PEMBROKE, N.C. – Six of the last eight meetings between the varsity baseball teams at Richmond Senior and Purnell Swett high schools have been decided by two runs or less, with three of those battles requiring extra innings to determine a winner.
On Friday, the Raiders and Rams continued that trend with an 11-inning barn burner that was played in frigid 40 degree temperatures at Purnell Swett High School. After four suspense-filled hours, it was Richmond that came away with a hard fought 9-8 victory.
Jake Ransom, who had a big night at the plate, got the Raiders on the scoreboard early. With Jonathan Lee on third and Jahan Jones on second, Ransom smacked one into left field for a single that brought home both of his teammates and put the Raiders ahead 2-0.
Purnell Swett answered in the bottom of the second inning scoring two runs on a costly Raider error to tie it up, but Ransom replied with ferocity. In the top of the third inning, he didn’t so much as flinch at the first two balls delivered by Swett’s Eugene Wilkins – both of which were low and outside. Then Ransom got the pitch he was looking for and blasted a solo shot over the left field fence to put the Raiders back up by one.
“(Wilkins) got behind in the count 2-0 so I knew he was going to have to throw a fastball,” Ransom explained. “I told myself if it’s there, don’t miss it. He threw a fastball inside and I was ready for it.”
Swett knotted it up again in the bottom of the fourth inning when Johnnie Lowry came home from third on a passed ball. However, just like before, Richmond answered almost immediately. In the top of the fifth, Lee took a 1-1 fastball from Wilkins and launched it over the centerfield fence.
“Knowing that I had let my team down Thursday night with a bad game, I knew it was time to step up and get things going,” Lee said. “I was in a fastball count and knew it was coming. I just sat back and put a good swing on it and the next thing I know, I had my first home run of the year.”
Drew Loving followed Lee’s solo home run with a one-out single. He took second base on a Ram error and then stole third. Next, Garret Richardson tipped one towards Swett third baseman Dylan Lowry who held on to the ball as long as he could to hold Loving at third base. Lowry finally fired the ball to first base to get Richardson out, but Loving, showing his speed, still managed to come home on the play and put the Raiders up 5-3.
Swett then gained all of the momentum in the bottom of the fifth, even though it looked as though Richmond was going to escape the inning quickly. After Swett leadoff batter Bayden Scott grounded out, Lee managed to strike out Rams second baseman Branden Brewer on just three pitches. That’s when things started to go wrong.
Swett’s Trevon Locklear and Dakota Locklear used back-to-back doubles to tally another run for the home team. Then the Rams used two Richmond errors and a single by Noah Evington to plate two more runs giving Swett its first lead of the game at 6-5.
In the top of the seventh, Lee was given another chance to play hero when he was hit by Dakota Locklear’s 2-2 pitch. As he often does, Lee promptly stole second and then advanced to third on a sacrifice play by Loving. Tyler Bass’ perfectly executed sacrifice bunt brought Lee home to tie the game up for the third time. Loving, who had taken over pitching duties from Lee, kept the Rams scoreless in the bottom of the seventh sending the game into extra innings.
Loving and Dakota Locklear were then locked in a pitcher’s duel with neither team able to produce runs in the eighth, ninth or 10th innings.
In the top of the 11th, Braxton Furstein was hit by a pitch, and Alex Anderson followed with a single. The two Raiders advanced to second and third on a passed ball, setting up another opportunity for Lee to make a big play. Lee popped one into shallow right field for a two-RBI single.
Again, Lee stole second and third with Loving at the plate. Lee came home on an error when Loving hit a 3-1 pitch straight to Rams short stop Chandler Brayboy, who bobbled the ball.
Down three, Swett still wasn’t going to go down without a fight. With one out recorded, Swett loaded the bases when Loving walked three consecutive batters. An Evington sacrifice fly and an Ethan Wilkins single brought two Rams home, but a very poised Hunter Parris, who had taken over on the mound for Loving, struck out Brayboy for the game’s final out.
“We made some big mistakes defensively that allowed them to keep coming back when we got the lead,” Raiders head coach Ricky Young said. “Jonathan and Jake had some huge hits and kept us in the game offensively. We have to cut down on the strikeouts and be able to put more pressure on the other team’s defense.
“I was really proud of our guys resiliency. Grinding out a win under those circumstances should give us some confidence going forward”
