ROCKINGHAM — There’s a positive buzz around the Richmond Senior High School baseball team this spring, as the Raiders prepare for their first full slate since 2019.
Set to begin play on Tuesday, the Raiders and third-year head coach Rob Ransom are looking to shift gears and remain competitive in the newly realigned 3A/4A Sandhills Athletic Conference.
Between fall workouts and pre-season practices, the Raiders have relied on a strong senior class to help restore the team’s energy and reset its focus.
“Things have gone really well so far,” Ransom said. “We didn’t throw as much as we wanted to in the fall, but I’ve been really pleased with the pitching and the effort early in the spring.
“There has been a much more positive effort from the guys, including their attitudes and chemistry,” he added. “I attribute that to all of the seniors, who are guys who have seen some hard times and had to grow up in a hurry the last couple of years.”
Third-year head coach Rob Ransom addresses the team at practice on Friday. (Kyle Pillar/The Richmond Observer)
The Raiders have eight seniors on this year’s team, seven of whom are returners from last season. When they were sophomores, their season was cut short due to the pandemic and they played just a 14-game campaign in 2021.
“We’re excited to have a full season, and I think we all appreciate the game now more than ever,” Ransom explained. “There’s definitely a buzz from our boys.”
Looking to build off a 5-9 record and a fifth-place finish in the Sandhills Athletic Conference, Richmond will have three All-Conference players back on the roster — seniors Alston Johnson, Matthew Walker and Cameron Way.
Richmond was in a lot of games last season, losing four games by two runs or less. Ransom said this year’s team has the “maturity to push the Raiders over the edge,” and that the team hasn’t forgotten the disappointment of not doing well last spring.
He added that being able to finish games and finish plays are goals for the Raiders, while also “avoiding giving up that one big inning in a game.”
Ransom believes if the team can keep its strikeouts at the plate less than seven, walk no more than four batters and limit errors to two or less per night, the Raiders have a high probability of winning a lot of games.
Senior middle infielder Alston Johnson, a returning All-Conference player, fields a ball at practice. (Kyle Pillar/The Richmond Observer)
Way, who will play third base and look to build off his .364 average last season, said the team hopes to be more consistent and surprise other teams.
“Last year we didn’t perform how we wanted to and I don’t think people expect us to be too good this year,” Way, three-year varsity starter, said. “But we want to come out and shock them. We want to be more consistent and do better fielding the ball.
“Hopefully we can win a lot of games,” he added. “Richmond has high expectations in every sport, and baseball has such a rich culture. We’re trying to continue that and hit the reset button since we’ve been cut short the last two years.”
Ransom said Richmond’s depth, something that is much deeper this season, will start on the mound. Eight players will share the pitching responsibilities, starting with senior Louisburg College commit Will Dawkins.
The right-hander, who can nearly hit 90 MPH on the gun, led the Raiders last spring with 28.2 innings pitched and had a team-high 27 strikeouts. Way will also do some pitching, as he tossed 26 innings and punched out 25 batters as a junior.
Senior Will Dawkins is one of eight pitchers who will provide depth on the mound this spring. (Kyle Pillar/The Richmond Observer)
Also expected to rack up the innings are juniors Walker Lambeth and Ethan Locklear, along with sophomore James Eason. All three were vital pitchers during the junior varsity team’s success last spring.
Seniors Jude Howard and Colin Wheeler both saw action and will return to the bump in 2022 to fortify the depth.
Sophomore Camron Seagraves will be used during “the back end of games” as the closer. He had 23 Ks in 18 innings of work as a freshman.
“We need to use our pitching depth to be successful,” Ransom said. “With three games a week, we’ll have to monitor pitch counts, but the depth of our pitching staff is what we’ll rely on.
“There are about 12 guys on this team who can play multiple positions,” he added. “I’m really excited to have a lot of options and it’s good for practice and competition for the guys to push one another.”
Dotting the outfield will be Walker in left, Locklear in center and junior Ashton Phifer in right. Seagraves could see time in the outfield, along with seniors Cody Eason and Dexter Mabe.
Way will hold down the hot corner, Eason and Johnson will serve as the middle infielders at shortstop and second base, while Dawkins, Howard, Walker and junior Ethan Clayton will split time at first.
Wheeler will fulfill the catching role as he’s done since his sophomore year, and junior Jullian Cline will also serve as a middle infielder for the Raiders.
Senior left fielder Matthew Walker throws home during a round of fielding drills. (Kyle Pillar/The Richmond Observer)
“With three All-Conference guys returning, we expect them to be leaders,” Ransom explained. “Camron (Seagraves) had a great year as a freshman and showed a lot of promise.
“Will and Walker will play a big role on the mound, and we’re also looking to Colin to have a big senior season behind the plate and at bat.”
Over the past two weekends, the Raiders have played in four scrimmages at Terry Sanford High School. Howard noted that having fun while playing the game has created a lot of positive energy going into the season.
“We’re very confident and we’ve looked good in our scrimmages this spring,” Howard said. “The energy is there and it’s a lot of fun when we’re getting hits, fielding the ball cleanly and the pitchers are throwing strikes.
“A lot of us have been playing together since we were really young, and this senior class is trying to set the right example by playing hard every pitch. We’ve found the fine line of being serious while having a lot of fun.”
The Raiders are one of just three 4A teams in the split conference, so finishing in the top two spots will secure them a trip to the state playoffs. Richmond will have to contend with Pinecrest High School, which won the SAC last year, and Hoke County High School.
New this year are 3A opponents Union Pines, Lee County and Southern Lee, along with familiar foe Scotland High School, which dropped a classification this season.
“The buzz is that this is a very good baseball conference, and there are a lot of coaches who have been successful for a long time,” Ransom said. “Pinecrest is the frontrunner, Scotland is always a handful and Union Pines and Southern Lee are good at the 3A level.
“We want to win the conference, be competitive and reach the playoffs,” he closed. “And we want to see what we can do to get it going at the right time.”
Richmond will open its 22-game regular season with three games this week, starting at home against non-conference Montgomery Central (Tuesday) and Butler (Wednesday). The Raiders will travel to Montgomery Central on Friday.
