July, 2022 - Sportstone

In the program's first ever appearance in the State Championship Tournament, Queen City jumped in front early and advanced to championship Saturday with the semi-final win over Randolph County.

Thomas Jones and Aiden Christmas scored on a double by Owen Williams who later scored on a double by Jayden Singleton for a first inning 3-0 lead for the Mustangs.

Queen City added two more runs in the second inning when Jones doubled in William Santucci and later scored on a wild pitch.

Randolph County had opportunities but didn't push across a run until Braylen Hayes scored on a ground out by Trey Way in the bottom of the sixth.

The Mustangs scored in the top of the seventh when Russell Golembe crossed the plate on a passed ball.

William Hanson got the complete game win for Queen City with one run on four hits, three walks, a hit batter and three strikeouts.

Blake Marsh pitched into the second inning and took the loss. Tatum Marsh and Braylen Hayes followed on the mound for Randolph County.

Wilmington scored in all six innings but put the game out of reach by scoring half of their total in the third.

Two walks and a single in the bottom of the first inning set up Wilmington to score twice with Coleton Norris and Bennett McNeill scoring on ground balls by the next two batters. Post 10 added a third run in the second when Connor Marren scored on an error.

Fuquay-Varina got right back in the game with three runs of their own in the top of the third. Four straight hits to start the inning, including a double by Chanley Hegeman and a triple by Bryce Willis - which drove in Regan Bernard and Hegeman - were followed by a Mac Gillespie hit that scored Willis and the game was tied 3-3.

That didn't last long however, as Wilmington batters coaxed three walks to load the bases with no outs in the bottom of the third. Post 116 pitching seemed to recover with two straight outs but the third out proved to be elusive. Wilmington batters drew three more walks, a Jason Culley single and a double by Logan Ponnett to total seven runs in the inning and take a 10-3 lead to the fourth.

Wilmington added single runs in the fourth (passed ball) and fifth (wild pitch) while Fuquay-Varina scored a run in the fifth on a Michael Venditti sacrifice fly for a 12-4 score going to the sixth.

Post 10 ended the game in the bottom of the sixth inning by the ten-run rule when Jaxson Croom scored on a one-out single by Ponnett and Ponnett scored on a two-out triple by Spencer Nolan.

Ponnett was 3-for-3 at the plate with a double, four rbi, three runs and two walks. Six other Wilmington batters had one hit apiece.

Fuquay-Varina recorded eight hits with two each by Hegeman, Willis, Gillespie and Bernard.

Tanner Collins pitched the complete game win for Wilmington allowing four runs on eight hits with one walk and three strikeouts.

Starter Joseph Taylor took the loss for Post 116 giving up eight runs (7 er) on two hits with seven walks and three strikeouts. Bryce Dail and Andon Swartz also saw time on the mound.

The pairings are set for the American Legion Baseball semi-finals Friday at Campbell University.

Randolph County will play Queen City at 4:30 in the first game with Wilmington facing Fuquay-Varina in the second semi-final at 7:30.

Wilmington and Queen City both finished pool play with 2-1 records in the Stripes Division. Wilmington got the #1 seed and Queen City the #2 seed because Post 10 defeated the Mustangs in their Tuesday matchup 4-1.

In the Stars Division, a three-way tie for first place meant going to the second tiebreaker since Randolph County defeated Fuquay-Varina, Fuquay-Varina defeated Cherryville and Cherry defeated Randolph County.

In the three games played, Randolph County gave up 8 runs and finished first in the division, Fuquay-Varina gave up 13 runs and finished second and Cherryville allowed 17 runs to finish in third place.

With two outs in the top of the seventh inning and a Pitt County runner charging towards home to tie the game, Wilmington shortstop Spencer Nolan slid to his knees behind second base, spun around and threw to first – still on his knees – in time to beat the batter and end the game with less than a step to spare.

The win moved Wilmington into the semi-final round Friday and ended Pitt County's season at 21-8.

