On Tuesday, Wakefield’s softball team made school history: they won 5 to 1 against Garner High School, advancing the girls into the fourth round of state playoffs, a first for the softball program at Wakefield High School. The ladies will face Topsail High School at 3 p.m. on Saturday, May 20, at home. If they hit it out of the park today, the girls will head to regionals next week, where they will compete for a spot in the state championship game.

For any typical team, the players’ nerves would be through the roof this historical season. Not coach Danny Inscoe’s team, though.  

“I feel the same way [about Friday’s game] as I have every other game. As long as we play up to our ability, we’re going to be fine,” Inscoe said.

The players, such as sophomore Brianna Riehle, share Inscoe’s sentiment, with anxiety being replaced with eagerness. Riehle, the team’s starting shortstop, has played an excellent season with 23 hits and 21 runs. 

“We’re excited. We just keep looking forward to the next game and the momentum, we just keep it rollin’ most games,” Riehle said. 

Their momentum has surely paid off; the girls are 20-4 overall this season, and are second in their conference. They are behind rival team Wake Forest; however, the Wolverines beat the Cougars in a conference game on May 5, only increasing tensions between the two teams.

“It’s been a historic season,” Inscoe said. “We just got our twentieth win, which is the most any team has ever had in program history, and we won a conference championship which has never happened [for Wakefield softball.]”

Among others, pitcher Dayna Bland, catcher Brooke Masingale and third baseman Kensley Harrison have all had productive seasons at the plate. Bland is close to 200 strikeouts this season: a statistic practically unheard of for high school pitchers. 

“I don’t think people realize how good Dayna [Bland] has been in the circle,” Riehle said. “The first game she allowed four hits, then [in] the second round she allowed zero hits and [Tuesday] she allowed one hit. It’s unseen for many pitchers to be that consistent.”

However, Inscoe notes that their victory-ridden season is a team effort that is the result of consistency, effort and love of the game.

“We try to have fun as much as we can at practice but when we need to focus and do what we need to do, we do that,” Inscoe said. “We try not to have any drama on the team, we put our differences aside when it comes to practice and games and we play the game that they enjoy.”