Robeson County Slugfest set for Saturday start

LUMBERTON — For the 30th time, Robeson County will converge for a spring celebration of local baseball and softball as the Robeson County Slugfest begins Saturday at Lumberton High School.

Many of Robeson’s best young athletes will take to the diamond on Saturday, Monday and Tuesday, with the ultimate goal of lifting the Slugfest championship trophy Tuesday night.

Baseball

Fairmont (4-7) is the defending Slugfest champion, and will also play the tournament opener at 10 a.m. Saturday as the Golden Tornadoes face Hoke County (1-12).

“The outlook is always to win it,” Fairmont coach Kelly Chavis said. “We know we’re a different team (from last year), and our record probably doesn’t really indicate where we should be at in the season, but it is what it is. … We’re going to deal with it, we’re going to come in and we’re going to act like we’ve still got a target on our chest.”

Hoke County won its first game of the season earlier this week, beating Jack Britt.

“They’ve been playing some better baseball of late,” Chavis said. “A three-game tournament, you can kind of throw records out the window; it just depends on who’s the hungriest at the time and what team shows up.”

In the other first-round game on the same side of the tournament bracket, St. Pauls (4-5) faces North Brunswick (7-3) at 1 p.m. Saturday.

“My crowd, we’re figuring it out a little bit,” St. Pauls coach Bladen Strickland said. “I really think we’ll play our best ball come this weekend.”

Strickland, a Purnell Swett alumnus, is participating in the even as a head coach for the first time after playing in the event and coaching in it as an assistant.

“It brings back a lot of memories,” Strickland said. “I won a Slugfest back in 2016 and played in a championship game in 2017, so it’s very special to me.”

The lone in-county matchup on the opening day of the tournament pits Purnell Swett (6-4) against Red Springs (5-5) at 4 p.m.

Purnell Swett enters the weekend after scoring 28 runs in two United-8 Conference games against Lumberton and Gray’s Creek earlier this week. The Rams seek their first Slugfest title since 2019.

“The guys have really rallied around each other and we started to put the ball in play, and I figured once that started happening for us we were going to be very competitive, because we’ve been pitching the ball pretty well and playing some good defense. Now that we can score some runs, we’re putting some pressure on some opponents.”

A 2-1 loss to St. Pauls Tuesday snapped a three-game winning streak for Red Springs.

“I think if we show up, pitch the ball well, the bats have been seeming to take care of themselves lately, and I think we’ll be in a good ballgame come the seventh inning,” said Red Springs coach Matt Strickland, who is a Purnell Swett alumnus.

Tournament host Lumberton (6-4) plays the first-round nightcap at 7 p.m. against Heide Trask (1-6).

“I don’t care who we’ve got in the first round, that first day always scares me; if you can get by the first day, you’re OK,” Lumberton coach Jeff McLamb said. “It should be fun.”

Lumberton looks to finish one spot better than last year’s runner-up result, and McLamb says winning the event on their home field would be special for his players.

“I would love it for my seniors (to win), and I’ve already given them a good talking to — if I’m going to be fixing the field every day, I want us to be playing in the championship game for sure, so hopefully that will get them a little motivated,” McLamb said.

Heide Trask is coached by former Red Springs head football coach Lawrence Ches.

Consolation and semifinal games will be played on Monday before the championship, third-place and fifth-place games are contested Tuesday.

Softball

With defending champion South Brunswick not in the field, tournament host Lumberton is also the highest-finishing returning team from 2023 after the Pirates finished second.

Lumberton (10-2) opens the 13th edition of the softball Slugfest at 7 p.m. Saturday against North Brunswick (3-8).

“Every year we look at our schedule, and the Slugfest is a big time of year for us and one of our goals is to win the Slugfest,” Lumberton coach Mackie Register said. “No different this year, we want to win the Slugfest, and hopefully this gives us a chance to catch our breath after the Slugfest and get ready for the run in the second half of the season.”

The Pirates have won nine straight games entering the tournament.

“The girls do get to play at home, so that’s an advantage for us,” Register said. “I think if we do what we’ve got to do — simple game, you’ve got to throw strikes, you’ve got to field the ball, you’ve got to hit the ball. If we do those things we can be successful.”

The other first-round game on the same side of the bracket features St. Pauls (5-3) against Hoke County (7-4) at 4 p.m. The Bulldogs are another team that enter the tournament hot, having scored 10 runs or more in five straight games, though they’ll face a Bucks team that beat them 9-4 on Feb. 29.

“That’s what the girls want to do, get over that hump,” St. Pauls coach Phillip Tyler said. “Last year we won one and lost two.”

In-county foes Red Springs (3-3) and Purnell Swett (4-5) will open the tournament at 10 a.m. Saturday.

“Starting out with Red Springs is a good matchup for us, with us being so young,” said Purnell Swett coach William Deese, whose Rams won the title in 2022. “We’re in a good bracket, a good side of the bracket that we can be comparable to possibly make it to the championship.”

The Red Devils have already surpassed last year’s win total this season and look for a better result than last year’s Slugfest two-and-out.

“We have the potential to do great as long as they put the bat on the ball,” Red Springs coach Chelsi Oxendine said. “Pitching’s pretty decent … I’ve still got confidence in the girls as long as they come out strong.”

Fairmont (1-6) will face East Columbus (7-1) in the first round at 1 p.m. Saturday. The Gators previously beat the Golden Tornadoes 16-3 on March 4.

“Going into the weekend, getting some games in that we can continue to grow and compete on get ready for the conference week after next when we get back — that’s our goal for the Slugfest, continuing to play hard and get some confidence in what we’re doing,” Fairmont coach Donnie Carter said.

East Columbus has won seven straight games since a season-opening loss to North Brunswick; the Gators reached the 1A East Regional final last season.

Like the baseball tournament, softball’s format includes consolation and semifinal games on Monday and championship, third-place and fifth-place games on Tuesday, all at Lumberton.