Nolan scored the first run of the game on a bases-loaded walk in the first inning and Wilmington led 1-0 until Pitt plated a run in the top of the sixth thanks to a Post 10 error and a sacrifice fly by Cameron Greenway which drove in Andrew Wallen.

In the bottom of the sixth, Jaxson Croom attempted to bunt Connor Marren to second base but a Pitt County error allowed Marren to reach third base and he scored on a sacrifice fly by Jason Culley.

That set up the seventh inning drama that ended with Wilmington advancing to the semi-finals.

Connor Kane earned the win pitching six and-a-third innings before leaving the game due to his pitch count. Kane gave up the unearned run on two hits with four walks and six strikeouts. Tucker Bowyer got the save with one walk and one strikeout.

Ryan Smith was the second pitcher used by Pitt County and took the loss allowing one run on two hits with a walk and two strikeouts in one and two-thirds innings pitched.

Landon Jenkins drove in Landon Hahn and Zane Brockman to start Cherryville's scoring in the first inning. When Jenkins scored Post 100 led 3-0 after one inning. In the second, Brockman doubled in Hahn and scored on a hit by Ashton Pope for a 5-0 lead after two.

Brockman drove in Collin Robinson in the top of the third and Randolph scored in the bottom of the inning when Trey Way doubled in Tanner Marsh to make it 6-1.

Another Cherryville run came in the fourth when Jenkins scored on a Webb sacrifice to left field and Randolph scored twice in the fifth when Blake Marsh scored on an error on a ball hit by Tyler Parks and Alex Martinex drove in Parks with a single.

Zane Brockman pitched five and-a-third innings and got the win. Offensively, Brockman had three hits with a double, two rbi and two runs scored. Ashton Pope pitched the final inning and-two-thirds.

Trey Way, Drew Harmon and Tanner Marsh saw action on the mound for Randolph County with Way taking the loss.

Queen City scored single runs in each inning from the third through the sixth to pick up their second win of the tournament.

Thomas Jones reached on a Rowan County error and later scored on another error for the Mustangs run in the third.

In the fourth inning, Jayden Singleton doubled, moved to third on a hit by Tyler Roakes and scored on a sacrifice fly by Donovan Henkel.

Aiden Christmas led the bottom of the fifth inning off with a triple and scored on a sacrifice fly by Russell Golembe.

Singleton led the bottom of the sixth inning off with a home run to complete the Queen City scoring.

Rowan's run came after a Casey Gouge triple in the top of the seventh when he scored on a passed ball.

Joey Ruller maxed out his pitch count after recording the second out in the seventh inning. Ruller gave up one unearned run on one hit with three walks and nine strikeouts. James Salicco threw three pitches for a strikeout to close out the win and move Queen City into the semi-finals.

David Burton took the loss for the Area III champions, throwing two and-a-third innings between starter Matthew Connolly and the final pitcher used Luke Graham.

First inning fireworks saw Fuquay-Varina take a 4-3 lead and the host team didn't stop there.

After four innings Post 116 led 8-3 and added a ninth run in the top of the sixth before Hope Mills was able to scratch another run in the bottom half of the inning to trail 9-4. Fuquay added three more in the top of the seventh for the final score.

Three pitchers combined on the two-hitter for Fuquay-Varina with Connor Paulin giving up three runs (1 er) in the first inning on one hit. Tanner Hunley took over in the second and pitched five innings for the win giving up one run on one hit with six walks and seven strikeouts. Andon Swartz struck out two with a walk in the seventh inning.

Joseph Strickland pitched four innings and took the loss before giving way to Robert Spatorico to finish the game.

At the plate, Louis Smelcer had both hits for Hope Mills, a first inning triple and a single in the third.

Greyson Myrick's score on a wild pitch gave Pitt County the lead in the top of the first but Queen City scored the next eight runs to lead 8-1 after five innings. Collin Poole hit a solo home run and the Mustangs got rbi hits from Thomas Jones, Tyler Roakes, Donovan Henkel and Owen Williams, scoring in each inning from the second through the fifth.

