FAYETTEVILLE — An early deficit was too much for the Richmond Raider baseball team to overcome during Wednesday’s non-conference game at Cape Fear High School.
Richmond fell behind by four runs in the first inning, leading to an 8-3 loss for head coach Rob Ransom and the Raiders.
“We didn’t throw strikes tonight,” Ransom commented after the game. “We walked too many batters and hit two batters. Any time you do that you can’t win ball games.
“The defense was on its heels when we weren’t throwing strikes and it’s hard to play behind that,” he added. “Errors hurt us tonight, too.”
Between four pitchers, Richmond walked 12 batters and the defense committed five errors.
Cape Fear (1-0) plated four runs in the first on a sacrifice fly by James Sealey, a wild pitch, a bases-loaded walk and a hit-by-pitch with the bases loaded.
The Raiders would score their first run in the top of the third when sophomore Cameron Way reached first on a bunt single, plating fellow sophomore Alston Johnson, who started the inning with a base on balls.
An inning later, senior Austin Talton recorded an RBI when he grounded into a fielder’s choice, scoring junior Hunter Hancock (leadoff single).
The Colts loaded the bases to start the bottom of the fourth, and a bases-loaded walk and an error allowed Cape Fear to extend its lead to 6-2 by inning’s end.
Richmond’s final run came in the top of the fifth when senior Dallas Cowick scored on a wild pitch by Colts’ starter Payton Hope.
A sequence of a wild pitch and an error in the bottom half of the fifth resulted in Cape Fear scoring its final two runs.
The Raiders (0-2) collected five hits on the night, with Way and senior Luke Preslar each collecting two apiece. Hancock added a single, while Preslar’s double in the second inning was Richmond’s only extra-base hit.
“We did swing the bat a little better, but we just dug ourselves a hole tonight,” Ransom said. “What little momentum we did have, we couldn’t throw strikes when we needed to and keep it going.”
Richmond will return to action Saturday in a non-conference doubleheader against Eugene Ashley and E.A. Laney high schools. The games are set for 12 p.m. and 4 p.m. at home.
