FAYETTEVILLE — A pivotal mid-season meeting between Richmond Senior and Jack Britt high schools’ baseball teams Tuesday ended in a little bit of a cushion in the conference standings for the Raiders.
Currently second in the Mid-South Conference standings, the Raiders distanced themselves from the now fifth-place Buccaneers thanks to a 10-4 victory.
The win pulled the Raiders within half a game of current leader Pinecrest High School. Sitting alone in second place, Richmond has a three-game lead over third-place Hoke County High School.
Making the start for the Raiders and pitching five innings in the win was senior Caden Nolan. Sophomore Devin Haynes threw two innings of relief to shut the door on the Bucs.
Senior Maddox Locklear had a big night at the dish, going 4-for-5 with a trio of doubles.
Richmond took a 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning, but Jack Britt responded with three of its runs in the home half.
Two runs in the second, along with solo runs in the third, fourth and fifth frames, regained a 7-4 advantage for the Raiders. For good measure, Richmond plated three insurance runs in the seventh.
The Raiders (9-3, 7-1 MSC) will close their three-game regular-season series with the Buccaneers (6-7, 3-5 MSC) and go for the sweep Thursday.
The final game before spring break is slated for a 7 p.m. start at Raider Field.
Click here to read about the JV Raider baseball team’s win over Jack Britt Tuesday.
Sports editor's note: Complete game information and statistics were not available on Richmond’s GameChanger at the time of publication. Head coach Eric Brown contributed information.