In the sixth, Myrick scored on Cole Watkins' two-run homer for Pitt but QC answered with two runs in the bottom of the inning to lead 10-3 going to the seventh.

Pitt County's seventh inning rally featured a two rbi hit by Andrew Wallen and a two-run home run by Shawn Gerard before the game ended on a fly ball to left field.

Both teams used four pitchers with relievers Aiden Christmas earning the win for Queen City and Cole Watkins taking the loss for Pitt County.

Tyler Parks drove in Blake Marsh for a 1-0 Randolph County lead in the second inning then pulled away with five runs in the top of the third.

Tatum Marsh singled and scored on a hit by Tanner Marsh. With one out Blake Marsh was hit by a pitch and Trey Way reached on an error to load the bases. Parks got his second hit of the game driving in Tanner and Blake. With two outs, Adam Cole drove in Way and Josh Meadows for a 6-0 lead.

Donovan Whitfield singled off reliever Connor Adams to start the bottom of the sixth inning and eventually scored on a fielder's choice off the bat of Logan Charlesworth but that was all the scoring Hope Mills could manage.

Blake Marsh started for Randolph and did not give up any hits but left the game after throwing one pitch in the fourth inning after showing signs of leg cramps. Tyler Parks pitched two innings and got the win. Caleb Holland took the loss before turning the game over to Whitfield with two outs in the third.

Rowan scored first in a back-and-forth game plating three runs in the second inning on two singles and four walks. Wilmington got one run in the third when Korbin Pettigrew scored on a Spencer Nolan ground out.

In the fourth inning Jason Culley doubled in Connor Marren then Jaxson Croom and Culley scored on an error for a 4-3 Wilmington lead.

Cole Johnson drove in Zach McNeely in the bottom of the fourth to tie the game at 4-4 and Rowan took the lead in the fifth when Blake Hill hit a sacrifice fly to center field allowing Jackson Deal to score what turned out to be the winning run.

Jake Blevins got the complete game win for Rowan giving up four runs (2 er) on seven hits with three walks and seven strikeouts. Colton Norris took the loss for Wilmington giving up the final two runs in four and two-thirds innings of relief work.

A six-run third inning broke a 1-1 tie and gave the host team a comfortable lead in the day two nightcap. Post 116 sent ten men to the plate in the inning recording five singles and a walk.

William Fowler and Jacob Hamrick scored for Cherryville in the bottom of the fourth to trim their deficit to 7-3 but Fuquay-Varina's Michael Venditti scored on a Bryce Dail single in the fifth, Chanley Hegeman scored on a Mac Gillespie ground out in the sixth and Adam Joseph crossed the plate on a wild pitch in the top of the seventh for the final score.

Bryce Wills had three hits for Fuquay-Varina. Landon Hahn had two hits to lead Cherryville.

The winning pitcher was Nolan Connaughton who gave up the four runs in five innings on the mound with four hits, three walks and five strikeouts. Game starter Kanon Willis worked two innings and took the loss.

In the first inning Korbin Pettigrew scored for a 1-0 lead for Wilmington. An rbi double by Bennett McNeill made it 2-0 when Connor Kane scored in the bottom of the fourth. Then in the sixth inning, a pair of two-out walks led to Connor Marren's 2-rbi single and a 4-0 lead.

In their last at bat, Queen City started with a single by Russell Golembe who advanced to third on a 1-out double by Jayden Singleton. A Tyler Roarkes gound ball for the second out drove in Golembe for a 4-1 score and the inning continued when Collin Poole was hit by a pitch but Queen City was not able to get any closer.

Five players had single hits for each team. Ben Whitehurst pitched five and-a-third innings for the win while William Hanson worked four innings and took the loss.

Pitt County's Cole Watkins drove in Perry Eveleth for an early 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning only for Rowan County take the lead on a two-run home run by Blake Hill in the bottom of the inning. That was the score when weather brought on a lengthy delay with one out and a Pitt runner on in the top of the seventh.

