THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, May 21, 1995 TAG: 9505180377
SECTION: CAROLINA COAST PAGE: 42 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JEFF ZEIGLER
DATELINE: BARCO LENGTH: Short : 50 lines
In the past few seasons, the main focus has been on the girls softball program at Currituck County High School. The team has played for three state championships in the 1990s, winning two of them.
Despite success themselves, the baseball team has taken a back seat. With the boys' team still undefeated as of press time, the softball team has quietly slipped into first place in the Northeastern Conference.
As a matter of fact, the Lady Knights had lost just two games as of early this past week.
Currituck lost a a decision to 4A Greenville Rose in the Northside Easter Tournament. Then the shocker - the Lady Knights lost their first conference game of the season, a 15-5 five-inning blowout by Roanoke Rapids.
``I blame myself for that loss,'' said Currituck head coach Tom Davies. ``Roanoke Rapids was 11-0 at the time and I didn't know. They just thumped us. We weren't mentally prepared for that game. I just didn't check into it.''
Since that loss, the Lady Knights have won eight straight, including a 10-0 five-inning blasting of the Yellow Jackets in the rematch at Currituck.
``When they came out here for that game, it was the complete opposite,'' Davies said. ``They really wanted it that night. They were practically crawling out of the dugout.''
``When you lose that first conference game, you can't lose anymore,'' Davies said. ``You've got to beat that team and everybody else. With that goes the No. 1 seed in the playoffs.
``We try to tell them that every game. Sometimes it works; sometimes it doesn't,'' he added. ``When you've got six sophomores and one freshman starting, they don't have that maturity to realize the importance of every single game.''
Besides the mental preparation, the Lady Knights have also played strong defense during their current winning streak.
Roanoke Rapids lost last Friday night to Plymouth, putting the Lady Knights in first place all alone at the beginning of this past week.
If Currituck finishes first in the conference, it will get three straight playoff games at home provided it keeps winning.
``It's been a total team effort, not anyone has stood out in particular,'' Davies said.
``All the kids have contributed. They know the task at hand and they know they can't afford to lose a game.'' by CNB