ROCKINGHAM — Rallying late in Friday’s game, the Richmond Senior High School junior varsity baseball team came up just short of completing a comeback.
Closing out their first round of regular-season action against Mid-South Conference opponents, the JV Raiders suffered an 8-6 loss to Pinecrest High School.
Richmond scored all six of its runs between the fifth and sixth frames, but the game ended after the sixth inning due to the time limit.
A scoreless game through the first three innings saw the JV Patriots lead 1-0 after the fourth. A five-run top of the fifth made it a six-run lead, but Richmond scored a trio of runs to make it 6-3.
Two insurance runs in the top of the sixth by Pinecrest were followed by three more runs by the JV Raiders in the home half.
Freshman Colton Nelson pitched all six innings for the JV Raiders. Of the eight runs he allowed, four were earned on four hits. He finished the game with five strikeouts.
A two-out RBI single in the fourth gave Pinecrest the lead and the JV Patriots scored five runs an inning later to jump ahead 6-0.
With one gone in the bottom of the fifth, freshman Nate Culbreth tripled home a pair of runs to get the JV Raiders on the board. Scoring to make it 6-2 were freshman Sam O’Neal (walk) and Nelson (error).
One pitch later, freshman Jaxton Watson recorded an RBI groundout to second base, which scored Culbreth.
Pinecrest’s two runs in the sixth were the result of an error with two outs. O’Neal ended the inning when he nabbed a base runner trying to steal second.
To start the bottom of the sixth, freshmen Brody Bryant, Jackson Parsons and Nate Erwin singled to load the bases. Bryant and Parsons both scored in the next plate appearance by sophomore Kerick Hairston Jr., who reached on an error.
Richmond’s final run scored when Nelson hit a sacrifice fly to left field, giving Erwin time to beat the relay home.
Later in the inning with two runners on base, the Raiders left the tying run at first and the winning run in the box when a groundout ended the game.
The JV Raiders (3-3, 3-2 MSC) will start the second round of conference action Tuesday at Pine Forest High School, starting at 5 p.m.
