LAURINBURG — Sophomore pitcher Riley Brown didn’t have a lot of room for improvement from his last two starts, but he upped the ante during Wednesday’s junior varsity game against Scotland.
The right-hander extended his impressive streak of shutout baseball by no-hitting the Scots in an 8-0 win.
Currently riding a stretch of 17 consecutive innings without allowing a run this summer, Brown was nearly perfect during his third win of the season.
On top of giving up no hits, Brown didn’t allow a walk, had eight strikeouts and was just four over the minimum. Scotland’s four base runners in the game all reached on an error.
Brown’s no-hitter was the second time the JV Renegades didn’t allow a hit against Scotland this season, and it was the third no-no by Richmond (two by the JV team and one by the varsity team).
It was also the first solo no-hitter this summer, as Allen Taylor, Caden Nolan and Ashton Phifer combined to earn the other two.
“Great job by Riley tonight giving us exactly what we needed with a complete game and a no-hitter,” head coach Ryan Mercer said. “Any time you have a guy go out and compete the way he did tonight you’re going to get good results.
“We still have to handle the baseball better behind our pitchers,” he added. “But it’s always nice to get a win especially, against the Scots at their place.”
Doing damage at the plate with nine hits, including two singles and three RBIs by freshman Evan Hodges, the JV Renegades scored solo runs in the first and sixth frames. A six-run top of the seventh put the game out of reach.
With two outs in the first, sophomore Brooks Calhoun drew a walk and moved to second on a passed ball. Hodges recorded his first RBI with a line drive single to center.
Both teams entered a pitchers’ duel through the middle innings, as Brown retired the Scots in order three times through the first five innings.
Again with two away in the top of the sixth, sophomore Garret Mabe reached via a base on balls to start a rally. He stole second base and scored when freshman Hayden Wheeler connected on an RBI single to right field to make it 2-0.
A 1-2-3 bottom half from Brown paved the way to 10 batters making an appearance at the plate in the top of the seventh.
Preston Fann (single), Camron Quick (double) and Jake Richardson (single) loaded the bases with no outs. D.J. Gainey singled home Fann and Quick with a two-RBI single to center to make it 4-0.
Brown was hit by a pitch to load the bases and sophomore Sam Thompson joined the hit parade with an RBI base knock to center, scoring Richardson.
Calhoun grounded into an RBI fielder’s choice in the next at-bat to score Gainey, and Richmond’s final two runs came on a Hodges line drive single to left field. Racing home were Brown and Calhoun.
The JV Renegades improved to 5-2-1 this summer and will travel to Lee County on Thursday. First pitch is set for 4:30 p.m.
