ROCKINGHAM — For the second time in four Mid-South Conference games this season, the Richmond Senior High School baseball team cruised to a mercy-rule win Wednesday.
Making up Tuesday’s rescheduled conference contest with Overhills High School, the Raiders jumped all over the Jaguars to earn a 10-0 win in five innings.
The victory marked the third game the Raiders have scored at least 10 runs in an MSC game this spring. Richmond also mercy-ruled Pine Forest High School 12 days ago to open conference action.
The Raiders scored two runs in each of the first two innings and scored a solo run in the fourth to take a 5-0 lead. A five-run bottom of the fifth ended the game early.
Senior pitcher Caden Nolan had another quality outing on the mound and earned his second win of the season. He pitched all five innings and limited the Jags to just three hits.
Striking out a dozen batters, Nolan had two 1-2-3 innings in the second and fourth innings and faced just five batters over the minimum. He struck out the side in order in the second and punched out three straight batters in the fifth after allowing the first two hitters to reach.
Helping himself out at the plate in the bottom of the first with two outs and senior Evan Hodges (walk) on first, Nolan cleared the decks with a two-run bomb, his team-leading fourth home run this season.
Leading 2-0, freshman Julius Bowden singled home sophomore Devin Haynes (error) with one out in the second. Adding to make it a four-run advantage was a throwing error that allowed Bowden to score after swiping third base.
Senior Jake Veach, who matched Nolan with a game-high two RBI, drove in his first run on a sacrifice fly. He skied one to right field to bring in sophomore Drew McCaskill (walk) to make it 5-0.
In the pivotal five-run fifth, the Raiders sent nine batters to the dish before sending the Jaguars packing.
Junior Drew Gause (single) scored the first run of the inning on a wild pitch. In the next two plate appearances with the bases loaded, Haynes and McCaskill each recorded an RBI thanks to a base on balls.
With one gone, Veach had the same outcome on a free pass to bring in his second RBI.
Turning over to the top of the lineup, senior Maddox Locklear became the sixth Raider to plate at least one RBI in the win when he grounded out to third base. That play scored Haynes to put the mercy rule into effect.
Benefitting from eight walks and four errors by Overhills, Richmond had four hits — Nolan (homer) and singles by Gause, Bowden and Locklear.
The Raiders (6-2, 4-0 MSC) host Pinecrest High School (6-1, 4-0 MSC) Friday for the outright early lead in the conference lead.
A field dedication ceremony will be held prior to the game, which will start at 7 p.m.
JV Raiders also defeat Overhills
Ahead of the varsity team’s win, the Richmond junior varsity baseball team defeated Overhills 8-3 in five innings (time limit).
The JV Raiders scored all of their runs in the first two innings, starting with five runs in the first to take a 5-0 lead.
They added a trio of runs in the second to lead 8-2 before the JV Jaguars scored their final run in the top of the third.
Freshman Jackson Parsons made his first start on the mound and earned a win. He pitched five innings and kept Overhills to three runs (one earned) on three hits and 10 Ks.
Collecting nine hits as a team, Richmond was led by freshman Jaxton Watson. He went 3-for-3 with a triple, two singles and a game-high three RBI.
Parsons helped himself out with a double in his two at-bats and drove in a pair of runs.
Adding a single apiece were freshmen Sam O’Neal, Colton Nelson and Nate Culbreth. Finishing the game with two base hits was freshman Brody Bryant.
The JV Raiders (3-2, 3-1 MSC) will also host Pinecrest Friday, starting at 4:30 p.m.
