SHALLOTTE, N.C. — A complete effort by junior Evan Hodges on the mound and at the plate Wednesday helped get Richmond Senior High School back in the win column.
After a pair of tough losses to begin the Beach Diamond Invitational the previous two days at West Brunswick High School, the Raider baseball team ended the tournament with a victory.
Playing as the home team against North Brunswick High School, Richmond earned a 4-1 win.
The Raiders broke a 1-1 tie in the bottom of the fifth inning with a run and added two insurance runs in the sixth to distance themselves from the Scorpions.
Hodges was lights out on the mound, pitching a complete game for the win. He allowed an earned run in his seven innings, while giving up five hits and striking out three batters.
At the dish, Hodges went 3-for-4 with a trio of singles and three runs batted in. Through the three-game spring break tournament, Hodges recorded a team-high seven RBI.
The Raiders had just two other hits in the game, one single apiece from senior Landon Taylor and junior Jake Veach. Driving in one run was Veach, as Taylor also reached base on three base-on-balls.
Hodges started the game with a 1-2-3 top of the first inning and faced just four batters in the second.
Sophomore Drew Gause led off the bottom of the second by reaching on an error and scored the game’s first run when Veach hustled out an infield single on a chopper to second base.
North Brunswick scored its lone run of the game in the top of the third to tie it 1-1. A walk and a single put two runners on to start the inning, and following two fielder’s choices for outs, a wild pitch scored the run.
Stranding two runners in scoring position in the fourth, Hodges followed with a four-batter fifth inning. That allowed Richmond to take the lead for good.
Senior Jabari Douglas was plunked with a pitch to leadoff the Raiders’ fifth inning and was replaced with freshman courtesy runner Devin Haynes. Following an error and a wild pitch, Haynes scored the eventual game-winning run when Hodges slapped an opposite-field RBI single into right field.
Another four-batter inning from Hodges in the sixth paved the way for his final two RBI. With two away and the bases loaded, Hodges singled back up the middle to plate Veach (walk) and Haynes (running for Douglas, walk).
Closing the door with a 1-2-3 top of the seventh, Hodges sandwiched two fly outs around a strikeout.
Hodges was named to the All-Beach Diamond Invitational Team. In three games, he batted 5-for-11 (.455) with four singles, a double and a team-best seven RBI. He also added a complete game win on the mound to add to his resume.
The Raiders finished the regular season with a 14-9 overall record. Currently, Richmond sits in third place in the Sandhills Athletic Conference standings with an 8-4 record.
With Lee County and Southern Lee high schools still needing to play their regular-season series Wednesday and Thursday, the Raiders could move into second place if Southern Lee loses both games.
Guaranteed a home game to start the SAC tournament, Richmond will host the first round game Monday at 7 p.m. Final conference seeding and the team’s opponent will be finalized after the Lee County and Southern Lee series.
