PEMBROKE — Winning championships has become the norm at Pembroke Middle School over the past few years.
But even as the baseball and softball teams claimed another pair of titles on Wednesday with a sweep of Littlefield, the Warriors continued to celebrate.
“I told the guys before we came out here that if you’re not at least a little bit nervous, this is the wrong place for you,” said baseball coach Jonathan Graham, whose team earned a 10-0 win in six innings.
“If you don’t get excited about a championship, it might be time to hang it up.”
For coach Tony Bullard and the softball team, the 8-0 victory against the Lady Hornets “was expected” but it didn’t damper the mood as the players doused Bullard with a cooler bath after the victory.
“We started this journey last year and it’s been a non-stop journey,” Bullard said. “I told the girls that it was their game to lose. This one is maybe a little more expected than last year.
“I had a more experienced team (this season) and I expected us to have the success that we had. It still feels good. We just wanted to finish it off.”
The teams have swept the county titles in back-to-back seasons, with the Warriors baseball team earning a fifth consecutive championship and undefeated season.
Ashton Scott and Braeden Oxendine led Pembroke at the plate with each logging two hits and a pair of RBIs. John Jacobs picked up the win on the mound with six innings of shutout pitching.
The Warriors used a three-run third inning and four-run fifth inning to blitz the Hornets en route to ending the game with one inning to play.
“It’s a great group of guys,” Graham said. “I would’ve felt disappointed if we would have finished in a lesser spot. I came in here with these guys when they were seventh graders. For them to win going out as eighth graders, it means a lot.”
The Lady Warriors also faced little resistance as Summer Bullard struck out 12 batters en route to earning the shutout victory in the circle.
Pembroke scored three runs each in the first and sixth innings, with Chandra Locklear logging a 3-for-3 performance at the plate including an inside-the-park homer and three RBIs to cap the win. Summer Bullard, Kara Deese and Chloe Locklear logged two hits each for the Lady Warriors, who finished with 12 hits.
It was just another dominant effort for both programs, who hope to continue piling up trophies in Pembroke.
“We live in a community where athletics are a big part of these kids and their environment growing up,” Bullard said. “We just set the standard here and we’re in a good position to be successful all around in athletics.”