Fast start, Richmond errors propel Scotland to 9-3 win

ROCKINGHAM — The Scotland varsity baseball team capitalized on several early Richmond errors to get off to a fast start Tuesday night.

The early lead helped propel the Scots to a 9-3 win, clinching at least a tie for second in the Sandhills Athletic Conference standings and likely the automatic playoff bid given to the No. 2 team.

“We always preach ‘score first,’ so when you can hit first, you can score first pretty easily,” said senior Jackson Sellers. “We came out and got a leadoff from Parker (Byrd), then I hit a ball to the shortstop and he bottled it a little bit and we just kept rolling from there. It was really good for us to keep going and going and applying that pressure and making them make plays.”

In the first inning, Scotland (10-3, 9-2 SAC) scored three runs off three hits, with almost each one of them being the direct result of a Richmond (5-8, 4-7 SAC) error. The Raiders would finish the game with six total errors.

“You’ve got to be able to settle down and make plays under stress and we didn’t tonight,” said Richmond head coach Rob Ransom. “I thought we came out a little bit tight, and as balls were hit on us, we’d make the play, we just couldn’t complete them. But we have to be ready in that first inning, we can’t spot a good team three runs. That’s tough to overcome.”

“They gave it to us, but we’ve been working on not looking at first-pitch fastballs, putting (the ball) in play and letting the defense get us out,” said Scotland assistant coach Ricky Schattauer. “I think that came back and helped us out and hurt them early.”

Despite the slow start, the Raiders were able to temporarily stop the bleeding in the third and fourth innings, giving up no hits and no runs and keeping the inning short. Junior Cameron Way said their energy changed from that point.

“We came out fragile in the first couple innings,” Way said. “But I think a couple big plays by our outfield kind of sparked our energy and we were able to tack some runs on. We just have to do a better job of coming out early.”

The Raiders scored three runs of their own in the fifth and sixth innings, but were unable to sustain the defensive momentum, as Scotland also added five runs in the fifth and sixth innings combined.

Cleaning up the errors has been a continued emphasis in practice by Ransom during the Raiders’ up-and-down season, but the mistakes have taken their toll. Tuesday’s loss assures that Richmond will finish the season with a losing record for the first time in program history, according to local sports historian Deon Cranford.

Ransom said the Raiders make the plays they need to make in practice, but have been inconsistent with making those same plays in game.

“Hopefully we’ll play a little better Friday and come out on a strong note,” Ransom said. “But right now we’ve got to work on playing a more complete game, playing a more mature game and playing a more focused game.”

Sellers and senior Eric Romaine led Scotland with two hits apiece, while the Raiders finished with just four hits as a team. Scotland freshman Bryant Kimbrell and Richmond sophomore Ethan Locklear each hit two RBIs to lead their respective teams.

On the mound, senior Lane Roberson threw six innings for Scotland, while junior Will Dawkins threw five. Roberson tallied nine strikeouts and Dawkins finished with one.

“That was a good bounce-back game for (Roberson),” Schattauer said. “I think he kind of struggled early in the last couple games. It was really good for him to just come in and shut it down.”

The two teams will meet again Friday night for the series and regular season finale in Laurinburg.