SANFORD — Dominant pitching from sophomore Camron Seagraves and senior Cameron Way set the tone for the Raiders during Wednesday’s Sandhills Athletic Conference win.
Playing a make-up game against Southern Lee High School, the Raiders held on for a 4-3 win. The victory redeemed a loss to the Cavaliers from earlier in the season to split the two-game series.
Seagraves made the start for Richmond and went 5.0 innings, allowing just one unearned run on two hits. He also struck out seven batters en route to the win.
Way closed the door against the Cavs in the final 2.0 innings, surrendering two unearned runs on two hits. He punched out four batters and helped start the final out of the game, a run down between first and second base, which got the tying run out.
A couple of key defensive plays also helped the Raiders’ pitching, starting with a pickoff at third base from Seagraves to Way to end a threat in the top of the first.
Two innings later, a wild pitch from Seagraves hit the backstop and bounced to catcher Colin Wheeler, who made a diving tag to record an out. Wheeler cut off the plate from Ashton Donathan, keeping the game scoreless.
Richmond took a 1-0 lead in the top of the fourth inning when senior Matthew Walker hit a solo home run.
Senior Matthew Walker (8) trots across home plate after his solo home run. (Kyle Pillar/The Richmond Observer)
On the first offering from starting pitcher Kale Scruggs (5.1 innings, 5 hits, 4 runs, 9 Ks), Walker barreled up the pitch and sent a laser over the right field wall for his first long shot of the season.
In the bottom of the fourth, Seagraves struck out the side and the final punch out of the inning against Matthew Powers left the bases loaded.
The Raiders tacked on two more runs in the top of the fifth. Senior Jude Howard (error) and junior Ethan Locklear (single) got on the corners with one out. Locklear stole second base, allowing Howard to steal home on the throw.
During the same at-bat to Walker, Locklear scored to make it 3-0 when the Cavaliers committed an error on a ground ball.
An RBI single from Pierce Bouwman in the home half of the fifth cut Southern Lee’s deficit to two runs.
The Raiders resorted to small ball to help score the game-winning run. Wheeler led off the top of the sixth with a single, one of six hits for the Raiders. A sacrifice bunt from Seagraves moved Wheeler to second.
Two batters later against relief pitcher Cooper Harrington, sophomore James Eason roped an RBI single to center, scoring Wheeler. He also had a double in the game.
Way dealt back-to-back strikeouts to record the final two outs of the bottom of the sixth to strand runners on second and third and maintain a three-run lead.
Southern Lee managed to score two runs in the bottom of the seventh, the first coming on an error. The other run scored while the Raiders worked to get Scruggs out in the rundown. Eason applied the tag to end the game.
Cameron Way (6) holds up his glove after a pick-off to third, which ended the top of the first. (Kyle Pillar/The Richmond Observer)
Richmond (7-4, 3-4 SAC) will close out its three-game week with a home game against Union Pines High School on Friday.
Looking to even the series with the Vikings (5-6, 1-4 SAC), varsity play will start at 7 p.m.
JV Raiders return to action with win over Southern Lee
Returning to action for the first time since Friday, the Richmond junior varsity baseball team earned a 12-2 mercy-rule win over Southern Lee in six innings on Wednesday.
Scoring at least one run in each inning, the Raiders jumped out to a 6-0 lead after three innings. A run in the fourth, four more in the fifth and one in the sixth capped the win.
Southern Lee scored both of its runs in the bottom of the fourth frame.
Alan Taylor started for the JV Raiders and threw 5.0 innings. He allowed two runs on two hits and struck out seven batters. Jason Walker tossed the final inning of work, retiring the JV Cavs in order and picking up two Ks.
Jeremiah Ritter had a pair of doubles and also recorded an RBI. Mason Murray brought in two runs on two hits, including a triple, and Walker had one hit and two RBIs. Adding one RBI apiece were Landon Taylor and Isaac Hinshaw.
Riley Brown rounded out Richmond’s seven-hit performance and drew two walks and scored two runs.
“Alan really set the tone for us on the mound today and we fed off that,” head coach Ryan Mercer said. “The guys are buying into our approach at the plate and it’s starting to show.
“Like I said after the Pinecrest game, I’ll go to battle with these guys any day of week. We have to stay focused and keep things rolling, and keep the one-game-at-a-time mentality going into Friday at Union Pines.”
The JV Raiders (5-3) will play a doubleheader at Union Pines on Friday.
