North Moore baseball team’s start in this year’s Central Carolina Scholastic Summer League hasn’t gone quite like it would have liked to see it go.

The Mustangs’ first two games got rained out and then when the weather finally cooperated, they dropped a heartbreaking extra-inning, one-run game to cross-county rival Pinecrest in their season opener.

After suffering the setback to the Patriots, the Mustangs journeyed to Richmond County Thursday night for a Southwest Conference contest.

Despite missing three starters that were participating in the Powerade State Games, the host Raiders took advantage of some of the youthful Mustang miscues and strong pitching for a 10-0 victory.

North Moore managed only two hits in the five-inning affair, while Richmond County hammered out eight hits for their second victory of the season. The Raiders opened their season the previous night with a 6-1 victory at West Stanly, a newcomer to the league

“Richmond County is a very solid and aggressive ball team, who hit the ball well,” said North Moore coach Randy Wallace. “We did not hit as well as we needed to. Tonight it showed that we have a very young team with some work to do. We will improve as the season goes on.

“It is not so much about losing ball games as it’s about us learning what it takes to win.”

The Mustangs sent Mitchell McNeill to the mound as the starting pitcher. McNeill went two innings, striking out one batter while giving up four hits and two runs in the second inning.

Rising senior Nick Rush took the mound for the next two innings, fanning one batter while yielding three hits. Trey Wood pitched the final inning, giving up one hit.

Neither team was able to plate a run in the first inning, but the Raiders struck for a pair of runs in the bottom of the second inning.

Richmond County went on to add two runs each in the third and fourth inning, while the Mustangs struggled at the plate. The Raiders went on to score four runs in the bottom of the fifth inning, giving them the 10-run rule victory.

The Mustangs managed two hits, both singles by Wood and Tristan Maness.

Earlier the North Moore junior varsity dropped a 11-5 decision to Richmond County. The junior club opened the season the night before with a 10-5 victory over Pinecrest.

The North Moore varsity and junior varsity square off again at Richmond County Monday with the junior varsity contest slated to start at 4:30 p.m. followed by the varsity match-up at 7 p.m.

On the following night the two North Moore squads make the journey to county rival Union Pines for a doubleheader with the junior varsity game slated to start at 4 p.m. followed by the varsity showdown at 6 p.m.

North Moore’s first home game is scheduled for June 26 when the varsity hosts West Stanly at 6 p.m. and the junior varsity entertains East Montgomery at 4 p.m. The North Moore baseball field in undergoing some repairs and maintenance and will not be available until June 26.