ROCKINGHAM — A season ago, the Richmond Raider baseball program rooted its success in its tradition. At the onset of the new campaign, the Raiders and head coach Eric Brown are hoping to “raise the bar.”
As Brown returns for his second season at the helm of the program, and his 11th year as a high school coach, Richmond is looking to up the ante from last spring.
Finishing its best season in five years, the Raiders placed second overall in the Sandhills Athletic Conference in 2024. Now Richmond wants to put itself in position to win a conference title, its first since 2016, and make a serious run in the postseason.
The Raiders are another year better developed, having gone through a rigorous offseason training regimen to get prepared for the coming months.
The dedication of the program, along with depth, veteran leadership and natural talent, are catalysts that point to a lot of success this spring.
A wealth of returning players highlights this year’s roster, including nine players who were starters or played a significant amount of innings last year.
Among those who are back in the green and gold after starting or contributing in a majority of the games are seniors Riley Brown, Jabari Douglas, Conner Phifer, Jeremiah Ritter, Landon Taylor and Jason Walker.
Underclassmen returners include juniors Evan Hodges and Caden Nolan, along with sophomore Collin Hill.
Newcomers to varsity this spring are juniors Preston Fann and Jake Veach, sophomores Drew Gause, Tristan Chavis, Keith Cummings, Andrae Streeter, Jakob Trexler and freshman Devin Haynes.
Richmond will be without two of its All-Sandhills Athletic Conference selections from a season ago in James Eason (Pfeiffer University) and Isaac Hinshaw, but Taylor and Hodges both return after their first career selections in 2024.
Brown said the Raiders’ strongest areas this season are their pitching staff and defense. Being able to locate strikes and make routine plays in the field will allow the bats and runs to follow.
Depth isn’t an issue on the mound, as Richmond has a healthy choosing of who can throw strikes.
Walker has been tapped as the Raiders’ No. 1 pitcher, per Brown, following a strong showing late last season and during the preseason. He’ll replace Eason in the rotation, who threw the majority of innings for Richmond in 2024.
As a junior, Walker pitched 34.2 innings with a 2.82 earned run average and 39 strikeouts.
Hill, a lefty, is expected to throw “a lot” of innings after not making an appearance last year, as is Taylor, another southpaw, who is rehabbed from a shoulder injury.
VIDEO INTERVIEW: Riley Brown and Jason Walker
Guys like Riley Brown, Nolan and Ritter will work out of the bullpen so they are available to pitch every day, Brown added, with the possibility to mix in some starts. Ritter pitched 22 innings as a junior with 28 Ks, while Riley Brown and Nolan combined for 16 innings of work.
Haynes has also shown some pop early on and is another pitcher the Raiders expect to rely heavily on this season.
Hodges will serve as the primary battery mate to the pitchers, but will throw some innings when Douglas or Cummings are available to catch. He made five appearances on the mound as a sophomore and pitched 17 innings.
Brown, who is the reigning Sandhills Athletic Conference Coach of the Year, expects the defense behind the pitchers to make the necessary plays to help limit opponents from scoring runs.
Dotting the outfield again this season will be Taylor (left field) and Ritter (center field), with Phifer starting in right field.
A platoon of infielders will be put to work, seeing Hill shift from the outfield as a freshman to first base this spring, replacing Hinshaw. Haynes can play both middle infield positions, with Nolan also a lock at either shortstop or third base.
Riley Brown will play the hot corner at third and Walker will be an option at second base when he’s not on the mound.
VIDEO INTERVIEW: Landon Taylor and Jeremiah Ritter
Entering the season, Brown said the top four spots in the batting order “looks to be” Taylor, Hodges, Hill and Nolan. Taylor led the team last season with a .320 batting average and was second to Hinshaw in on-base percentage (.441).
The top four batters are a combination of speed, power and reliability, which Brown expects will pave the way for the rest of the lineup. Depth in the batting order includes Riley Brown, Ritter, Douglas and Walker, among others.
Nolan, Ritter and Taylor return as the team’s runs batted in leaders, having each driven in 16 RBI last year. Taylor (24) and Hodges (21) led the team in total hits.
Finishing last season with a 14-10 overall record, Richmond moved up two spots in the SAC standings with a 9-3 mark. The Raiders will have to contend with reigning conference champion Pinecrest High School for the conference crown, a team the Raiders split their two-game series with last year.
Other contenders in the conference include Scotland and Lee County high schools, followed by Southern Lee, Union Pines and Hoke County high schools.
Richmond made the postseason in 2024 but was shut down early on during the first round at Purnell Swett High School. While that memory still stings, the team has moved past it and wants to make its mark known later this spring.
VIDEO INTERVIEW: Conner Phifer and Jabari Douglas
Ryan Mercer and Andy Shuler return as assistant coaches this season, with Kevin Wallace and Anthony Hailey both joining the varsity staff.
The Raiders will begin their season Wednesday on the road at non-conference Marvin Ridge High School. First pitch is set for 6:30 p.m.
SEASON SCHEDULE: Click here for an always up-to-date schedule for the Richmond baseball team.
The Richmond Observer will continue its award-winning coverage of the varsity baseball team this spring.
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Sports editor’s note: The Richmond baseball program will not have a junior varsity team this season.
