SANFORD — Rebounding after back-to-back shutouts last week, the junior varsity Richmond Renegade baseball team returned to the win column on Tuesday.
On the road at Southern Lee, the JV Renegades used a strong start from pitcher Landon Taylor and two RBIs from Jeremiah Ritter to earn a 6-3 win.
“The past couple games, we’ve committed lots of errors, which has led to a lot of runs for other teams,” head coach Corey Wallace said. “We still need to clean some things up, and at this point, the kids should know what we expect.
“But it’s big to get a win after getting shut out twice last week,” he added. “It definitely builds the kids’ confidence and helps with the team as a whole. We’re hoping to keep that going.”
Taylor made his fourth start of the summer and went five innings. He gave up three runs (one earned) on three hits. He reached double-digits in strikeouts, sitting 10 batters down via the punchout.
Damon Bryant sealed the deal on the mound during the final two innings, not allowing a hit, a walk or any runs. He retired the side in order in the sixth, before escaping a two-on, no-out jam with three straight outs in the seventh.
“Landon pitched very well again for us, and he’s proven to be a very effective pitcher for us all summer,” Wallace said.
“Damon has done a great job as well, especially for not having pitched in the spring. He’s taken advantage of the chance we’ve given him and he’s been throwing strikes.”
Richmond took a 4-0 lead in the top of the second, starting with Jason Walker stealing home after a leadoff walk.
A walk to Mason Murray, and back-to-back hit-by-pitches to Brooks Calhoun and Gray Maultsby, loaded the bases for Ritter. On the first offering, Ritter laced a two-RBI line drive single to right field.
The final run of the inning came when Ritter scored on a passed ball with Riley Brown at the plate.
Southern Lee scored a run back in the bottom half, but Jabari Douglas (leadoff walk) scored a solo run in the top of the third on another passed ball to make it a 5-1 lead.
Two more runs in the bottom of the fourth from Southern Lee made it a two-run advantage for Richmond, but Ritter scored a late insurance run in the top of the sixth.
“Offensively we made mistakes on basepaths, and I attributed to that by trying to be too aggressive,” Wallace explained. “We are still learning our situations, but Jeremiah had a great game at the plate with two RBIs and scoring two runs.”
The JV Renegades had four hits in the game — all singles. Ritter had two, while Taylor and Walker each knocked a base hit. Richmond’s defense committed six errors in the game.
Now 6-3 on the summer, the JV Renegades will return home for two games on Wednesday and Thursday to close the three-game series against Southern Lee. Both games will start at 4:30 p.m.
