RICHMOND – The hits just kept on coming.

There was the first, then a second, another and another. The Richmond softball team started the home half of the first inning with four straight hits.

Though the Bobcats only produced two singles the rest of the game, that early barrage was all they needed.

Richmond scored four runs in that opening inning and blanked Buckfield, 4-0, for a second straight win over the defending Class D state champions.

“We always like to jump on teams when we have a chance and just put them down,” said Richmond senior first baseman Nicole Tuttle, who delivered a two-run single in that first inning. “Maybe we’ll get more, but we didn’t get more today.”

Richmond (11-1) beat Buckfield (7-2) in the Bucks’ season opener, 3-1. The regular season sweep likely secures the Bobcats the top seed in Western D. Richmond senior pitcher Amy Russell hurled a four-hit shutout. She’s allowed just one run and five hits in two games against the Bucks.

“I never expected to beat Buckfield, honestly,” said Russell. “The first time was a shock. The second time was a shock too. It’s really exciting to know you can come out and beat a good team even though you have young players.”

The Bucks had a different look Friday than it did in the season open.

Buckfield only had three players in the same position as it did opening day – Ally Martin at third and outfielders LeAnne Abbott and Amy Reuter. Sophomore Brittany Wiley got the start while freshman catcher Alicia Patrie completed the battery. The Bucks senior battery of Kasey Farrington and Alyssa Henderson were in the infield at short and second respectively.

“We needed to know where we were defensively,” said Buckfield coach Ken Farrington. “I pretty much knew we weren’t going to be the No. 1 seed this year. In previous games we’ve played, we haven’t seen what our defense does. This was an excellent game to see. Are we ready to take on the short game? No. It showed us today that we need to work on the short game. This is what we needed. We know later that the win is a lot bigger than this game.”

Wiley pitched well against a team the Bucks are likely to see in the postseason. Though Richmond got four hits in the first inning, only two were solid hits. After the first, she allowed just two hits in the sixth. She finished with seven strikeouts and only one walk.

“I thought she did very well today,” said Farrington, who informed Wiley earlier in the week of her surprise start. “She’s going to be great. She did a good job. I was very happy, and the team supported her.”

The Bucks were errorless in the field and got nice defense behind her. Reuter made a nice catch in right. After a liner glanced off Ashlee Hamann’s glove at first, Henderson backed her up and got Hamann the ball on the bag for the out.

Richmond’s first inning started with a single by Shelby Hurley. After Melanie Schanck had a bunt hit and Russell reached on a dribbler in the front of the plate, Tuttle followed with a hard single up the middle.

“I fouled off four balls,” said Tuttle, who had a pair of hits. “So I was like ‘I should make contact now.’ I just put everything into it.”

Russell came around to score on a wild pitch, and Tuttle scored on a Tara Hurley squeeze bunt.

Despite the quick 4-0 deficit, the Bucks settled in and stayed within reach. Buckfield had runners in each of the final six innings but couldn’t produce a run.

“We couldn’t get a timely hit,” said Farrington. “I would have liked to score a run, but our bats probably aren’t the best right now.”

Patrie had two hits for the Bucks. Buckfield’s best chance to score came in the third when Melissa Taylor walked and Hamann singled. The Bucks had two runners in scoring position with two outs, but Russell got Henderson to pop out to Hurley behind the plate to end the inning.

Richmond also got some nice defensive plays from Danielle Bunakis at third and Hurley behind the plate that helped squelch threats. Buckfield left seven runners on, including runners in scoring position in the final six innings.

“We have a few young girls, but they’ve really stepped up a lot,” said Russell. “We work really well under pressure. It’s exciting to know we have people behind there that can make the plays even though they’re young and it’s their first year.”