ROCKINGHAM — Overcoming an early deficit, the junior varsity Richmond Renegade baseball team earned a win on Wednesday to open summer ball.
After Tuesday’s first game of the Central Carolina Scholastic Summer League was postponed due to rain, the JV Renegades held on for a 6-2 win over Scotland in six innings (time limit).
Head coach Corey Wallace used a running batting order that saw all 19 players come to the plate, who collected eight hits in the win. He also moved players around to play multiple positions in the field.
Rising freshman pitcher Landon Taylor started on the mound and threw three innings. Taylor allowed just one unearned run on one hit and struck out eight batters.
Fellow rising freshman Jeremiah Ritter pitched the fourth and fifth innings, giving up just two hits and striking out three. Rising eighth grader Jason Gainey threw the final frame, surrendering one unearned run and picking up the team’s final strikeout.
“It was a really big win tonight and we did the situational things right when we needed to do them,” Wallace said. “There are a lot of new guys coming into the program, and there will be mistakes. But those are all little things we can fix that will turn this team into a good group in the future.
“Landon controlled the strike zone and that’s what he had to do,” he added. “The defense worked behind him. Jeremiah settled in and made some adjustments, and Jason came in and shut the door for us.”
Rising freshman pitcher Landon Taylor delivers a pitch during the second inning of Wednesday’s win. (Kyle Pillar)
Scotland took a 1-0 lead in the top of the third inning following a throwing error, but Richmond responded with three runs in the home half.
With two outs and rising freshman Gray Maultsby (walk) on third and rising eighth grader Riley Brown (fielder’s choice) on second, fellow rising eighth grader Evan Hodges roped a two-RBI double to the left-center gap.
Following a passed ball and a walk to rising eighth grader Jabari Douglas, Hodges raced home on a wild pitch to give Richmond a 3-1 lead.
Rising sophomore Vance Goodwin added to the lead in the bottom of the fourth inning, singling home rising freshman Garret Mabe (walk) with a shot to left with the bases loaded.
Richmond’s final two runs came in the bottom of the fifth, which started with rising sophomore Davis Faw leading off with a single and stealing second. Two batters later, rising freshman Jason Walker ripped an RBI single up the middle to score Faw.
Walker stole second and later scored when rising freshman Sam Thompson reached safely on a throwing error.
A walk in the top of the sixth, coupled with a wild pitch, accounted for Sctoland’s second run of the game.
The JV Renegades spread their eight hits across eight players, with Hodges and rising sophomore Cain Hunsucker both hitting a double. Collecting singles were Goodwin, Faw, Ritter, Thompson, Walker and rising sophomore Damon Bryant.
Hodges had a team-high two RBIs, while Goodwin and Walker each added one.
“When I called a play, the guys executed it,” Wallace said. “Evan had a big hit for us and he’s just a rising eighth grader. I’m expecting big things from him, along with a lot of others out here this summer.”
The JV Renegades (1-0) will continue CCSSL play Thursday at Scotland (0-1), starting at 4:30 p.m.
