RICHMOND

The Richmond High School baseball team hasn’t had much time outside this spring. In fact, coach Ryan Gardner and company had just one practice out on the field before Tuesday’s season opener against Vinalhaven/North Haven.

It showed in spurts, with some wild pitches and overaggressive swings at the plate, but sharp base-running ultimately led to a fairly comfortable 5-0 East-West Conference win.

Now the sun just needs to come out.

“Really, all it is, is just getting everything together,” Richmond senior Zach Small said. “Yesterday was actually our first time that we’ve been out on this field practicing. So, really, it’s just about getting the cuts, when to be, where to be, all that stuff. All the little essentials you need to win games.”

Small started on the hill for Richmond (1-0) and fanned two batters to make for a quick first inning. In the second, though, he lost his rhythm and threw eight straight balls to put the first two Vinalhaven (0-1) runners on. Maybe it was the cold or the wind or a new season, but catcher Brendan Emmons was forced to the mound for a chat.

Whatever the two discussed worked. Small forced a pop-up bunt that Emmons caught and then struck out two more batters swinging to end the frame. Then, in the third, he tossed just 10 pitches on three more K’s.

“Basically, it’s early, it’s cold,” Small said. “It’s just basically trying to find that groove — the rhythm that you need to go farther in the season.”

“I think it was just release point,” Gardner said of the walks. “It’s only the second time we’ve thrown outside on the mound, so it’s about getting into a good rhythm and I think he settled into one. Brendan (Emmons) came out and talked about it — I think he threw about 15 strikes after that.”

Gardner decided to preserve Small’s arm and pulled him after three innings and 35 pitches. In came Dan Stewart, who recovered from a bloop single in his first at-bat of the afternoon and cruised to the sixth inning with three strikeouts.

In the only real Vinalhaven threat of the game, Stewart walked a batter and then watched Elijah Ames smack one out to center field for a double to begin the sixth. A quick pop-out was followed by a four-pitch walk, but Stewart beared down and induced a grounder to end the frame and preserve a shutout.

Ames, from the three-spot, tallied the Vikings’ only two hits of the afternoon. In the seventh, Emmons hit the mound and closed out the game on 12 pitches while recording two of Richmond’s 12 strikeouts.

Rounding the bases

An errant throw-down in warm-ups gave the Bobcats the green light on the base paths and they took full advantage. They stole 13 bases on the day and capitalized on three wild pitches.

“We want to do that any kids we’re trying to preach ‘watch what they do when they warm up’ and then take advantage of that. If they’re not going to look at you and hold you close, take the next base. That worked today.”

“We take an approach, we like to be really aggressive on the base paths,” Small said. “Taking a chance every time the opportunity’s there. We try to get second base.”

It started in the bottom of the first, when Small was walked with two outs. He took second on a wild pitch, stole third and was soon followed by Stewart, who got nailed by a pitch and swiped second with ease. Nate Kendrick then came up in the fifth spot and laced a two-RBI triple to center to open the scoring.

In the third inning, two stolen bases from Matt Rines led to an Emmons RBI grounder. Small later scored after a walk and two stolen bases of his own, and Richmond forced Ames off the mound after just 33 pitches through 2 2/3 innings. Tristan Shea scored on a wild pitch to make the score 5-0 in the fifth, and Gardner thought more than that were left out there.

“We need to get hitting together,” he said. “Kids hitting in different spots, but it wasn’t anything strung together. That’s going to come. It comes with warm weather.”

He said it will also come with more time and more practice. The bottom of the order struggled a bit when Tim Farrelly (3 1/3 innings, 54 pitches) came in on relief, and batters 6-9 struck out six times on the game.

“We got guys on base,” Gardner said. “We’ve got good team speed, we can make things happen, frustrate a pitcher. The bats will come. Cold days, sometimes bats just don’t work. I think we need to be a little bit more selective. I think we helped out a lot chasing the high balls and letting the pitcher get ahead of us. We’ve got young kids and that’s what they do. They get nervous and they kind of wing it.”

Still, Gardner was far from worried after the win. Few games will be cold and windy like Tuesday’s, and with a few additions to the lineup and some more batting practice, he feels confident in a playoff appearance.

This is the year to do it.

“This group right here has been playing together since we were about 7-years old,” Small said. “Last shot at it with this group, so we’re looking to go all the way — all the way to that last game.”

“Our expectations, we want to go deep in the playoffs,” Gardner said. “We’ve got some things to do. We’ve got some kids ineligible that we need to get back.”

Richmond 5, Vinalhaven 0

At Richmond High School

	Vinalhaven —	000	000	0	—	0
Richmond	—	202	100	X	—	5

Elijah Ames and Frank Osgood; Zach Small, Dan Stewart (4), Brendan Emmons (7) and Brendan Emmons. Repeat hitters — (V) Elijah Ames; (R) Matt Rines. Doubles — (V) Elijah Ames. Triples — (R) Nate Kendrick. Records — Richmond 1-0, Vinalhaven 0-1. Up next for the Bobcats — Thursday at North Yarmouth Academy, 4 p.m.