ROCKINGHAM — As the high school varsity spring sports season prepares for the North Carolina High School Athletic Association state playoffs, the Richmond Senior High School junior varsity baseball team is celebrating a season well played.
Using a good mix of freshmen and sophomore players, the JV Raiders finished first in the Sandhills Athletic Conference with a 14-4 overall record. Against SAC teams, Richmond went 9-3 under the direction of head coach Ralph Butler.
“Obviously you’d like to finish first, which we accomplished,” Butler said. “The players worked hard and bought into what Coach Ricky Young talks about at practice on a daily basis.
“As a coach in any sport would do, you look at the roster and there are certain things you look for depending on your sport,” he added. “This team checks a lot of the boxes a coach would want to have in baseball.”
The JV Raiders saw their 2019 campaign start off with a season-high five-game winning streak, and knocked off each conference opponent at least once. Richmond swept Lumberton, Purnell Swett, and rival Scotland high schools, while splitting with Hoke County, Jack Britt and Pinecrest high schools.
Outside of conference play, Richmond swept Union Pines High School, and won each of its games against Anson, Northwest Guilford and Southeast Guilford high schools. The only SAC team the Raiders didn’t play was Seventy-First High School, whose JV team folded.
For Butler, the wins and finishing first in the conference were nice accolades, but it was his players’ growth throughout the season that impressed him the most.
“The biggest takeaway for me was their character,” Butler commented. “They were a fun group to be around and coach. They didn’t point fingers when things went wrong. They accepted responsibility for their part and picked their teammates up when things didn’t go so well.
“They can play the game and have a high baseball IQ, so for me, the fact that they’re talented and have good character just made things so much easier,” he added.
The one element of the JV Raiders this season that seemed to be above all other competition in the conference was their pitching. Using a trio of freshmen in Harley Honeycutt, JD Lampley and Cameron Way, along with sophomore Michael Pettitt, Richmond’s pitching set the tone.
Heading into the season, Butler said he knew he had “seven or eight” players who pitched during the preseason and could possibly throw later down the road. But he ultimately narrowed it down to the four pitchers, using Lampley as his top starter along with Honeycutt as his No. 2 pitcher.
Leading the club with four wins apiece were Lampley and Way, as Way served as the team’s best relief pitcher. Honeycutt and Pettitt combined for the team’s other six wins.
“They both threw the ball great, but I think just getting more comfortable with pickoffs and game management is where they grew the most,” Butler said of Lampley and Honeycutt. “Both of them have a chance to be really good. They both have good velocity as ninth graders, so if they continue to progress, they could run it up there pretty good in three years.
“Cameron and Michael also threw the ball well this year,” he added. “Cameron’s comfort level on the mound and game management was really good. He’s just a smart baseball player with a high baseball IQ. Michael is a guy who can just come in and pound the strike zone with his fastball and curve. He doesn’t walk many people, which was huge down the stretch in our last couple of games.”
The Raiders’ pitching staff recorded three shutouts on the season, while holding opponents to three runs or less nine times. Richmond’s offense was equally as impressive, scoring 10 or more runs six times.
The biggest margin of victory of the season was an 18-0 victory over Anson in the season opener, while the season series finale sweep against Scotland served as the perfect cap to the campaign. The Raiders also battled back to earn an extra-inning walkoff win against Pinecrest.
Lampley and Way had big performances against Pinecrest and Scotland to earn key SAC wins. But for Butler, the moment that sticks out most is his team’s 4-2 loss against Hoke County on March 28.
“I think the loss at Hoke was the defining moment,” Butler shared. “You learn a lot more when you lose than when you win. Every year, Coach Young talks about preparing the right way and not going through the motions.
“We didn’t really show up for that game prepared to play, which is not uncharacteristic for younger groups,” he added. “It takes a little time for them to realize that the SAC is competitive and if you go through the motions you’re not getting any better and you will lose.”
Other players Butler noted who filled out the team were freshman second baseman Alston Johnson, freshman catcher Colin Wheeler and sophomore outfielder Trevor Johnson.
Alston Johnson, along with Way, “made plays (in the field) and swung the bat all year long.” The two started down in the order and Johnson wasn’t even an every-game starter, but was eventually moved into the leadoff spot. Way earned his keep in the No. 2 hole.
Wheeler dug in behind the plate and caught every game for the JV Raiders, while also joining the varsity team for a stint early in the season. Butler noted Wheeler did a good job adjusting to the high school level, and that he’s a “smart hitter and has a great approach.”
Trevor Johnson’s best characteristic is his “aggressiveness,” which is something Butler said he liked.
“As long as they continue to work hard in the weight room and on the field they will be successful in the years to come,” Butler concluded.
