ROCKINGHAM — Baseball is a sport synonymous with summer time games, and the Richmond Rattlers will kick off their campaign later this week.
Competing in the Central Carolina Scholastic Summer League, the Rattlers are part of a developmental league aimed at preparing rising high school players for the spring sports season. Coached by 10-year Richmond Senior High School veteran Ricky Young, the Rattlers will look to carry on their success from the past few summers.
Since taking over the Raiders’ program, Young has made use of the summer months to coach his current and rising players. Last year, nearly 60 teams from across the central part of the state participated in the CCSSL, and it’s something that Young believe helps gives him, his coaching staff and most importantly, his players, a jump start for the 2020 season.
“We’ve played in this league ever since I’ve been the head coach here,” Young said. “It’s a good thing for the high schools because you’re able to coach your returning players.
“It’s a really good developmental league because it gives the guys a chance to play, get some at-bats, and allows me as a coach to see different guys in different situations — especially for the younger guys we haven’t seen that much,” Young added.
As explained by Young, the CCSSL is broken into two leagues, the first is the “senior league,” which is comprised primarily of rising junior and senior players, and a “junior league” for rising freshmen and sophomores.
While the format of playing double-headers against opponents will remain the same (junior teams play first, followed by the senior teams), Young noted this year will be the second-straight year without a championship tournament, which the Rattlers won in 2017 over Rolesville High School.
Last year, the Rattlers senior league team finished the summer 11-3, which included an 11-game winning streak. Not directly affiliated with Richmond Senior High School, the Rattlers play teams from around the sandhills that are also looking to grow returning players.
The schedule was set to start earlier this week, but rain and field conditions at Southern Lee High School pushed the opener to Tuesday at Lee County High School. Gone this summer are 12 seniors who graduated last week, but that’s not stopping Young and company from moving forward.
Some familiar faces from last year’s team include rising seniors Dallas Cowick (infielder), Harrison Chance (infielder), Austin Talton (outfielder), Blake Hall (catcher) and Luke Preslar (pitcher). New to the senior team this year will be rising juniors Michael Pettit, Jaheim Harrington, Tony Gathings, Trevor Johnson, Hunter Hancock and Tyler Mabe.
Also making the cut for the older team were five rising sophomores: JD Lampley, Cameron Way, Alston Johnson, Colin Wheeler and Harley Honeycutt.
“We get to see all of our players, and especially our younger players, an extended period of time,” Young noted about the benefit of the summer league. “Over the summer, we’re able to teach them some of the things we want to incorporate. With the older guys, it gives our returners the chance to get ready for whatever their new role will be next year.
“I tell the guys not to get too caught up in the results (of the summer league),” Young continued about his expectations for the CCSSL. “Obviously, we want to win games. But we really need the guys to get caught up in the process of becoming a better player. They’ll get the chance to get more at-bats, and repetitions at the plate, in the field and on the mound. Baseball is a repetition sport — any time you get the chance to get better, that’s what we want to do.”
Below is the complete Richmond Rattlers’ 13-game summer schedule. All home games will be played on Richmond’s baseball field and are marked with an asterisk; first start time denotes junior team, followed by senior team game time. ROSports will cover each summer league game.
June 2019
Tuesday, June 18: Richmond at Lee County High School (4:30 p.m. / 7 p.m.)
Wednesday, June 19: Western Harnett High School vs. Richmond (4:30 p.m. / 7 p.m.)*
Thursday, June 20: Lee County High School vs. Richmond (4:30 p.m. / 7 p.m.) *
Tuesday, June 25: Richmond at Union Pines High School (4 p.m. / 6:15 p.m.)
Wednesday, June 26: Union Pines High School vs. Richmond (4:30 p.m. / 7 p.m.) *
Thursday, June 27: Richmond at Southern Lee High School (4:30 p.m. / 7 p.m.)
July 2019
Tuesday, July 2: Southern Lee High School vs. Richmond (4:30 p.m. / 7 p.m.) *
Tuesday, July 9: Richmond at Pinecrest High School (4:30 p.m. / 7 p.m.)
Wednesday, July 10: Pinecrest High School vs. Richmond (4:30 p.m. / 7 p.m.) *
Thursday, July 11: Richmond at Pinecrest High School (4:30 p.m. / 7 p.m.)
Monday, July 15: Union Pines High School vs. Richmond (4:30 p.m. / 7 p.m.) *
Wednesday, July 17:Scotland High School vs. Richmond (5 p.m. / 7:30 p.m.)*
Thursday, July 18: Richmond at Scotland High School (4:30 p.m. / 7 p.m.)
