ROCKINGHAM — Getting the job done with his bat and on the mound, a junior baseball player contributed to the start of Richmond Senior High School’s baseball team’s current winning streak.
As a result, Caden Nolan, a middle infielder and the Raiders’ No. 2 pitcher and cleanup batter, has been named the Official Richmond County Male Student-Athlete of the Week.
Collecting a sweep against a Sandhills Athletic Conference opponent, Richmond also added a non-conference victory to win all three games.
Pivotal in each game, Nolan earned his first career recognition from The Richmond Observer.
Athletic Profile: Caden Nolan
Year: Junior
Spring sport: Baseball
Positions: Shortstop, Pitcher
Varsity experience: 2 Seasons
Other sports: Football
Junior Caden Nolan, shown during last Tuesday’s win, hit a solo homer in a one-run win over Hoke County.
(Kyle Pillar/The Richmond Observer)
“CLASSROOM CREDITS” WITH CADEN NOLAN
Balancing school and sports during two athletics seasons during the year, Nolan said he makes it a priority to get his bookwork done so he can enjoy playing sports.
One of many Richmond students who take advantage of the school’s dual enrollment program, Nolan has spent his junior year earning college credits at Richmond Community College. He passed his three college classes in the fall — English 111, Spanish 111 and Math 143.
In his two classes at the high school, Nolan earned As in AP US Government (95) and Weight Training Honors (100).
This spring, he’s got another tough course load that includes two classes at Richmond and two more courses at RichmondCC. Nolan is taking another section of Weight Training Honors along with English III Honors, as well as Psychology 150 and Sociology 210.
Ranked in the top 35 students in the graduating class of 2026, Nolan has a 4.214 weighted grade point average.
“DUSTING UP THE DIAMOND” WITH CADEN NOLAN
The Raiders ended a three-game slide last week and started a three-game winning streak. Richmond swept Hoke County High School in its SAC series and picked up a non-conference win on the road at Montgomery Central High School.
During that stretch of games at the plate, Nolan went 3-for-7 (.429 batting average) with two singles, a home run and two runs batted in. He also drew four free passes and scored twice.
Opening the week at home against Hoke County, the Raiders won 1-0. Nolan was responsible for the run when he hit a solo homer in the bottom of the second inning. His blast cleared the fence in left field and landed on top of the team’s indoor hitting facility.
A night later at Montgomery Central, Nolan had a base hit and scored a run as part of a 9-4 victory.
Nolan’s best performance of the week came in Friday’s 10-0 victory over the Bucks in five innings.
Fulfilling the role as Richmond’s No. 2 starting pitcher, he threw a complete game and allowed just four hits. Nolan struck out 10 batters on just 64 pitches and didn’t allow a base on balls.
Going 1-for-2 at the dish to go along with two free passes, Nolan had a single and an RBI.
Through 11 games, Nolan is batting .357 (third-best on the team) with 10 hits and 8 RBI.
The Raiders (6-5, 3-3 SAC) host Union Pines High School Tuesday in the first of two games against the Vikings this week. First pitch is at 7 p.m.
“RAPID RESPONSE” VIDEO WITH CADEN NOLAN
VIDEO: Click here to watch Caden Nolan’s video interview.
The Richmond Observer will publish two more Official Richmond County Student-Athletes of the Week next week.
