RAEFORD — Momentum continued to build in the right direction for the Richmond Senior High School baseball team Friday.
Capping their three-game week, the Raiders won their third straight game and moved north of the .500 mark.
On the road to cap a two-game Sandhills Athletic Conference series with Hoke County High School, Richmond completed the regular season sweep 10-0 in five innings.
From the first inning, the Raiders set the tone against the Bucks (2-9, 0-6 SAC) at the plate and in the field.
Junior pitcher Caden Nolan went the distance in the victory, throwing a complete game shutout. He combined with teammate Jason Walker to pitch a pair of complete games against Hoke County this week.
Needing just 64 pitches to get the job done, Nolan allowed only four hits and struck out 10 batters. Not allowing a walk, Nolan retired the Bucks in order in the first and third innings and faced just four batters in the other three frames.
Loading the bases with their first three batters to start the game, the Raiders took a 2-0 lead in the first inning. Nolan helped his cause when he barreled up an RBI single to center field, scoring senior leadoff batter Jabari Douglas (single).
Sophomore Collin Hill, who had a team-high three runs batted in, recorded his first with a sacrifice fly to center field in the next plate appearance. Racing home on the tag was senior Landon Taylor (single).
Two strikeouts and a groundout to consecutive batters in the home half by Nolan set up a seven-run top of the second frame for the Raiders.
Douglas, one of four Raiders to have two hits in the game, made it 3-0 with one out when he connected on a double down the line in left. That scored senior Jeremiah Ritter, another player with two hits, who led off the inning with an infield hit.
Following an error on a pop fly by Taylor, junior Evan Hodges smacked the second of three doubles in the inning for Richmond, which scored Douglas from second base. Taylor scored on the next pitch when a passed ball skipped to the backstop to make it 5-0.
Hill made contact with the first of his two hits in the game two pitches later, a hot-shot double to right field. Senior Conner Phifer, running for Hodges (catcher), trotted in easily from third base.
Still with just one out, sophomore Drew Gause drew a free pass to load the bases. Sophomore courtesy runner Jakob Trexler, who was running for Nolan (walk), extended the lead to 7-0 when he scored on a passed ball.
The carousel of runs for Richmond in the second concluded with a bases-loaded walk to Ritter two batters later and a fly ball RBI single the opposite way into right field by senior Jason Walker. Crossing home plate were Hill and Guase to make it 9-0.
A leadoff single by the Bucks in the home half went nowhere, as Nolan got a grounder to freshman shortstop Devin Haynes and followed that with consecutive punchouts.
Starting the top of the third, Hodges (single) and Nolan (walk) got on base. Hill, who had the game-winning RBI Wednesday against Montgomery Central, was clutch again Friday and recorded the mercy-rule RBI.
Facing a 2-2 count and after fouling off three pitches in the at-bat, Hill lined an RBI base hit into the grass in center. Putting Richmond ahead 10-0 when he stepped on home plate was Hodges.
Douglas, Hodges, Hill and Ritter all had two hits in the win and combined for eight of the Raiders’ 13 total hits. Douglas, Hodges and Hill each had one double, all three of Richmond’s extra-base hits.
Adding a single apiece were Taylor, Phifer, Nolan, Gause and Walker. Five players had one RBI — Douglas, Hodges, Nolan, Ritter and Walker.
The Raiders (6-5, 3-3 SAC) host Union Pines High School (3-5, 1-2 SAC) Tuesday in the first of two games against the Vikings next week. First pitch from Raider Field is set for 7 p.m.
Sports editor’s note: Statistics and game information provided by Richmond’s Game Changer.
