SANFORD — Solo runs in the first two innings of Tuesday’s game were enough to get the job done for the Richmond Renegade baseball team.
Traveling to Southern Lee, the Renegades secured a 2-1 victory, the team’s third straight win.
Behind a three-pitcher effort, Richmond limited Southern Lee to just one run on four hits.
Ethan Locklear started the game, tossing 3.0 innings and allowing one earned run on two hits with five strikeouts.
Allen Taylor pitched 1.0 inning of relief and posted zeroes with one K, and Mason Murray closed the door with 3.0 innings of shutout baseball. He allowed just two hits and fanned eight batters at the plate.
Ashton Phifer led off the game with a single, one of Richmond’s three hits, and scored with one out on a passed ball.
Locklear stranded two runners in the home half, and the Renegades scored the eventual game-winning run in the top of the second.
Landon Taylor connected on a one-out base hit to left field and stole second base to get into scoring position. He moved to third on a passed ball before scoring on a wild pitch.
A four-batter bottom of the second by Locklear kept Richmond ahead and Southern Lee used a walk, a double and an RBI groundout to score its run in the bottom half.
Allen Taylor allowed three runners to reach base in the fourth, but rolled a 4-3 double play and got a strikeout to end the inning without any damage.
Murray struck out two batters in the fifth and recorded four strikeouts in the sixth (one batter reached on a dropped third strike).
A leadoff double to start the bottom of the seventh didn’t shake Murray, who capped the game with a pair of strikeouts and a groundout.
Zane Searcy registered Richmond’s third and final hit, a single, in the sixth inning.
Improving to 7-2 on the summer, the Renegades will host Southern Lee in their third of four games this week on Wednesday. First pitch is slated for 7 p.m. in Rockingham.
