SANFORD — Returning to play for the first time in two weeks, the Richmond Renegades used two pitchers to shut out Southern Lee on Tuesday.
Rising sophomores James Eason and Camron Seagraves combined to keep Southern Lee scoreless en route to a 4-0 win to open the three-game series.
“We got some big pitching performances from James and Camron tonight,” head coach Rob Ransom said. “James gave us a strong five innings and Camron closed it out with two great innings.
“Both of them kept their walks down and threw a lot of strikes,” he added. “And I was pleased with how they stayed ahead in the count. We limited our errors and played great defense to help get the win.”
Eason’s stat line consisted of five innings pitched, four hits, no runs and three strikeouts.
Seagraves entered in the sixth and faced just seven batters over two innings, recording six strikeouts in the process.
Neither pitcher allowed a runner on base via a walk.
Richmond took a 1-0 in the top of the first inning when rising senior Alston Johnson (leadoff walk) scored on an error following a grounder by fellow rising senior Matthew Walker.
The Renegades used an inning-ending double play to eliminate a two-on, one-out threat in the bottom of the first.
With runners on the corners, rising senior catcher Colin Wheeler threw down to rising senior Cameron Way to nab a runner trying to swipe second. Way returned the strike home to Wheeler, who tagged out the runner trying to score from third.
Eason retired Southern Lee’s batters in order in the second and third innings, opening the door for the Renegades to plate their final three runs in the top of the fourth.
Rising senior Cody Eason led off the fourth with an infield single to third, one of Richmond’s four hits in the game. He later scored on a passed ball with the bases loaded
James Eason helped his own cause a couple of at-bats later with a one-out, two-RBI line drive single to left field. Scoring on the play were Jullian Cline (hit-by-pitch) and Johnson (single) to make it 4-0.
Another inning-ending double play helped the Renegades escape the bottom of the fourth unscathed. Rising junior Walker Lambeth snagged a line drive at third base and doubled off a runner trying to get back to the bag.
Seagraves struck out the side in order in the sixth on 13 pitches, before facing just four batters in the seventh. He struck out the leadoff batter, saw a runner reach on an error, and fired two more strikeouts to close the door.
Richmond’s four hits were all singles coming from James Eason, Cody Eason, Seagraves and Johnson, who also scored a team-high two runs. Crossing the plate safely one time were Cline and Cody Eason.
Seagraves led the Renegades with three stolen bases, while Johnson, Cody Eason and James Eason all stole one base.
“It was nice to have guys back together, a lot of whom have been playing out of town,” Ransom closed. “There was a lot of good energy in the dugout, and we played really well.”
Improving to 3-3 on the summer, the Renegades will host Southern Lee on Wednesday and Thursday. Both games will start at 7 p.m.
