HILTON HEAD, S.C. – Perhaps brooms are an appropriate reward for the Richmond Raider baseball team because it swept all four of its competitors in impressive fashion to win the 2018 Seahawk Invitational at Hilton Head High School over spring break.
Behind a dominant six-inning performance by starting left-handed pitcher Jonathan Lee, the Raiders defeated Lexington Catholic High School (Lexington, Ky.) 7-4 in the championship game Thursday morning.
Entering the four-game tournament, the Raiders (11-5) were riding a wave of momentum stemming from a Lee perfect game against Hoke County last week. That hot streak continued as a total team effort, with Richmond outscoring its opponents 21-10 during the invitational. The Raiders also never trailed in any of the four games during the tournament.
“It was a really good week for us,” head coach Ricky Young said following the championship victory. “The guys enjoyed themselves and we played some good baseball. Hopefully this will carry over to the rest of the season.”
Currently riding a season-high six-game winning streak, spanning nine days, the Raiders picked up an opening-round win against host Hilton Head (4-2), and then knocked off Chapman High School (6-3) which was ranked as the No. 5 team in 3A in South Carolina. During the semifinal round, Richmond’s Drew Loving exceled on the mound for a 4-1 win over George Washington, and the seven runs scored against Lexington Catholic was its most in a game since it put up eight against Pinecrest High School on March 16.
Lexington Catholic started the season with five straight wins, but lost in the semifinal round to Reagan High School (Pfafftown, N.C.) before falling to Richmond.
In the championship game against the Knights, junior Jake Ransom scored the game’s first run in the top of the first inning. He drew a four-pitch lead-off walk and was moved to second base thanks to a Cameron Carraway sacrifice bunt. Two batters later, Zack Hinson hit a line drive single to left field, scoring Ransom from second.
Both teams’ bats were quiet for a majority of the game, as Lee and Knights’ starter Santiago Peralta traded several scoreless innings. Peralta was pulled after four innings and replaced by Michael Asher, who struggled with Richmond’s bats in the fifth.
Junior Brett Young led off the inning by reaching first on an error, which was followed up by a one-out Lee walk. Gordon Pihl, who has come up clutch several times this season, roped an RBI single to right field, easily scoring Young and moving Lee to third. In the next at-bat, Ransom hit into a 6-3 fielder’s choice, but it was deep enough to allow Lee to dash home to make it 3-0 in favor of the Raiders.
Lee gave up his first run of the night in the bottom of the sixth when he allowed back-to-back one-out singles to Peyton Henry and Trenton Neuer. Noah Milburn plated Henry with a double to right field, closing the gap to 3-1, but Lee would record a ground ball and strikeout to end the threat.
Richmond’s bats exploded for four runs in the top of the seventh inning, all scoring with two outs, ultimately sealing the tournament victory. First, Asher loaded the bases, and walked in a run with Loving at the plate. Hinson connected in the next at-bat with a two-run single, and Loving finished the scoring when Richmond called a double steal.
Down to their final three outs, the Knights started a rally that sent eight batters to the plate and scored two more runs, but reliever Drew Grant, who started the inning, settled down and got the outs he needed for the victory.
Lee was named the Seahawk Invitational Most Valuable Player, and was also named to the All-Tournament team. He went 6-for-11 in the four games, smashing two home runs, two doubles, two singles and three RBIs.
His most impressive game was a 4-for-4 day at the dish against Chapman where he was a triple shy of hitting for the cycle. He also pitched against Lexington Catholic in the finale, going six innings, and allowed six hits, one earned run and struck out four batters.
Also named to the All-Tournament team were Loving and Trey Watkins. Both earned wins on the mound, as Loving threw a complete game against George Washington, giving up just four hits and one unearned run, while striking out three batters. He went 4-for-12 at the dish with four singles and three RBIs. Watkins got the win against Chapman, going 6.2 innings with one earned run and nine strikeouts.
Richmond will get back into Sandhills Athletic Conference play early next week against sixth-place Lumberton High School. The first of the two meetings is set for Tuesday at home at 7 p.m.
