Dixon High School in Onslow County will be taking to the road for their first round state playoff softball matchup against the Vance Co. Vipers. The Vipers have had a long road as well but not because of travel. The team, coached by Jordan Garrett Wilder, got off to a slow start but built momentum as the season as moved along. At one point the Vipers put together a five game winning streak finishing the regular season with an 8-6 record overall and 7-2 in the conference finishing second to South Granville. The game, which will be played in Henderson, is scheduled to start at 4:30 Tuesday afternoon.
“We are hoping for a good practice and be ready for tomorrow’s game,” Wilder said. The final regular season game was to have happened Friday night but was canceled due to the weather. An extra day off may help the Vipers to be ready for the contest against Dixon.
Wilder said her seniors, such as Madison Ayscue and Jasmine Richardson, have been a big reason why the Vipers have been successful this season. “She can play anywhere you put her,” Wilder said of Richardson. She not only leads the team in batting average but also has 15 stolen bases to her credit this year. Richardson’s ability to play anywhere will help the Vipers tomorrow as the team suffered an injury in a game last week against South Granville when an infielder got cleated and will miss 10 days.
Seniors are not the only reason the Vipers qualified for the playoffs. Wilder also spoke of the success that sophomore pitcher Blake Vick has had this year. Vick has racked up over 100 strike outs this season.
Wilder said the team’s slow start was due to some players never having played the sport but she was looking for athletes that could grasp the rules and the game. She and her staff have taken those players and crafted them into a winning program. One that is getting noticed too. Even the coaches at South Granville told Wilder the Vipers are heading in the right direction.
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