ROCKINGHAM - One most iconic pairings in sports is summertime and baseball -- and for Richmond Senior High School’s head baseball coach Ricky Young, it’s the best time to start preparing for the not-too-distant 2019 junior varsity and varsity baseball season.
Just over a month ago, the Raider varsity baseball team made a valiant effort against East Forsyth High School in the second round of the NCHSAA state playoffs, but faltered late and made an early exit. Despite the loss, Young and company are moving forward -- and the next step comes in the form of a little organized summer baseball.
Since taking over the program, Young has made use of the summer months to coach his current and rising players in the Central Carolina Scholastic Summer League. Last year, nearly 60 teams from across the central part of the state participated in the developmental league, and it’s something that Young believe helps gives him, his coaching staff and most importantly, his players, a jump start for the 2019 season.
“We’ve played in this league ever since I’ve been the head coach here,” Young said of his Richmond Rattlers ball club on Wednesday night. “It’s a good thing for the high schools because you’re able to coach your returning players.
“It’s a really good developmental league because it gives the guys a chance to play, get some at-bats, and allows me as a coach to see different guys in different situations -- especially for the younger guys we haven’t seen that much,” Young added.
As explained by Young, the CCSSL is broken into two leagues, the first is the “senior league,” which is comprised primarily of rising junior and senior players, and a “junior league” for rising freshmen and sophomores. While the format of playing double-headers against opponents will remain the same (junior teams play first, followed by the senior teams), Young noted that this year will be without a championship tournament, which the Rattlers won in 2017 over Rolesville High School by a commanding score of 10-0 in five innings.
Leading up to the championship win over Rolesville, the senior Rattlers went 14-1 in the regular season and outscored their opponents 30-3 in the three-game championship tournament. The Rattlers knocked off their first opponent, Bunn High School (Franklin County) by a score of 9-2 in the opening round. Now graduated pitcher Drew Loving took the hill for the Rattlers, pitching five solid innings, before Drew Grant closed out the final two.
Adding to the offense were now rising seniors Cameron Carraway and Jake Ransom, both of whom collected three hits. Both players will be on the Rattlers squad against this year, but will be absent during the first week of play as they’ll be competing in the Powerade State Games in Greensboro, N.C., for the Region IV team.
In the semifinal matchup against Holly Springs High School (Wake County), the Rattlers breezed onto the championship game with an 11-1 victory in five innings behind a stellar complete-game pitching performance by former senior Jonathan Lee. Lee gave up three hits, struck out seven and allowed one unearned run. The Rattlers’ bats scattered nine hits, with former Rattler Zack Hinson bringing in a pair of RBIs with a single. Another former Richmond player, Trey Watkins, added two runs with a double.
Following the rout of Holly Springs, Richmond continued its roll with a five-inning shutout of Rolesville. Watkins tossed a two-hitter gem, striking out seven. Collecting 12 hits as a team, the Rattlers were led offensively by Lee, who had two hits and two RBIs. Justin Ingram (now also graduated) got into the mix, also contributing two hits, one of which was a double.
Without a chance to repeat as senior league champions, that’s not deterring Young or his players from competing hard in each game. Not directly affiliated with RSHS, there are several Raiders players who are looking to continue to grow as ball players this summer. Among them are Carraway, Ransom, and fellow varsity players Tyler Bass, Jahan Jones, Hunter Parris, Logan Moore, Garret Richardson, Garet Weigman and Brett Young.
“We get to see all of our players, and especially our younger players, an extended period of time,” Young noted about the benefit of the summer league. “Over the summer, we’re able to teach them some of the things we want to incorporate. With the older guys, it gives our returners the chance to get ready for whatever their new role will be next year.
“I tell the guys not to get too caught up in the results (of the summer league),” Young continued about his expectations for the CCSSL. “Obviously, we want to win games. But we really need the guys to get caught up in the process of becoming a better player. They’ll get the chance to get more at-bats, and repetitions at the plate, in the field and on the mound. Baseball is a repetition sport -- any time you get the chance to get better, that’s what we want to do.”
After having tryouts earlier this week, the Rattlers kicked off their summer campaign by hosting Holly Springs Wednesday. The senior team sent Parris to the mound to start, and the rising senior threw four innings of work before being replaced by rising junior Mitchell Paul, who closed out the final three innings.
