GREENSBORO — The Richmond Senior High School junior varsity baseball team extended its winning streak to four games Saturday, holding on to defeat a tough Southeast Guilford High School team.
On the road to face the non-conference Falcons, it was freshman pitcher Cameron Way who tossed 5.1 innings of relief to earn the 5-3 win.
Starting the game on the bump was freshman lefty Caleb Talton, who went 1.2 innings and was replaced by Way after allowing a run on one hit and four walks. Way went the distance to earn his third win of the spring, holding the Falcons to just two runs, while striking out five batters.
“We’re trying to get Caleb some experience because he’s a lefty who has potential to help the program,” head coach Ralph Butler said. “He’s going to be fine, and we’ll keep trying to find him some innings.
“Cameron did a great job of hitting his spots,” he added. “He makes it hard for other batters to get clean hits. He has entered the mound in some rough spots this season, but he’s handled it great each time. He has an excellent feel for the game and was big for us today.”
The Raider offense scattered its five runs over three innings, collecting 10 hits in the process. Freshman JD Lampley started the scoring in the top of the second, reaching on an infield single that hit starting pitcher Seth Baker.
After stealing second and tagging to third on a Hunter Hancock fly out to right, Lampley woud score on a Trevor Johnson infield single to make it 1-0.
The Falcons would scrap out a run in their half of the inning against Talton, using a Luke Harrington sacrifice bunt to plate Tylor Grubbs.
Way went to work in the bottom of the third, setting SE Guilford down in order and picking up two strikeouts. That was the first of his three innings of three-up, three-down baseball (fifth and sixth innings). He also faced just four batters in the seventh to ice the win.
SE Guilford would take a 3-1 lead in the bottom of the fourth, beginning with a Harrington RBI double. Harrington would steal third and score on an error in the next at-bat.
Seven Raider batters would visit the plate in the top of the fifth, seeing three runs score to take the lead. Freshman Matthew Walker led off with a walk, and made it to third following a pickoff throwing error and a wild pitch.
Way would help his cause and knock a one-out RBI single to score Walker to cut the deficit, and would swipe second and third base, scoring on another throwing error by the pitcher to tie the game.
Freshman catcher Colin Wheeler (walk) would score the go-ahead run when sophomore Michael Pettitt hit an RBI single to right field.
Johnson, who went 3-for-4 on the afternoon, plated an insurance run in the seventh with a double, scoring Pettitt (double). Collecting two hits apiece during the game were Johnson and teammate Alston Johnson.
The Raiders improved to 12-3 overall and will return to Sandhills Athletic Conference action Tuesday when they host Seventy-First High School.
