The Richmond junior varsity baseball team had visions of going undefeated this season, but were upended by Pinecrest last Friday. Since the 11-10 loss to the Patriots, Richmond has played like an angry bunch of Raiders.

The JV Raiders (7-1) have won three in a row, and outscored their opponents 41-1 in the process which includes a 16-0 rout in five innings over Douglas Byrd Tuesday at Raider Field.

“You always want to go undefeated, but sometimes there is a bump in the road,” JV Raiders coach Kevin Wallace. “It’s how you bounce back, and I feel we’ve done an excellent job of rebounding. We’re understanding that no lead is to safe. If we play like we are supposed to play, we’re capable of putting up a lot of runs.”

Pinecrest erased a 10-2 Richmond lead in which Wallace said the pitching staff issued too many walks and the Patriots got timely hitting for the comeback victory.

Wallace said the pitching has improved. Peter Howe tossed allowed one hit in five innings in the team’s 13-1 victory over Jack Britt Monday. Reese Anderson followed with a two-hit shutout Tuesday against the Eagles.

“Against Britt, Peter allowed the first batter to get a hit and then shut them down the rest of the game,” Wallace said. “Reese stepped in there and threw a great game. Our pitching took a little step back against Pinecrest, but we have responded. Both Peter and Reese have done a good job in the last two games of throwing strikes.”

Douglas Byrd struggled on the mound as four different pitchers combined to issue 10 walks in the game.

The Raiders broke the game open in the second by scoring seven runs. Richmond added eight more in the third as three of those runs scored on wild pitches. Richmond tacked on its final run in the fourth inning.

Laron Ellerbe led the hitting attack by going 2-for-3 with three runs batted in and two runs scored.

The JV Raiders return to action at 5 p.m. Friday at Scotland.

“Scotland is a big rival game, and they were able to beat Pinecrest pretty good,” Wallace said. “We know it’s going to be a tough game up there.”

n Contact sports reporter Corey Davis at 997-3111, ext. 44; e-mail cdavis@yourdailyjournal.com