The Rattlers fell in a close competition to the Socks, a 3-2 tally that came down to the final at-bat of the game. Holly Springs got ahold of Parris in the top of the third inning, as they smacked three base hits to load the bases with just one out. A bloop single to shallow center allowed the Socks to take a 1-0 lead, but Parris worked his way out of the bases-loaded jam by getting a fielder’s choice at the plate by Dallas Cowick to Weigman, and a flyout to left field.
Richmond would respond in the home half of the third, as Young resorted to his small-ball ways to manufacture a run to tie the game. Jones led off the inning with a bunt single, and would advance to second on a wild pitch, and later to third on a sac bunt by rising junior Luke Preslar. Young followed up with a sacrifice bunt attempt, safely scoring Jones from third on the squeeze play, before advancing to second on an errant throw.
Both teams would trade scoreless innings during the fourth, fifth and sixth frames, with Paul coming in during the fifth to relieve Parris’ efforts. The Rattlers had opportunities to scoring, but stranded two runners on base in the fourth inning, one in the fifth, and two more in the sixth.
The Socks managed to figure out Paul in the top of the seventh, getting a leadoff single and a walk to start the inning. The leadoff batter advanced to second on a wild pitch, and then trotted to third on a passed ball. Still with no outs, Holly Springs scored two runs on a double down the left field line, before Paul and company got three straight outs to end the threat.
Making it interesting in the bottom half of the seventh and down to their final out, Bass drew a walk, sending Weigman to the dish. Weigman, who will look to fulfill the catching vacancy left by former Raider Gordon Pihl, roped a shot deep into the left-center alley, and he threw his hands up in what he thought was a game-tying home run. However, the ball bounced on the warning track and over the wall for a ground-rule double, but safely scored Bass from first.
In the next at-bat, Richardson hit a hard ground ball to second, which was mishandled by the Socks’ infielder. Richardson reached safely at first, as Weigman didn’t even tap his breaks and raced home to try and beat the throw. In a bang-bang play, Weignman was called out by the home plate umpire, stunting the brief rally and ending the game.
“I thought we pitched the ball really well tonight,” Young said of his team’s first go this summer. “We’re missing a few players tonight, and the guys who were here battled. And that’s the good thing about this summer league -- it’s a relaxed atmosphere.
“We did okay, and competed,” he concluded. “Holly Springs is a good program. And we had a chance to win at the end.”
Below is the complete remaining Richmond Rattlers’ summer schedule. All home games will be played on Richmond’s baseball field and are marked with an asterisk; first start time denotes junior team, followed by senior team game time:
June, 2018
Thursday, June 14: Richmond at Fuquay-Varina High School (4:30 p.m. / 7 p.m.)
Tuesday, June 19: Richmond at Pinecrest High School (4:30 p.m. / 7 p.m.)
Wednesday, June 20: Pinecrest High School vs. Richmond (4:30 p.m. / 7 p.m.) *
Tuesday, June 26: Richmond at Scotland High School (5 p.m. / 7:15 p.m.)
Wednesday, June 27: Scotland High School vs. Richmond (4:30 p.m. / 7 p.m.) *
Thursday, June 28: Richmond at Scotland High School (5 p.m. / 7:15 p.m.)
July, 2018
Monday, July 2: Pinecrest High School vs. Richmond (4:30 p.m. / 7 p.m.) *
Tuesday, July 10: Richmond at Union Pines High School (4 p.m. / 6:15 p.m.)
Wednesday, July 11: Union Pines High School vs. Richmond (4:30 p.m. / 7 p.m.) *
Thursday, July 12: Richmond at Union Pines High School (4 p.m. / 6:15 p.m.)
Wednesday, July 18: Southern Lee High School vs. Richmond (4:30 p.m. / 7 p.m.) *
Thursday, July 19: Richmond at Southern Lee High School (5 p.m. / 7:30 p.m.)
Tuesday, July 24: Richmond at Lee County High School (4:30 p.m. / 7 p.m.)
Wednesday, July 25: Lee County High School vs. Richmond (4:30 p.m. / 7 p.m.) *
