Photo by Kenneth Armstrong
Veteran varsity coach Pam Stephens, whose teams won four conference championships in her earlier stints at West Bladen, returns to the dugout this season as head coach of the West Bladen softball team.
When the school was formed, Stephens coached the Lady Knights from 2001-2005. Her 2005 team won the Tri-Six 2A Conference championship after posting runner-up finishes in the previous two seasons.
Coach Stephens stepped down after the 2005 season but not for long as she took the reins of the Bladenboro Middle School softball program where her Lady Bulldogs won 34 games in a row from 2007-2010 and captured four consecutive Bladen Five Conference championships.
Stephens returned to West Bladen for five seasons from 2011-2015. Her Lady Knights won three consecutive Waccamaw Conference championships from 2011-2013. West Bladen also captured three consecutive Robeson County Slugfest championships from 2012-2014. For those five seasons the Lady Knights were 48-16 in league play and 96-29 overall.
“I heard that Joey (Autry) had stepped down and there was an opening, so I decided to get back in,” said Coach Stephens. Coach Autry had coached the Lady Knights to a 24-4 league mark and 35-13 overall record in his two seasons.
Seven senior starters were lost to graduation from last year’s 20-4 team that won the Four County Conference championship. Then the Lady Knights lost junior shortstop Conner Brisson to a season-ending knee injury suffered in the next-to-last West Bladen basketball game.
“It’s definitely a rebuilding year for us,” said Coach Stephens. “This team is so young, but they are getting better.” Longtime assistant coaches Joe Lewis and Huehlon McDaniel are back to help Coach Stephens.
The Lady Knights dropped their opener to Fairmont then defeated Red Springs Friday night.
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