GREENSBORO — A 14-hit performance by the Richmond Senior High School baseball team helped the Raiders grab their ninth-straight win Saturday at Southeast Guilford High School.
Competing against what head coach Ricky Young called “a really good program,” his Raiders clipped the Falcons’ wings en route to an 8-2 non-conference win.
Coming off of back-to-back shutouts over Lumberton High School, the Raider pitching staff was riding a 14-inning scoreless streak. Senior right-hander Tyler Bass got the nod Saturday, and extended that streak to 19 innings with his five frames of shutout baseball.
Bass earned his fourth win and remained perfect on the spring, allowing just one earned run on three hits and struck out seven batters. Fellow senior Evan Hudson came in to close out the final two innings, giving up one run on three hits and two punchouts.
“Tyler threw the ball really well again, and Evan came in and got some big outs for us,” Young said. “But the biggest thing was the way we swung the bat today. We had 14 hits and if we can do that we have a good chance to beat anybody.”
A four-run second inning, coupled with a three-run fifth inning, saw the majority of the Raiders’ runs scored. Senior Cameron Carraway led Richmond at the plate, going 3-for-4 with an RBI double and two runs scored.
Fellow senior Garret Weigman was also productive, going 1-for-3 with a double and recording a team-high two RBIs. Four other players brought in a run during the win: Carraway, Bass, Nolan Allen and Garret Richardson.
Carraway led off the top of the second with a single to right field, and would score when Allen hit into a 6-4 fielder’s choice. Richardson, who was plunked in his first at-bat, scored from third on the next pitch, a wild throw by starting pitcher Zach Simmons.
Junior Dallas Cowick would record a single in the next-at back, and get caught in a rundown between first and second, allowing Allen to race home. Cowick managed to slide head first back to the bag, getting in ahead of a sprawling Isaiah Rhem.
Bass capped off the inning with an RBI single to left field, scoring Cowick, who had stolen second.
Richmond would get two more hits in the third, but leave the bases loaded. The Raiders responded two innings later to break the game open, starting with Weigman’s 2-run double to the left field corner. That knock scored Jake Ransom (walk) and Carraway (single).
Richardson recorded his RBI in the next at-bat against relief pitcher Will Fousek, lining a hit to left field, allowing courtesy runner Luke Preslar to score.
Carraway capped off Richmond’s scoring with an RBI double in the top of the sixth, sending a laser to the right-center gap, scoring Ransom.
The Falcons plated both of their runs in the bottom half of the sixth, thanks to a two-RBI single from Brandon Wallace.
“The guys are showing a lot of consistency and are believing in each other,” Young closed. “They’re a great group that enjoy being around each other and feed off each other. It’s evident when you watch us play.”
Through 16 games this season, Ransom (.378), Carraway (.359) and Bass (.341) have the top three batting averages on the team. Ransom leads the team in RBIs with 18, and Carraway’s lone tally Saturday gave him his 11th RBI, which is second on the team.
During the current nine-game winning streak, the Richmond pitching staff has combined to limit their opponents to 14 runs (eight earned) and has posted a 1.14 earned run average. On the season, Richmond has a 1.56 ERA and senior Hunter Parris leads the team with 33 strikeouts in 38 innings.
Last season, the Raiders won 12-straight games.
The second-place Raiders (13-3, 9-1 SAC) will look to extend their winning streak to 10 games Tuesday when they travel to last-place Sandhills Athletic Conference opponent Seventy-First High School (0-10-1, 0-9 SAC). First pitch is at 7 p.m.
