VALDOSTA — Richmond Hill swept Valdosta’s Wildcats in a tough Region 1-6A series Friday, taking all three games with dominant pitching performances. Richmond Hill won game one on its own turf last Tuesday, 4-2, before taking Friday’s doubleheader, 6-2 and 5-2.

Game 1

In game one, Richmond Hill’s Noah Stone set the tone for the entire series with a strong performance on the bump. He gave up one earned run on five hits, keeping Valdosta’s offense quiet throughout. 

Richmond Hill got on the board in the bottom of the second, capitalizing on a pair of walks and a costly center field error that allowed Stone and Joey Succi to score. A single from Lee Johnson brought in Richmond Hill’s third run of the inning. 

Valdosta responded in the fourth when Matt Bounds singled and later came home on a base hit by Noah Roberts, trimming the deficit to two. In the sixth, Braedon Lampkin scored on a sacrifice fly by Stephen Little to bring it to 3–2, but Richmond Hill immediately answered with a groundout RBI from Aiden Pluff to push the lead to 4–2. Stone closed the game by striking out five of the last six batters he faced, securing the Game 1 win.

Game 2

Game two demonstrated more pitching excellence from Richmond Hill—this time from Pluff, who allowed two earned runs in a full game, striking out seven and walking two. 

Richmond Hill struck first in the top of the second with back-to-back doubles from Eli Howard and Pluff. Valdosta showed resilience in the bottom of the third as Little doubled a fly ball to center field to score Lampkin and Bounds. 

But Richmond Hill quickly reclaimed the lead in the fourth, as Pluff doubled and came around to score, followed by another run on a fly ball error to make it 4–2. They added insurance in the sixth with two more runs to run away with the game 6-2.

Game 3

For a final time, Richmond Hill took an early 2–0 lead in the first, capitalizing on an error, a single by Pluff, and a bases-loaded walk to Connor Gilkey. Valdosta struggled to respond as Walker stopped any momentum from forming, striking out the side in both the second and fifth innings. In the sixth, Johnson singled and eventually scored on a wild pitch, and another error allowed Pluff to score and stretch the lead to 4–0. 

Valdosta mounted a push in the bottom of the sixth. Easton Lehman singled, followed by another single from Lampkin. An error by third baseman Hunter Clark loaded the bases, and Stephen Little’s ground ball single brought home Zion Odum. 

A bases-loaded walk to Roberts scored another run to make it 4–2, but Walker responded with a strikeout to end the threat. In the seventh, Howard delivered the final blow, singling to center field to score Tony Berry and push the lead to 5–2. 

Across the series, Richmond Hill outscored Valdosta 15–6, relying on complete-game efforts from their starting pitchers in each contest. Despite the sweep, Valdosta looks to regroup and prepare for their upcoming series against Colquitt County’s Packers.