PEMBROKE — When Purnell Swett’s Jacob Chavis retired all three Richmond batters in the first inning, Rams coach Jeff Lamb already knew his senior right-hander had his best stuff on the mound.

By the third inning, Chavis said later, he started to realize it too, completing a perfect first turn through the opposing lineup.

It was the sixth before a single blemish — and even then, the Raiders never connected for a hit.

Chavis pitched a no-hitter Tuesday, doing so not against a downtrodden or mismatched team but in the first round of the North Carolina High School Athletic Association 4A state playoffs, as the Rams beat Richmond 7-1 to advance to Friday’s second round.

“I just came in, I wasn’t really thinking about the no-hitter,” Chavis said. “I came in, first pitch strikes, and tried to attack the strike zone as much as I could. That’s what we did all night, and it just worked for me. My defense played behind me, my catcher called the right pitches and we just played good ball.”

Chavis struck out nine over his seven no-hit innings. He carried a perfect game into the sixth — retiring each of the first 16 Richmond batters he faced — before walking four batters, with two each in the sixth and seventh innings.

“Impressive,” Lamb said. “He came out — you couldn’t ask for anything more. Awesome, awesome job.”

After Chavis’ historic outing for Purnell Swett (18-8), the No. 9 seed in the 4A East Region, the Rams will travel to No. 8 Holly Springs for the second round on Friday. Holly Springs beat No. 25 Apex Friendship 4-3 on Tuesday.

As Chavis began his domination from the game’s opening pitch, Purnell Swett scored all seven of its runs in the second inning, taking advantage of four errors in the frame by No. 24 Richmond (14-10). After three infield errors and a walk to start the inning — with a pickoff for the first out amongst that stretch of four straight batters reaching base — Bladdon Hammonds doubled to drive in Joseden Oxendine, Chandon Sanderson and courtesy runner Ethan Locklear.

“I was just going out there thinking, looking for a pitch I can drive somewhere, put it in play and something will happen,” Hammonds said. “(That inning) was a huge momentum booster for sure.”

That big hit came from the ninth spot in the lineup, something Lamb says is by design.

“Bladdon stepped up,” Lamb said. “You go back and look early in the year, he was at the top of the lineup, and I made the decision to move him down. The whole reason was, at that time we were getting baserunners on at the bottom, but nobody was driving them in, so I said ‘I’m putting you down there, you’re going to see a fastball, be on time, and you’re going to be able to drive some runs in.’ It worked out tonight exactly (that way); that’s why he went down there.”

Waydan McMillan singled to plate Hammonds for a 4-0 lead. Chavis singled and Easton Oxendine reached on an error to load the bases again and Camden Hunt drew an RBI walk to score McMillan; Joseden Oxendine then singled to drive in two more runs, courtesy runner Johnny Jackson and Easton Oxendine, for a 7-0 edge.

“We had a lot of big hits in that inning,” Lamb said. “The guys, when they get rolling, they roll, and you just try to stay out of the way.”

The big lead allowed Chavis to go out there and continue dominating, with less pressure in a more comfortable game situation.

“Pitching on the mound, it just gave me enough confidence to go out there — my team’s playing for me today,” Chavis said. “Let’s go out here and let’s keep playing, keep pitching and doing what I was doing and my team’s working behind me.”

“I think he was rolling, 37 pitches going into the fourth,” Lamb said. “Oh yeah, he had his good stuff. But then he knew where he was; no one was talking about it but he knew. So he started trying to overthrow a little bit. But other than that, outstanding job.”

Richmond’s James Eason, who did not allow an earned run, took the loss. Jason Walker relieved Eason; he retired the last 13 Rams he faced, striking out five.

Chavis struck out eight of the first 16 batters he faced before Jabari Douglas drew a sixth-inning walk that ended the perfect-game opportunity. Douglas stole second and got to third on a wild pitch, while Jeremiah Ritter also walked, before Isaac Hinshaw’s sacrifice fly to center field allowed Douglas to score Richmond’s only run.

“I kind of got away from what was working for me, first-pitch strikes,” Chavis said. “I was trying to do too much instead of staying in my own package. … That’s why my coaches are there to remind me, just stay in your package, keep going, throwing strikes, pitch to contact.”

Chavis walked two more in the seventh, but finished off the no-hitter with a groundout to second baseman Camden Hunt.

McMillan, Brewer, Chavis, Joseden Oxendine and Hammonds had one hit each for the Rams.

When Purnell Swett takes the field Friday at Holly Springs, they’ll seek a third-round berth for the second time in program history, trying to join their fellow Rams from 2021.

“This is all about surviving and advancing, but like I told them before the game, playoffs is not about skill, it’s about will,” Lamb said. “You’ve got to fight, fight, fight, and you’ve just got to believe that no matter what you’re faced with, you can overcome it. That’s what playoffs is all about, so we look forward to moving on to the second round.”