For many high school student-athletes, playing college sports at the Division I level is a goal they hope to accomplish. For Midway Lady Raiders Kyleigh Stonerock and Mollie Bass, that opportunity is ahead.
Stonerock and Bass have committed to Fordham University and Boston University, respectively, to play softball. Stonerock pitches for Midway, while Bass plays catcher. Their time as teammates, however, began before they took the field together for their high school.
Stonerock recalled first meeting Bass during an NC Pride tournament in Myrtle Beach in the fall of 2019. The two later played together for the Lady Dukes, coached by Stonerock’s father, Billy.
The pair live near each other and have become close friends. On the field, their positions as pitcher and catcher require them to communicate regularly.
“It’s great; we can just read each other’s minds, I swear,” Stonerock pointed out. “She tells me when I suck, when I do good. It’s very much built up over the last six years.”
Stonerock said their connection developed through travel softball before becoming more evident when they began playing together at Midway.
“School ball is where we saw it really click,” she added. “We’ve thrown very effective bullpens.”
Bass has learned to recognize what is working — and what is not — while catching Stonerock during those bullpen sessions.
“At first it was kind of weird,” Bass explained. “But then, I finally got a read after catching her for a year. I know when she’s in her head, or when her body language shows me that something isn’t working.”
That familiarity also helps Bass recognize where Stonerock wants to locate her pitches.
“We’ve really just built a bond,” Bass added.
One of their favorite memories together came during their freshman season, when Midway advanced to the state championship with the two underclassmen handling the pitcher-catcher duties.
“As soon as we came in, it was us,” Bass recalled. “We got to the state championship as freshmen. We should have won it, but that’s OK.”
Despite the loss, Bass said reaching the championship remains one of the highlights of her time at Midway.
“That was probably my favorite moment, coming in as freshmen and being able to take this team to states for the second year in a row,” she explained. “Even though we lost, it was just a good feeling being able to do that as freshmen.”
Stonerock also remembers the experience of pitching on the state championship stage.
“That was definitely fun; I got to pitch in that game,” she recalled. “We were winning at first and then it just kind of fell apart.”
Stonerock credited Susan and Cullen Clark with creating an environment in which the younger players felt comfortable taking on significant roles.
“You felt like you could be free,” Stonerock explained. “We had to try, but we felt like we were in our own world. I’d say it was us our freshman year. I don’t even remember anything else from that year besides that.”
Following their senior year, the two will attend colleges in different states after spending much of the past six years together.
“I would say that it’s gonna be hard,” Bass asserted. “We’ve literally been neighbors and seen each other literally every single day for the past six years.”
Still, Bass said knowing her friend will be continuing her softball career makes the upcoming separation easier.
“Knowing that she’s going to play a sport she loves and at the highest level, I’m just really proud of her for doing that,” Bass said. “I’m also proud of myself too, but knowing that she’s living her best life, living her dreams, I think it’ll be OK.”
Stonerock pointed out that Fordham and Boston University will leave the friends within traveling distance of each other.
“It’s good to know in our back pocket that if I really need her, she’s like two hours away,” Stonerock emphasized. “It’s not like we’re 13 hours separated. If I ever feel like I’m not at home, I can just find her, which really helps me.”
Their college commitments also represent the end of separate recruiting processes that neither expected to unfold as they did.
“It’s been a journey for both of us,” Stonerock reflected. “I feel like when we were younger, it felt like it was questionable if we were going to play in college, especially D-one.”
Stonerock initially hoped to remain closer to home and play at N.C. State. Her recruitment eventually led her to Fordham after coaches approached her at a tournament and introduced her to the program.
“I had some interest, but they were mainly from schools in the north,” Stonerock explained. “I really hate the cold; I didn’t want to go up there, but then I went on my visit, and it was the best thing ever.”
Her experience during that visit changed her perception of going to school in New York.
“I love it. The coaches were awesome,” she said. “It felt like home, and the campus is beautiful, but it was a process.”
That process became stressful at times as Stonerock watched other players make their college commitments.
“Watching people commit and have them tell you, ‘Oh, you’ll go here,’ or ‘You’re so good,’ so then why is nothing coming?” Stonerock recalled.
Eventually, the opportunity at Fordham arrived.
“But it finally happened in God’s plan, so it was definitely trusting him with that,” she explained. “I love where I’m going now, and I would never rethink it.”
Stonerock also pointed to Fordham head coach Melissa Inouye and assistant coach Mackenzie Swinehart as factors in her decision.
“My head coach is from there, so she’s really big on family,” Stonerock said. “Coach Mackenzie is a bundle of joy, and she really persuaded me the most.”
Bass entered the recruiting process with a similar desire to remain closer to home, initially hoping to attend the University of North Carolina Wilmington.
“Last summer I was playing in New Jersey and Colorado, and that’s where they saw me,” Bass recalled of Boston University. “I had no earthly idea what Boston University was.”
When recruiting contacts began arriving, however, Bass found herself receiving interest primarily from northern programs.
“When September first hit, it was all north schools,” she explained. “I had no south schools. I had a couple calls, and I wasn’t sure I wanted to go north.”
After meeting with Boston University players through a Zoom call and speaking with head coach Ashley Waters, Bass scheduled a visit.
“When I went up there, it was very different, but I liked it,” Bass admitted. “Coach Waters made me feel like I could do this.”
Waters also gave Bass a sense of familiarity despite the distance between Boston and Sampson County.
“She really reminded me of someone who lived in Spivey’s Corner, even though she isn’t from there,” Bass explained. “The environment was very historic, and having a coach that reminds you of the small town where you’re from just really helped me.”
For now, Stonerock and Bass are preparing for their final year at Midway before continuing their softball careers at the Division I level.