RICHMOND – Starting with sophomore Sydney Appleberry’s leadoff at-bat in the bottom of the first inning, the Spartans found ways to get hits Monday against Lexington. They swatted base hits into the outfield. They tapped out a few infield singles. And when the Missouri River Valley Conference East Division opener at Southview Park was over, Richmond had 17 total hits and an 18-3 victory. Play was stopped with one out in the bottom of the third inning because of the 15-run mercy rule spread. It was the Spartans’ first spread of a team this season. “We did really well,” Appleberry said. “We don’t try and do too much with our bats. Simple base hits lead to scoring runs.” Unofficially, Appleberry was among seven Spartans with at least two hits. Junior Aireanna Hoeppner led the way by going 3-for-4 with three RBIs. Hoeppner also stood among three Spartans with three RBIs, the others being seniors Lexi Bokarae and Jaedyn Lopez. “It was really fun, definitely fun for us,” Hoeppner said…