When play resumed, Watkins singled to join Grayson Myrick on the base paths and Andrew Wallen drove in Myrick on a sacrifice fly to tie the game 2-2 and, after holding Rowan scoreless in the bottom of the seventh, send the game to extra innings.

In the eleventh, a single by Cam Greenway and a walk for Elijal Bonner set Watkins up for his third hit of the game - a three-run home run - for the final runs of the game as Pitt held on for the day one win.

Cole Watkins was 3-for-5 with 4 rbi for Pitt County including a home run and a double. Rowan County got the homer from Blake Hill, a triple by Matthew Connolly and doubles by Cole Johnson and McCall Henderson. Dawson Ables got the win for Pitt County. Alex Hagler took the loss for Rowan.

The third game of the day was scheduled for 4:30 but a nearly hour long weather delay in the 11 inning second game, followed by another delay before warm-ups between games, meant a start time of 7:11.

Scoring started in the fourth inning with Hope Mills scoring 2 in the top and Cherryville responding with 3 in the bottom of the inning.

Teams added to their total in the sixth inning so Hope Mills came up in the top of the seventh trailing 6-3. Post 32 managed a single run in the final inning and Cherryville took the win 6-4.

Robert Garner collected the win allowing four hits and a walk with six strikeouts before giving way to Tatum Marsh with one out in the seventh inning. Marsh walked one and struck out two in a game delayed until a 9:50 start.

Adam Cole had two hits, Tanner Marsh doubled with two rbi, Josh Meadows had a triple and Randolph County got single hits from Braylen Hayes and Blake Marsh.

Billy Waldron had two hits for Fuquay-Varina with single hits by Brock Wills and Mac Gillespie. Chase Chaplin pitched five innings and took the loss. Bryce Dail worked the final two innings in the game which ended at 11:58 pm.

3:00–until Arrival, orientation and dinner for players, coaches and dignitaries at Campbell University for the 2022 North Carolina Championship Tournament

SportsTone's American Legion Baseball regional page is now available for viewing. Three of the eight teams have been determined and the remainder will be added as the week progresses.

Columbia Post 19 won the Tennessee Championship yesterday and will be making the program's third trip to Asheboro. Post 19 is a regular in regional play having participated in the 2019 and 2021 southeast tournaments while Post 45 hosted the Mid-Atlantic Regionals.

The Florida championship was won today by Belleview Post 284 which will be making their first appearance in Asheboro.

The Southeast Regional begins on Wednesday, August 3 at McCrary Park in Asheboro.

Rowan County took a 4-0 lead in the early innings and held on to successfully defend their 2021 title and repeat as Area III Champions in 2022.

For Randolph County, Tatum Marsh went 3-for-3 and scored two runs and Braylen Hayes had two hits with an rbi and a runs scored. Post 45 got single hits from Tanner Marsh, Trey Way, Tyler Parks and Adam Cole.

Way took the loss with two-and-a-third innings pitched allowing four runs on six hits with a walk and two strikeouts. Tanner Marsh pitched three-and-two-thirds innings with two runs on four hits, a walk and two strikeouts.

Both teams will be in the North Carolina State Tournament which begins Tuesday at Campbell University.

More information about this year's North Carolina state championship tournament has been announced and added to the tournament schedule at SportsTone. Game times for the five day event have been set and the two divisions for the 'Pool Play' rounds have been announced although most of the teams which will fill those slots will not be determined until this weekend.

Action in the 2022 state tournament begins Tuesday at Campbell University, hosted by Area I and Fuquay-Varina Post 116.

The Area III Championship Game will take place at 7 pm Friday at Newman Park in Salisbury. Rowan County Post 342 (34-7) and Randolph County Post 45 (28-8) will play for the area title and for seeding in next week's state tournament.

The teams have also scheduled an exhibition game at McCrary Park in Asheboro this Saturday afternoon at 3 o'clock.

Randolph County advanced past Kannapolis into the Area III Championship Game and earned a spot in the American Legion State Championship Tournament with the win at Kannapolis.

