ROBBINS - Nothing like getting off work early on a hot summer night.

That was the case for the Richmond senior summer baseball team Tuesday night, as the Raiders pounded North Moore, 14-2 in a Central Carolina Summer Scholastic Baseball League contest halted after five innings due to the 10-run rule.

Early on, it was a story of missed opportunities for Richmond (9-1) as North Moore got out to a short-lived 1-0 advantage with a run in the bottom of the second.

But the Raiders started to correct that in the top of the third. Richmond took advantage of a walk and a couple of hit batsmen to post three runs and take the lead for good.

North Moore picked up a run in the bottom of the third to close to within a single run at 3-2 - but that was as close as the Mustangs would get.

Richmond erupted for 11 runs in the top of the fifth to basically put the game out of reach. The Raiders sent 16 batters to the plate in the frame.

Key hits in the inning included a two-run homer from Bradley Brown and a run-scoring double from Ryan Mercer, in addition to an RBI single from Mikey Steele and a two-RBI single from Jeremy Smith.

Richmond coach Ricky Young said it was a matter of being patient and getting good pitching and defense while waiting for the offense to get untracked.

“We did a good job of hitting in that big inning,” Young said.

The Raiders return home to face North Moore again on Thursday. First pitch Is scheduled for 7 p.m.

Richmond Jr. 14, North Moore Jr. 1

Earlier, it was a similar result - and early finish - for the Jr. Raiders.

Joe Butler earned the victory on the mound with three shutout innings of relief work.

Richmond put this one away with a nine-run second.

“The kids hit the ball hard in that inning,” Richmond coach Jason Norton said.

The Jr. Raiders return to action Thursday against the same North Moore Jr. squad in Rockingham. First pitch is slated for 4:30 p.m.

Contact sports editor David Vantress at 997-3111, ext. 14 or by email at dvantress@heartlandpublications.com.