LAURINBURG — If Richmond Senior baseball fans believe in omens, then the way the summer league regular season ended is a sign of good things to come.
In the spring, Richmond lost to Scotland in the Southeastern Conference tournament title game at McCoy Field before catching fire in the state 4A playoffs and advancing to the East Region championship series.
Once again, the Fighting Scots came out on top with the postseason right around the corner for both teams.
Scotland scratched out three hits en route to a 3-1 victory over Richmond Tuesday night. The Fighting Scots have two contests remaining before the playoffs begin, while the Raiders close out the Central Carolina Scholastic Summer League regular season with a 15-1 mark.
“We looked like we were going through the motions out there tonight,” Richmond Senior coach Ricky Young said. “We are usually really good about doing the little things, not tonight. We had a couple of people out of position, but we still expect them to make the plays.”
Both teams will advance to the postseason, although the seedings have not been determined. Scotland, like Richmond, has one loss on the year. Since the squads split the season series, Young is not sure how the deadlock will be broken to determine the Southwest division winner.
Regardless of how the tie is broken, Richmond and Scotland will open the playoffs Monday at Terry Sanford. The first game is slated for 5 p.m., with the nightcap expected to begin at 7:30 p.m.
Last season, the Raiders were the No. 2 team out of their division but fell in the opening round of the playoffs to Garner, 14-8. Young is looking for a better result this time around.
“We will probably play to win as far as the lineup is concerned,” Young said. “Pitching wise, I don’t want to extend anyone, so we will limit them to a 50-pitch count.”
Sports editor Shawn Stinson can be reached at 910-997-3111, ext. 14, or by email at sstinson@heartlandpublications.com
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