THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, April 28, 1996 TAG: 9604250211
SECTION: CAROLINA COAST PAGE: 22 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JEFF ZEIGLER, CORRESPONDENT
DATELINE: BARCO LENGTH: Medium: 53 lines
FOR THE PAST seven years, they've been as solid as steel. And 1996 is no exception.
It's spring again, and Currituck County High School has put together another awesome softball team.
Currituck has made the final four of the state playoffs for the last seven years and has won two state titles in that period. The tradition of excellence continues into 1996, as the Lady Knights seem poised for another run at the 2A state championship.
As of Tuesday, the team raised its record to 12-0 and 4-0 in the conference with a wild 24-19 win over Plymouth. It was not typical of the Lady Knights to commit nine errors, but it was also not typical for them to bang out 28 hits.
Two players who carried the Currituck offense in the first few weeks of the season were also keys in the victory over Plymouth. Alicia Banks and Michelle Porr were both hitting .647 entering the game. Banks went 3-for-4 with two home runs, a single and four RBI. Porr was 4-for-5 with four singles, four runs scored and an RBI.
Currituck head coach Tom Davies said that Casey Lassiter and Charlene Hagan have also come around with the bat in the last few games. Lassiter was 3-for-4 and Hagan 4-for-5 against Plymouth.
The Lady Knights have already beaten their stiffest regular-season competition this year. Currituck downed 4A Greenville Rose and 4A Northeastern to win the Northside High School Easter Tournament. The Lady Knights downed Roanoke Rapids 14-6 and now Plymouth, both of which figured to be two of the top contenders in the Northeastern Conference.
``Potentially, this could be the best hitting team,'' Davies said after the win over Plymouth. ``This is the first game we played terrible defense, and we had to hit to get out of it.''
Davies attributes the program's success to the commitment of several leagues and teams.
``It's a combination of things. It starts in the community leagues to the junior high team, and it comes up here,'' he said. ``We've been so fortunate to have these kids who are committed to becoming better softball players.''
It appears the Currituck program will be secure for several years. The school's JV team opened with an 8-2 record, and the junior high squad was also tied for first in the conference.
This year's team still has a way to go until it can rest on its laurels.
``We expect to have a competitive, hard-working team,'' Davies said. ``We don't put pressure on ourselves by saying we're going to go undefeated and win the whole thing. If we play the way we're supposed to play, we can play with any team in the state. I feel like this is the year we can do it.'' by CNB