ROCKINGHAM — When called upon in big situations during Tuesday’s baseball game, rising seniors Davis Faw and Zane Searcy answered.
Each doing their part in the seventh inning, Faw and Searcy played key roles in the Richmond Renegades’ 6-5 victory over Western Harnett.
Trailing by a run entering the final frame, Faw made his first relief appearance on the mound this summer.
In cool fashion, he mowed through the Pioneers’ lineup, sitting them down in order on a groundout, strikeout and fly out to finish as the pitcher of record.
That set up for an exciting home half, as the Renegades tied the game and used a walk-off single from Searcy.
After going down two strikes, Searcy fouled off consecutive pitches before slicing the game-winning RBI single the other way, just under the diving first baseman. Scoring on the hit was sophomore Caden Nolan, who had a two-out single.
The back-and-forth affair started six innings earlier when starting pitcher Evan Hodges got a three-run cushion after facing just four batters in the top of the first.
Junior Landon Taylor led off the home half by reaching on an error and scored two batters later when Nolan knocked the first of his team-high two hits. Nolan singled back up the middle to make it 1-0.
Senior Isaac Hinshaw put himself and Nolan in scoring position with a one-out double, Richmond’s only extra-base hit. Hodges helped himself when he laced a two-RBI single on a line drive to center, extending the lead to 3-0.
Two defensive plays in the top of the second helped Richmond stay ahead. Following a single to left, Taylor started a 7-5-2 relay to the plate to nab a runner trying to score from second. Hinshaw took the cut and fired home to senior Cain Hunsucker, who applied the tag.
Also making a play in center field, junior Jeremiah Ritter made a diving grab to end the inning.
Junior Riley Brown and Sam Thompson both singled in the second but were stranded. Hodges (4 IP, one unearned run, five hits, three strikeouts) sat the Pioneers down in order in the third and saw a run cross the plate following a passed ball in the fourth.
In the fifth, junior Conner Phifer started the inning on the mound. He gave up one earned run in one-third of an inning and Thompson came in next to pitch.
With the bases loaded, Thompson got an inning-ending double play when Searcy snagged a liner at first and stepped on the bag to double off the runner.
Western Harnett scored three runs on a passed ball and two bases-loaded walks in the top of the sixth to take a 5-3 lead. Thompson (1.2 IP, three runs, three strikeouts) avoided the big inning by leaving the bases loaded with his final punch out.
The Renegades chipped away in the home half with another run, as leadoff walks to Brown and Thompson put two runners on. After a fielder’s choice to third, Thompson moved up on a passed ball.
In the next at-bat, Faw recorded an RBI with a groundout to first, scoring Thompson to make it a 5-4 deficit.
That set up the Faw-Searcy tag team in the seventh inning. The tying run was scored when Taylor hit a one-out single in the seventh and scored when an error was committed on a Hinshaw grounder.
Nolan’s two hits were a team-high, as Taylor, Searcy, Hinshaw, Hodges, Brown and Thompson rounded out the eight-hit effort.
Hodges’ two RBI led the Renegades and Nolan, Searcy and Faw contributed one apiece.
Richmond (4-3) will have an off day before hosting Scotland on Thursday at 6 p.m.
The Richmond Observer will publish a photo gallery of Tuesday’s walk-off win soon.
