Seven Raiders earn All-State honors

Published 7:24 pm Tuesday, June 6, 2023

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Pungo Christian Academy ended the spring sports season with seven NCISAA 1A All-State selections.

Senior Reagan Stoop, junior Melanie Rutledge and sophomore Emma Hanna represented the state championship softball team.

Stoop and Rutledge earned the honor for the fourth time in their careers, while Hanna repeated from last year.

The Lady Raiders went 16-2 and claimed the program’s first state title with a two game sweep of Halifax Academy.

Stoop, a Bridgewater (Va.) University volleyball signee, went 16-1 in the circle with an 0.88 earned run average. She struck out 147 batters while walking 20 in 103.2 innings pitch. Stoop led the Raiders at the plate with a .472 average, 26 runs scored and 18 runs batted in.

Rutledge, a catcher, hit .423 with six home runs and 24 RBI. She added four doubles and two triples as over half her hits went for extra bases. She also tied Stoop with a team-leading 26 runs scored.

Hanna batted .403, scored 22 runs and had four doubles and four triples.

Junior Katie Baxter repeated on the 1A All-State soccer team. She led the Raiders to a 13-4-1 season with a trip to the second round of the state playoffs. Baxter scored 29 goals and had 14 assists.

Rouse, a sophomore, earned the honor for the first time. She complimented Baxter with 15 goals and 12 assists.

Sophomore Evan Woolard and junior Bo Spencer made the All-State baseball team for the first time as the Raiders finished 12-7 with a trip to the second round of the playoffs.

Woolard hit .408 with 19 RBI and 10 doubles. He was on base over 55% of the time. He also led PCA pitchers with a 1.67 ERA and 68 strikeouts in 42 innings.

Spencer hit. 323 with 19 runs scored and had a 2.30 ERA on the mound. He struck out 33 batters in 21.1 innings.

“It’s the first time in a long while that we’ve had even one All-State baseball player, so that speaks well for that program,” PCA Athletic Director Logan Van Staalduinen said. “All of them put in the work necessary to reach the All-State level and the best part of it is that six of the seven are coming back.”