ROCKINGHAM — When the Lumberton High School junior varsity baseball team met the Richmond Raiders this week, they were undefeated in Sandhills Athletic Conference play.
But all of that changed when the Raiders and head coach Ralph Butler swept the Pirates behind a 10-inning walkoff and another dominating pitching performance a couple nights later.
Honeycutt walks it off to hand Lumberton first loss
Freshman Harley Honeycutt started on the mound in Wednesday’s series opener, but it was his damage at the plate in extra innings that saw the Raiders take Game 1.
After the Pirates tied the game in the middle innings at three runs apiece, fellow freshman Cameron Way replaced Honeycutt. Way would inherit a bases-loaded situation in the fifth inning with two, and get out of the jam without allowing a run. He would pitch the remainder of the game, giving up just one hit in his 5.1 innings of relief.
Sophomore Hunter Hancock led off the home half of the 10th with a single, only the second time the Raiders had put their leadoff guy on all night. After Hancock made his way to third, Honeycutt stepped in and delivered the game-winning RBI knock. Way was credited with the win.
“That was a big win for us against a team that was undefeated in conference play,” Butler said.
Lampley dominates on the mound as Raiders sweep Pirates
A night later on the road, freshman pitcher JD Lampley took care of business against the Pirates, as the Raiders rolled to a 7-1 win. Lampley earned his fourth win of the spring, going 6.2 innings before reaching his pitch count, striking out 10 batters.
“JD continues to get more comfortable each outing,” Butler said. “He’s done a great job of challenging batters and kept them off balanced with command of his fastball and getting his curveball over for strikes. The defense has also been solid behind him.”
Butler added that his team has gotten “better offensively,” noting his players are “battling when they’re down in the count.” Thanks to some “timely hits” at Lumberton, Butler was pleased with the performance.
Way was 2-for-4 with two runs scored, while Lampley led the Raiders with two hits, including a double, and three RBIs. Honeycutt chipped in a base knock and scored a run.
“The boys stepped it up and played well in both games to earn the sweep,” Butler concluded.
