PITTSBORO — The junior varsity Richmond Renegade baseball team swung its way into the win column on Thursday.
Playing on the road for the first time this summer, Richmond defeated Northwood 14-7 in three innings.
The game was called after the third in order to start the varsity game.
After tying the JV Chargers in the summer opener on Tuesday, and suffering a loss to Pinecrest on Wednesday, the JV Renegades used 11 walks and four hits to earn the victory.
Richmond used two pitchers in the win, starting with Elijah Shepard (2 IP, seven runs, seven hits, two Ks). Throwing one inning of relief was Drew Gause (one hit, one strikeout).
Stranding a pair of base runners in the top of the first, Richmond fell behind early in the home half. Northwood scored two runs on an error and another on an RBI single to take a 3-0 lead.
The momentum shifted in the top of the second, which saw the JV Renegades send 16 batters to the plate to score 11 runs.
Colton Brown (error) and Shepard (double) led off the inning by getting into scoring position. Keith Cummings hit a sacrifice fly to left to score Brown.
Two batters later, Tristian Chavis hit into an RBI groundout to second base to make it a one-run game. An RBI double by Gause scored another run to tie the game.
A walk to Michael Osentowski put runners on the corners and Jackson Webster gave Richmond the lead with an RBI infield single. After Adan King was hit by a pitch to load the bases, a wild pitch plated Osentowski.
Three consecutive free passes with the bases loaded to Jake Veach, C.J. Jenkins and Hayden Wheeler widened Richmond’s lead to 8-3. A wild pitch and a passed ball with Jason Gainey at the plate scored two more runs.
Wheeler capitalized on another passed ball in the dirt, racing home to cap the 11-run inning.
Northwood got three runs back in the bottom of the second, scoring on a two-RBI triple and an RBI groundout to shortstop.
The JV Renegades responded with three runs of their own in the top of the third. Cummings (walk) stole home as part of a double steal initiated by Braden Baucom.
An error on a Gause grounder and the same result on a ball put in play by Osentowski recorded Richmond’s final two runs.
Gause faced just four batters in the bottom of the third, using a pop out, a groundout and a strikeout to seal the deal.
Six different players recorded one RBI for the JV Renegades — Veach, Jenkins, Wheeler, Cummings, Chavis and Gause. Webster’s two singles were a team-high, as Gause and Shepard each barreled up a double.
Richmond (1-1-1) will return to play at Scotland next Tuesday, starting play at 4 p.m.