Nine players had hits with Tanner Marsh, Braylen Hayes, Blake Marsh and Drew Harmon recording two hits each. Hayes, Harmon, Blake Marsh and Tatum Marsh all produced two rbi each.

Blake Marsh got the win allowing two runs in four innings off three hits, a walk, one hit batter and six strikeouts. Tatum Marsh pitched the final inning with no hits and one strikeout.

Randleman graduate Brooks Brannon has been selected by the Boston Red Sox in the ninth round of the 2022 Major League Baseball draft.

A part of two State Championship teams with the Tigers, Brannon set North Carolina high school records for runs driven (91) in this spring and tied his father Paul Brannon for the most home runs in a season with 20. Both of those marks were the best in the nation this past season according to the website MaxPreps.

Robert Garner and Connor Adams combined on a 1-hitter as Randolph County improved to 2-0 in the best of five game series against Kannapolis Post 115. Garner pitched four innings and got the win allowing one hit with three strikeouts. Adams walked one and struck out one in an inning of relief work.

Post 45 led 2-0 after the first and added 10 runs in the third inning - highlighted by a grand slam by Braylen Hayes - to set up the run-rule finish. Hayes and Drew Harmon each had two hits in the game. Adam Cole added a double and every Post 45 starter scored at least one run.

A Randolph County win Monday night at Northwest Cabarrus High School will end the series in three games and move Post 45 into the Area III Championship Game against Rowan County later this week. It will also put Randolph into next week's state tournament at Campbell University.

Post 45 broke open a 2-1 game with six runs in the fifth inning and went on to win game one 11-1 in six. Tanner Marsh led the inning off with a home run. Five batters had multiple hits led by Braylen Hayes with a 3-for-4 night at the plate.

Tanner Marsh gave up one run in five innings of work and got the win, Marsh gave up two hits with four walks and four strikeouts. Blake Marsh and Tyler Parks followed Tanner on the mound.

Game two in the series will be Sunday night at McCrary Park with the first pitch scheduled for 8:00.

There is disappointing news this morning for Eastern Randolph Post 81 and their fans as the team has had to forfeit the best-of-five Area III semi-final series with Rowan County Post 342 due to not having enough players available.

According to first year head coach Nate Cockman, “The scenario is unfortunate, but we had no other choice but to make this decision. The main factor in this decision was losing some of our players earlier this season due to unfortunate circumstances, and then we were short handed.”

Cockman added he had been informed that “we would be ineligible moving forward anyway, so this was our only option.”

In the playoffs, the team swept past Concord in the opening round last weekend before falling to Stanly County in the first game of a best-of-three quarter final series. Faced with elimination, Eastern Randolph won both ends of a Thursday night doubleheader and had expected to keep the season going into the semi-final round tonight. This marks the first season Post 81 has qualified for the semi-finals since 2015.

#2 Eastern Randolph 13, #3 Stanly County 4 (Game Two, Craven Stadium, Ramseur)

#2 Eastern Randolph 13, #3 Stanly County 3 (Game Three, Craven Stadium, Ramseur)

Post 81 defeated Stanly County Post 76 in the doubleheader played at Craven Stadium.

Luke Thomas was 4-for-8 on the day with a double. On the mound, Thomas started game one and got the win giving up three runs in five innings with ten strikeouts.

Samuel Asbill got the win in the second game pitching five innings with three runs and three strikeouts.

Eastern Randolph will face Rowan County in a 5 game series which starts Saturday at Catawba College.

Eight players recorded hits as Post 45 swept past Mooresville Post 66 and into the Area III semi-finals. Carson Whitehead and Adam Cole were both 2-for-3 at the plate, each with an rbi and a run scored. Tanner Marsh had a double and two rbi. Blake Marsh hit a triple and drove in three runs.

Trey Way pitched four innings for the win with three hits, a walk, one hit batter and six strikeouts. Blake Marsh worked two innings with three walks and four strikeouts. Connor Adams struck out one batter in the seventh inning.

