Scotland’s senior pitcher Jackson Sellers (8) attempts to pick up a Richmond base runner at second base during Friday’s game.
LAURINBURG – Six runs in the sixth inning made the difference for the Scotland High School baseball team in Saturday’s continued game against rivals Richmond. Although the Scots were beaten and made more mistakes, the Scots finished the series sweep with a 9-3 victory over the Raiders.
The game, which started Friday night, was canceled due to a lightning strike and postponed until Saturday morning, with Richmond leading 1-0 in the top of the third inning.
Before the sixth inning, the game was 3: 3 a draw. Scotland started with a doubles from Junior Alex Hatcher, then a victim flight from Junior Luke Taylor gave him a one-run lead. Then a base hit and back-to-back four-ball walks invited the bases with an out. Two hit-by-pitch walks and two four-ball walks then scored four extra runs for the Scots, and a sacrificial flight from Hatcher scored the team’s final run.
The defeat ended the season for the Raiders (5-9, 4-8 SAC), but thanks to the second place in conference play, the Scots (11-3, 10-2 SAC) got the No. 9 seeded in the 4A East State Playoffs and will travel to the 8th placed Cardinal Gibbons in the first round on Tuesday.
Junior Parker Byrd ended the lead in Scotland with two doubles and two RBIs. Five Scots each counted an RBI.
Freshman James Eason led the Raiders offense with three hits, including two doubles. Juniors Alston Johnson and Cameron Way each counted one of the Raiders’ only RBIs. Junior Colin Wheeler finished with two hits in four at-bats.
On the hill, senior Jackson Sellers, Byrd and Hatcher together gave up 10 hits and a deserved run while beating four for Scotland. For the Raiders, newbies Cameron Seagraves and Way set up most of the game, together giving up six hits and six earned runs while hitting two. Juniors Jude Howard and Will Dawkins also appeared for Richmond.
Contact Neel Madhavan at 910-817-2671 ext. 2751 or [email protected] Follow on Twitter at @NeelMadhavan.