PEMBROKE — Raider baseball head coach Ricky Young wanted to see hit team’s bats get to work after a slow start through the first three games of the season.
And a firework show he got during Wednesday’s Sandhills Athletic Conference opener at Purnell Swett High School. Richmond run-ruled the Rams 14-0 in five innings, and used an 11-run top of the fifth inning to get back in the win column.
The Raiders collected eight hits on the night, nearly doubling its total through the first three games of the season (10 hits entering the night). No other hit was more explosive than senior Jake Ransom’s grand slam, which broke the game open, 10-0, with two outs in the fifth.
Wednesday’s meeting was the second time the Raider and Rams had met since the two played an 11-inning marathon on March 9. 2018. In that game, Ransom also went yard, helping Richmond to a 9-8 win.
“We got the bats going early when we were able to string together a couple of bunt hits,” Young said after the game. “We ran the bases really well and scratched out a couple of runs early to give us the lead.
“I thought Hunter (Parris) did a really good job of attacking the strike zone and pitching with a lead,” he added of his senior starter. “The defense was also really good behind him. We were able to string together some hits and walks in the fifth, and of course Jake had that big hit.”
Playing with their three starting outfielders all on the bench (two with injury, one with illness), the Raider defense and Parris held the Rams to just three hits and recorded their second shutout in four games this season.
Parris improved to 2-0 on the spring, tossing 5 innings, giving up just three hits, striking out two batters and allowing one walk. He also shutout Anson High School in the season opener last week.
Junior Austin Talton, who was a courtesy runner for Parris, scored the game’s first run in the top of the second inning when Rams’ shortstop Zachary Carter committed an error.
Resorting to small ball, Richmond’s Brett Young led off the top of the third with a bunt single, and was followed by a base knock to center field by Ransom. Young would swipe third base in the next at-bat, as fellow senior Cameron Carraway added the second run of the night on a fielder’s choice to second.
Garet Weigman would join the RBI parade with a sacrifice fly to center field, allowing Ransom to trot home after advancing to third on a passed ball. Heading to the bottom of the third, the Raiders were up 3-0.
A bases-loaded walk to Evan Hudson by Chris Baker in the fourth at-bat of the fifth inning scored another Richmond run, and an error and another walk plated two more runs to make it 6-0.
Following a strikeout, Ransom dug in and belted his first homer of the season. The lefty connected on a first-pitch fastball from Baker, and sent a moonshot over the right field wall, watching the ball land near Purnell Swett’s tennis courts.
His bases-clearing shot brought home Hudson, Dallas Cowick and Tyler Bass to make it a 10-0 contest.
Richmond wasn’t done tacking on the runs, as Carraway and Weigman connected on back-to-back singles to keep the inning going. Parris was hit by a pitch, which loaded the bases. That started a string of three walks and an error, seeing the final four runs cross the plate to ice the win.
Parris came in and shut the door in the bottom of the fifth, collecting a strikeout, ground out and fly out.
Ransom led all players with 4 RBIs and went 2-for-3 at the plate. Brett Young and Weigman were also 2-for-3 batting, and combined for two runs and an RBI scored. Other Raiders to record an RBI were Carraway, Bass, Hudson, Cowick, Dawson Bryant, Will Chapel and Harrison Chance. Parris reached base all four times he went to the plate, drawing three walks and a HBP — he, along with Ransom and Carraway, scored twice.
“I really liked our mentality,” Young closed. “We were down three guys tonight and we played with the ‘next man up’ mentality. There was really good team chemistry and the guys stayed positive even though they had to face some adversity. I’m really proud of their approach tonight.”
Richmond (2-2, 1-0 SAC) will host Purnell Swett (1-3, 0-1) Thursday in Rockingham at 7 p.m.
