly after Post 292’s Emma Burke knocked in its second run with a double in the top of the second inning, Williams delivered again with a two-RBI triple that gave Chatham County a 4-0 advantage.
However, other than a solo home run from Dakota Redmon in the top of the third inning and another triple from Williams, Post 292’s bats went cold for the rest of the game.
Cabarrus pitcher Vivian Billiard entered the game for Abby Reagan in the fourth inning and gave Post 292’s batters a hard time, allowing just one hit and striking out three batters in three innings.
Down 5-3 entering its third-inning batting turn, the Responders settled into an offensive groove led by Kristen Embler and Billiard. Both batters recorded three hits with Billiard also knocking in three RBIs. After both singled to tie the game at five runs a-piece in the third inning, they also came up big in the fifth inning as both contributed to Cabarrus’ four straight singles that led to the Responders taking an 8-5 lead and eventually winning the game.
Facing elimination against South Wake the next day, Chatham County dealt with a similar problem as it did in its previous loss.
After taking a 5-2 lead by the middle of the second inning, Chatham county’s hot start once again fizzled. Two walks, three hits and a batter hit by a pitch in the bottom of the second helped South Wake regain control of the game with an 8-5 lead.
Despite the team continuing to get runners on base, Chatham County left four runners stranded from the third to seventh innings. Failing to bring runners home ended up being the difference for Post 292 as Redmon did her best to slow down South Wake. In the last four innings, Redmon allowed just one hit, one run and retired six batters.
Although the two tough losses weren’t the ideal finish for Post 292’s inaugural campaign, the team’s positive attitude and approach to the season made the summer weeknight trips to fields all over the Triangle worth it.
Post 292 gave some of the best current and former softball players in Chatham County (and surrounding areas) a chance to sharpen their skills in an environment much less intense than the high school or college season.
“We didn’t really know what to expect,” Lili Hicks said after Post 292’s win over Randolph County on July 17. “But once we got out there, it was like, ‘Okay, this is fun.’ Everybody knows what they’re doing, so we just go out there and play.”
Throughout the season, players and coaches shared that the lack of pressure is was a key reason to why the season was “fun.” Post 292 didn’t always need much extra motivation anyway as it finished its first season with a 10-6 overall record despite having key pieces missing in some of the games.
For the rising college sophomores that are aging out and the rising college freshmen, this season was also rewarding because it gave them another chance to play with old teammates.
“I’m excited I played because I got to play with Lili and all of my teammates from (Jordan-Matthews) even though I didn’t think I was going to again,” Logan Gunter said.
Said Williams, a rising sophomore at App State, “Coming back and playing with girls I played with pretty much all my life is really fun. I’m excited to go back to (App State), but coming home was just really what I needed.”
According to team manager Preston Parks, there are plans of bringing Chatham County Post 292 back for next summer.