BELHAVEN — Pungo wrapped up a strong regular season last week when a 15-5 loss to Ridgecroft ousted the Lady Raiders from the Tarheel Independent Conference tournament in the semifinals. They now set their sights toward the playoffs, which they enter as a No. 5 seed.

They had rolled into the tournament riding back-to-back wins. Pungo coasted past local rival Terra Ceia in a 12-0 victory that marked the season sweep of the Lady Knights. They turned around and won their regular-season finale in thrilling fashion.

Albemarle drew first blood in the top of the first of the April 27 meeting in Belhaven. The Lady Raiders took the lead with two runs in the bottom of the fourth before giving up four in the fifth. They quickly erased the 5-2 deficit with six runs in the bottom of the stanza and rode that out for an 8-5 win.

The secret has been team chemistry. Relationships with one another helped the Lady Raiders overcome adversity this season.

“The girls, they all get along. Our catcher was injured and we rallied behind her,” coach Leigh Stoop said after the late-season win over Terra Ceia. “We’ve just been playing together as a team and trying to get the hits when we’ve got runners on base.

“I think it means everything. If you don’t get along with each other, it’s going to show on the field. All of them being encouraging and saying positive things to each other, I think that is what pushes you forward and helps you win.”

The momentum propelled Pungo to a 19-0 win over Terra Ceia in the first round of the conference tournament, but the Lady Raiders ran into a Lady Colts group that would not be denied.

Throughout the season, which the Lady Raiders finished 9-7, they got contributions from different players each time they took the field. Senior Caroline Fletcher was a consistent contributor as pitcher and with her work at the plate.

“Our seniors have stepped up. We’ve had several players that play really well in different games,” Stoop said.

Fletcher added, “Our hard work, attitude and sticking together” fueled the success. Each Pungo player — especially the seniors — wanted to earn a bid to the state playoffs via winning the conference title. While that didn’t happen, they still have plenty to be proud of.

“I think we all tried really hard,” Bell Noble said. She was one of a plethora of Lady Raiders that proved effective at the plate. “We had off games, but we try to make up for it. We helped each other out and kept each other going.”

After a sub-.500 season in 2015, Pungo has now strung together back-to-back winning campaigns.