ROCKINGHAM — The Richmond junior varsity baseball team mercy-ruled Jack Britt High School on Tuesday.
Using 12 hits from seven different players, the JV Raiders blanked the JV Buccaneers 15-0 in five innings.
“We did everything right tonight,” head coach Corey Wallace said. “We hit the ball well, made plays in the field and our two pitchers threw strikes. When we do all three of those things effectively, we’re going to win ball games.”
Sophomore pitcher Ethan Locklear earned the win, tossing three innings of work and allowing just two hits while striking out four batters. Fellow sophomore Bryce Goodwin capped the win with two innings of relief, giving up a solo hit and punching out two batters.
Sophomore pitcher Ethan Locklear throws a pitch during the second inning. (Kyle Pillar)
The JV Raiders scored at least four runs in three of the four innings they made trips to the plate, jumping out to a 4-0 lead after the first inning.
Scoring the first run of the game with the bases loaded was freshman James Eason, who stole home after leading off with a single. A Jack Britt error allowed sophomore Walker Lambeth (walk) to score.
Locklear helped his cause with an RBI linedrive single to center, scoring sophomore Ethan Clayton (HBP). The final run of the inning came when freshman Cain Hunsucker dropped a bloop single into shallow right, plating Locklear.
Richmond tacked on five more runs in the bottom of the second inning. With the bases loaded and one out, freshman Isaac Hinshaw laced a two-RBI single to right, scoring sophomore Ashton Phifer (walk) and Lambeth (walk).
Leading 6-0, Locklear reached on an error in the next at-bat, scoring Clayton (single). Hinshaw scored safely thanks to a passed ball, and a Jack Britt error on a Damon Bryant fly ball allowed Locklear to cross home plate.
Using four hits, including one of the team’s four doubles in the game, the JV Raiders added two runs in the third. Eason scored on a wild pitch after recording a one-out single and swiping second and third.
Freshman James Eason rounds third after stealing the base during Tuesday’s win. (Kyle Pillar)
Locklear helped his cause again, this time beating out an infield single to score Lambeth (single).
Three more doubles in the bottom of the fourth helped the JV Raiders add to their lead. With two outs and no one on, Phifer doubled to right and scored in the next at-bat when Eason traded places with him.
A walk to freshman Tyler Graham put two on and Clayton collected his second double of the game, scoring Eason. Graham would later come home on a wild pitch, and freshman Zane Searcy plated Clayton for the game’s final run when he reached on an error.
Sophomore Ashton Phifer beats the tag on his double in the fourth inning. (Kyle Pillar)
Goodwin faced just four batters in the top of the fifth, collecting a strikeout, a groundout to Clayton at first and a flyout to freshman Davis Faw at second base to end the game.
Clayton and Eason both had three hits, scored three runs and drove in one run. Locklear had two hits and three RBIs, while Hinshaw added a hit and a trio of runs batted in.
Improving to 4-1 on the season, the JV Raiders will travel to Jack Britt on Friday. The game will begin at 4:30 p.m.
