Raiders use three pitchers to no-hit Seventy-First in 17-0 win; collect 10th straight victory

ROCKINGHAM – Richmond pitchers Trey Watkins, Cam Carraway and Justin Ingram combined for the team’s third no-hitter in Sandhills Athletic Conference play this season, but that was overshadowed in a good way by the Raiders’ offense Tuesday night.

The green and gold scored 17 total runs against the Seventy-First High School Falcons (0-14, 0-11 SAC), including 12 runs in the bottom of the second inning alone, on 10 hits and ended the game on the mercy-rule in the fifth frame. It was Richmond’s third-straight mercy-rule win, and it’s 10th straight win, which is tied for the longest active streak in 4A play (Myers Park High School also won its 10th straight game Tuesday over Hickory Ridge High School).

 

Richmond first got on the board in the first inning with one run, but the offense sent 16 batters to the plate to push the lead all the way to 13-0 by the end of the second.

 

Included in the scoring effort was starting third baseman Tyler Bass’s two-RBI line-drive single to left field that scored Garet Weigman and Drew Loving. The Raiders would continue to add to the lead as the starting lineup turned over to the bench players. One of those such players, Jahan Jones, roped a 3-RBI double into the outfield to end the offensive output and put the score out of reach at 13-0.

 

In the bottom of the third, Braxton Furstein flied to left but the left fielder misplayed the ball and the error allowed two more runs to score and make it 15-0.

 

In the bottom of the next inning, Chris Austin and Carraway each had an RBI single to bring the final score of 17-0. It was at this point, the Raiders started playing more station-to-station baseball, as to not continue to run the up the score. But for head coach Ricky Young, it was an excellent opportunity to get everyone on the roster some playing time.

 

“Anytime you get 22 players on the field it’s a good night,” Young said. “We did what we had to do. Being able to get everybody in the game is the big thing.”

 

Young went on to say that he and his coaches knew the Raiders could score runs against the Falcons, but for his team, the main objective was to stay focused.

 

He acknowledged that having not one, but three no-hitters from his pitching staff in SAC play was “pretty impressive,” as Richmond has extended its winning streak to an even 10 games.

 

“We don’t really talk about,” the coach said of the winning streak. “We just talk about getting better every day and trying to do things the right way.”

 

The trio of Watkins, Carraway and Ingram combined for for nine strikeouts on the night to go along with the zero hits and four walks allowed.

 

Richmond (15-5, 7-4 SAC) will next hit the field at 7 p.m. on Friday in the second game of a home-and-home against Seventy-First.

 

In order to make it 11 wins in a row, Young concluded that the Raiders will need to continue playing solid defense, execute their plays, stay sharp in the batters’ box and look for more timely hitting.