#2 Eastern Randolph at #3 Stanly County (SC leads 1-0) - POSTPONED THU, 7/14

Trey Way went 3-for-4 at the plate for Post 45 as Randolph County took game one in the best of three quarter final series with Mooresville Post 66. Tanner Marsh and Drew Harmon drove in four runs each.

Robert Garner pitched four innings and got the win giving up two hits with a walk and three strikeouts. Braylen Hayes pitched the final inning.

Eastern Randolph overcame a 6-0 deficit to tie the game but Stanly County managed to get the lead back and held on for the road win.

Luke Thomas had two hits with an rbi and Parker Evans had two rbi. Carson Rickman pitched the final two innings in relief of Chance Terry and took the loss.

Game two in the Area III quarter final series is scheduled for Wednesday night at West Stanly high school.

Post 81 defeated Concord Post 51 in two straight to advance to the second round of the Area III playoffs.

The Player of the Game is Nate Gardner who went 2-for-3 at the plate with two doubles, a walk, an rbi and a run scored. Chance Terry also had two hits; Parker Evans had three rbi and Aidan Allred contributed two rbi.

Anthony Lopossey earned the win giving up 4 runs with 7 strikeouts in six and two-thirds innings pitched.

Samuel Asbill is the Player of the Game earning the complete-game win giving up 2 earned runs with 6 strikeouts in seven innings.

Luke Thomas, Brody Gardner, Parker Evans and Aiden Allred had 2 hits each. Thomas finished with a home run and 2 rbi. Joaquin Gordon also contributed a 2-rbi double.

Luke Thomas is the Post 81 Player of the Game pitching the complete game win. He gave up 1 hit and struck out 9 batters in five innings.

TJ McGraw, Parker Evans and Nathan Gardner led the charge at the plate, each tallying 2 hits. Brody Gardner added a hit and 3 rbi.

Drew Harmon earned the win allowing 2 runs on 5 hits in 5 innings of work. Harmon walked 2 and struck out three.

Carson Whitehead had 2 hits for Post 45 which saw nine players score at least 1 run each.

Randolph County finished the regular season with at least a share of the Northern Division title for the fifth straight year in American Legion baseball. Eastern Randolph can match the 8-2 division record with a win in their final division game Thursday night.

MaxPreps is a website devoted to high school sports in the US. The NCHSAA and other state associations use the statistics pages for game results and conference standings in most sports.

MaxPreps also recognizes excellence in high school sports nationwide with selections of national All-America teams and Randleman High School is in the spotlight following the 2022 season.

2022 MaxPreps Top 25 Small Town baseball rankings (under 1000 students; under 10.000 population): Randleman was ranked #2 nationally.

2022 MaxPreps All-America Team: Brooks Brannon (second team) was one of several North Carolina players honored.

2022 MaxPreps Small Town All-America Team: Brooks Brannon was named the National Player of the Year. The All-America selections also include Tigers Drake Purvis and Braylen Hayes.

Michael Headen has been announced as the new girls varsity basketball coach at Asheboro High School.

“We are excited with Coach Headen taking over our 'Lady Comets' this year” according to Athletic Director Wes Berrier. Headen “has been at Asheboro High School for the last 12 years as an assistant football and assistant girls basketball coach. We are looking forward to having his dedication and leadership with our Lady Blue Comets.”

Headen takes over for Don Corry who spent the last two seasons as head coach in his second stint with the Blue Comets.

Blake Marsh drove in four runs on two hits to lead Post 45's offense. Tyler Parks and Connor Adams recorded two rbi each.

Tanner Marsh pitched four innings for the win giving up 1 run on six hits with one walk and four strikeouts. Tyler Parks gave up one hit in one inning of relief work.

.July 3, 2022 –Sunday Results

LEGION BASEBALL

Randolph County 13, High Point 1

July 2, 2022 –Saturday Results

LEGION BASEBALL

Randolph County 15, Sandy Ridge 0