ROCKINGHAM — On a night dedicated to recognizing the eight players of the class of 2022, the Richmond Senior High School baseball team cruised to a win.
Playing non-conference Lumberton High School, a host of soon-to-be graduates helped sink the Pirates 11-5.
Prior to the game, fans, coaches and family members celebrated the contributions of the team’s seniors: Will Dawkins, Cody Eason, Jude Howard, Alston Johnson, Dexter Mabe, Matthew Walker, Cameron Way and Colin Wheeler.
A 14-hit performance by the Raiders, including five doubles, paved the way to a fast start. Richmond outscored the Pirates 7-0 after the first two innings.
Left to right: Seniors Dexter Mabe, Cody Eason, Jude Howard, Matthew Walker, Alston Johnson, Cameron Way, Colin Wheeler and Will Dawkins (not pictured).
Johnson went 4-for-4 at the plate with a pair of doubles and scored three runs, while Walker added two hits (including a double) and a team-high three RBIs. Howard added a double and two RBIs, while Way notched a single and a double for one run driven in.
Each adding one RBI apiece were Mabe, Wheeler, junior Ashton Phifer and sophomores James Eason and Camron Seagraves.
Also helping give his senior teammates a boost was Seagraves, who threw 3.0 innings and gave up one unearned run on one hit. He added three strikeouts.
The Raiders’ bats put the pressure on Lumberton starting pitcher Caleb Maynor early, who lasted just one inning and gave up five earned runs on six hits.
Walker recorded his first RBI on a single to right field, scoring Johnson who led off the first with a double. A pair of two-out RBI singles from Seagraves and Eason added two more runs.
Senior Alston Johnson slides across home plate for Richmond’s first run. (Kyle Pillar/The Richmond Observer)
With runners on second and third, Howard dug in and lasered a double to the right-center gap to bring in two more runs to give the Raiders a 5-0 lead.
An RBI groundout by Walker and a Lumberton error afforded two more runs to Richmond in the bottom of the second inning off relief pitcher Jacob Conner (3.1 innings, 5 runs, 5 hits).
The Pirates (8-8) got a run back in the top of the third inning on a groundout to Eason at short.
Way took over the pitching responsibilities in the fourth for Richmond, going three innings. He allowed four runs on five hits and added a strikeout.
Three consecutive one-out doubles by the Raiders in the bottom of the fourth added two more runs. Johnson got it started with his second double of the night, and scored when Way doubled to left.
Trading places with Way in the next at-bat was Walker, who roped a double to right field to make it a 9-1 advantage.
Senior Matthew Walker connects on one of his two hits during Richmond’s win on Wednesday. (Kyle Pillar/The Richmond Observer)
Mabe extended Richmond’s lead when he smoked an RBI single down the left field line in the home half of the fifth, plating Eason (error).
A four-run top of the sixth by Lumberton cut the Pirates’ deficit to 10-5, but Eason came in and closed the door with a 1-2-3 top of the seventh. A 4-6-3 double play ended the game.
Recording Richmond’s final run a half inning earlier was an RBI single from Phifer, who beat out an infield hit to short. Scoring on the play was Walker, who reached on an error to lead off the inning.
Richmond (10-5) will play two games on Saturday in a spring break tournament at Terry Sanford High School. The Raiders will open against South View High School before playing the host Bulldogs.
VIDEO INTERVIEW: Seniors Cameron Way and Alston Johnson
VIDEO INTERVIEW: Seniors Jude Howard and Matthew Walker
VIDEO INTERVIEW: Head coach Rob Ransom
Note: The Richmond junior varsity baseball team (9-4) did not play on Wednesday, but will travel to non-conference West Stanly on Thursday.
