FAYETTEVILLE — A new era of Richmond Raider baseball began Saturday, as the team competed in its first scrimmages ahead of the 2020 spring campaign.
Traveling to Terry Sanford High School, the Raiders were managed by first-year skipper Rob Ransom. Richmond would play two scrimmages, each with an hour and a half time limit.
The Raiders tied Eugene Ashley High School 4-4 in five innings, and used a seven-run fourth inning to defeat the host Bulldogs 7-4 in six innings.
With wet and wintry weather overtaking practice time the last two weeks, Ransom noted his team hasn’t had as much outdoor practice time as he’d hoped for.
The two scrimmages were the first bit of live action for the Raiders this spring, and Ransom said he was overall pleased with the performances, but noticed some areas that needed some work.
“I thought we looked pretty good overall,” Ransom said. “I was really pleased with our pitching. But there are some things we need to work on and that’s because we haven’t been able to get outside as much as I’d like to.
“Defense and base running are things we need to work on,” he added. “But I thought the guys competed and we had some big hits in some timely spots. All in all, I was really pleased.”
Over the 11 innings played, Ransom used seven pitchers. Senior left-hander Luke Preslar is the only returner this season with significant innings pitched at the varsity level last year. He tossed two innings against Ashley and gave up one earned run on three hits.
Also against Ashley, sophomore JD Lampley threw two innings, giving up two unearned runs on one hit. Senior Dallas Cowick finished the final inning of the scrimmage, surrendering a run on one hit. The trio of Raiders combined for two strikeouts and five walks.
Pitching against Terry Sanford in the night cap were sophomores Harley Honeycutt and Cameron Way, and juniors Michael Pettitt and Nygie Stroman.
Having the most successful run of the day was Stroman, a southpaw, who tossed the second and third innings. He faced just six batters in the two innings and struck out five Bulldogs, including the side in order in his first inning of work.
Way was also impressive, punching out five batters in fourth and fifth innings and allowing just one hit. He would earn the win thanks to a seven-run fourth inning by the Raiders.
Honeycutt and Pettitt pitched the first and sixth innings, respectively, and both gave up two runs.
“We haven’t had the opportunity for everybody to get a lot of work in,” Ransom explained. “Pitch counts have been down, so I’m trying to keep everyone around 40 or 45 pitches. I told them that’s where they’d be today. It’s early in the season and we’re not trying to stretch anyone.”
The Raiders’ defense showed out early in the first scrimmage, starting with double play in the bottom of the first that saw Cowick snag a low line drive at short and pick off a napping base runner at first.
An inning later, after Jacob Birkle gave the Eagles a 1-0 lead with a homer to left, Pettitt started a 9-2 inning-ending double play on a flyout and gunned down Tristen Odham trying to tag on the play. Sophomore catcher Colin Wheeler applied the tag to save the run.
Singles from Honeycutt and senior Austin Talton in the top of the second set up Richmond’s first two runs. Sophomore Alston Johnson dug in and laced a line drive single to left, scoring the pair of baserunners.
An inning later, Wheeler delivered an RBI single on a hard grounder that snuck into right field, plating Cowick, who walked two batters before. Way scored the Raiders’ final run against Ashley when shortstop Branton Jernigan failed to catch a ball on a steal attempt at second.
Honeycutt started the second scrimmage on the hill, and allowed a one-out sacrifice fly and a bases-loaded walk to give Terry Sanford a 2-0 advantage.
In the first and second innings, Bulldog lefty Tommy Cooney, a senior committed to Fayetteville Tech, picked off three Raiders at first, something Ransom said his team has to get better at.
Both teams would go quietly until Richmond broke it open in the fourth. With the bases loaded and one out, Pettitt scored on a wild pitch by new pitcher Cason Puczylowski. In the same at-bat, Way helped his cause and sliced a two-RBI single to right field, scoring Preslar and Lampley.
Senior Blake Hall dug in next and hit a tapper to third, but Way beat the throw at the plate on the fielder’s choice single to give the Raiders a 4-2 lead. Following an out and two walks to load the bases, junior Jaheim Harrington drew a walk, scoring Hall.
To cap the inning, Talton roped a two-RBI double down the right field line, bringing in Hunter Hancock and Harrison Chance.
In the final inning, with Pettitt on the bump, a passed ball and a fielder’s choice allowed the Bulldogs to score their final two runs.
“I saw some good things and some things we need to tighten up,” Ransom said. “We need to cut down on the errors and I was disappointed by our base running. But today was a good showing.”
The Raiders will return to the practice field until their regular-season opener at home against non-conference Anson High School on Monday, March 2. The first official pitch of the 2020 season is set for 7 p.m. at Raider Stadium.
ROSports will publish a full season preview, including a Raider Video Chats article with players, later this week.
