ASHEBORO – Florence (S.C.) Post 1 completed a sweep of the Southeast Regional in American Legion baseball, winning Sunday afternoon’s title game by 8-5 against Fuquay-Varina Post 116.
Florence went 5-0 in the regional at McCrary Park, including Saturday night’s 5-4 decision in 11 innings against host Randolph County Post 45.
Florence (30-5) needed just one victory Sunday, but an extra game wasn’t required as Post 1 topped Fuquay-Varina, the North Carolina state champion, for the second time in the regional.
Post 1 goes on to the American Legion World Series later this week in Shelby. This marked Florence’s third regional championship and its first in 11 years.
Zach Hunt’s three-run home run set the tone as Post 1 notched four runs in the top of the first inning. Florence led 7-3 after three innings.
ASHEBORO – It took most of Saturday night before Randolph County Post 45 was dismissed from the Southeast Regional.
The host team battled for 11 innings with Florence (S.C.) Post 1 before suffering a 5-4 loss at McCrary Park.
“We’ve been playing all night,” Post 45 manager Ronnie Pugh said. “This was a classic. Our guys sucked it up and played.”
Florence (29-5) is unbeaten in the double-elimination regional and will play Fuquay-Varina Post 116 (30-6) at 1:30 p.m. Sunday. If Fuquay-Varina wins, another winner-take-all game will follow.
Post 45 ended the season with a 25-8 record, going 2-2 in regional play for the second year in a row.
This one came with an array of twists and turns.
“I thought for sure we were going to win it,” shortstop/pitcher Hunter Atkins said. “That’s how it goes. There was ups and downs.”
Post 1’s Josh Williams tripled to begin the 11th and scored on Noah Moore’s sacrifice fly.
Post 45 tried to match it, with Carter Brown starting the bottom of the inning with an infield single and moving to second on Caleb Dunn’s sacrifice bunt. Tanner Marsh drew a two-out walk and then a wild pitch moved up the runners before Atkins walked. Tyler Parks, who held the hero’s tag several times during the game, fouled out to end it.
“You can’t ask for anything else out of your team,” Parks said.
Atkins threw 87 pitches, the most he has thrown in a game at any level. He struck out seven in six innings of relief.
“We played a baseball game here and everybody was into it,” Pugh said. “I would much rather go out in a game like this than get beat 7-1. … We were capable of winning this tournament.”
Post 45’s dramatics cranked up in the fifth inning. Florence reliever Collin Minshew walked Marsh and Atkins before Parks lofted a home run to left field to put Randolph County ahead 4-3.
Marsh pitched five-plus innings, giving up singles to the first two Post 1 batters in the sixth. Atkins worked out of the jam.
“You had to be tough (in this game),” Atkins said. “You couldn’t be mentally soft.”
Parks, the third baseman, had spectacular glove work in the seventh after Post 1’s Collin Minshew led off with a double. Parks made a sliding catch of Jackson Moore’s foul popup for the first out. Minshew scored on a two-out wild pitch, but Parks’ play might have prevented a big rally.
Parks was at it again in the 10th, starting a double play with a nifty stab and throw after the first batter reached on a single.
Atkins led off the bottom of the 10th with a double and Parks was intentionally walked, but Post 45 couldn’t produce the winning run.
Randolph County’s Pierce Leonard went 3-for-4 with a walk. Parks and Brown each had two hits.
Earlier, Williams hit his second home run of the regional to open the scoring. Zach Hunt rapped a two-run double in the third.
Post 45 put its first two batters in the third inning on base with singles by Alex Martinez and Marsh. But Florence right field tracked down Atkins’ deep drive and Parks grounded into a double play.
Randolph County loaded the bases with one out in the fourth and scored on Dunn’s walk, but another double play ended the threat.
This marked the first extra-inning game in the regional.
In Saturday’s first game, Fuquay-Varina drilled West End (Va.) Post 361 by 14-2 in a game reduced to five innings by the mercy rule.
Hunter Atkins, above, and several of his Randolph County Post 45 teammates had strong offensive games in Friday’s Southeast Regional game. (Randolph Record file photo)
ASHEBORO – Hunter Atkins drove in three runs and six of his Randolph County Post 45 teammates racked up two runs batted in a 17-1 whipping of Owensboro (Ky.) Post 9 in Friday afternoon’s elimination game of the Southeast Regional at McCrary Park.
The American Legion baseball game ended after five innings. Post 45 (25-7) scored in every inning, including seven runs in the top of the fifth.
For the second year in a row, Randolph County has advanced to the second-to-last day of the regional. It will be one of four remaining teams when Saturday’s action begins at 4:30 p.m.
Tanner Marsh, Tyler Parks, Josh Meadows, Connor Adams, Carson Whitehead and Pierce Leonard all knocked in two runs. Adams had three of Randolph County’s 10 hits and he also scored three runs. Marsh rapped two doubles.
Post 45 drew six walks and had six batters hit by pitches.
Braxton Walker pitched the first four innings and Drew Harmon threw in the fifth for Post 45.
Owensboro finished with a 21-12 record.
The Randolph County / Owensboro game was the first of three games on Friday’s schedule. Post 45’s opponent Saturday will be the loser of Friday’s nightcap between Florence (S.C.) Post 1 and West End (Va.) Post 361.
Austin Lemons throws a pitch earlier this season (Randolph Record file photo)
ASHEBORO – Austin Lemons made sure Randolph County Post 45’s season has a little more life.
Lemons threw a four-hitter as Post 45 defeated Belleview (Fla.) Post 284 by 3-0 in Thursday afternoon’s elimination game of the Southeast Regional for American Legion baseball.
Lemons, a former Randleman High School pitcher headed for UNC Greensboro, walked three batters and struck out seven. The game lasted only 79 minutes at McCrary Park.
The outcome puts Post 45 (24-7) in another must-win matchup at 12:30 p.m. Friday against the loser of Thursday’s game between Owensboro (Ky.) Post 9 and Florence (S.C.) Post 1.
Randolph County, which dropped Wednesday night’s game to Columbia (Tenn.) Post 19, bounced back behind several extra-base hits.
Tanner Marsh’s second-inning triple with two outs drove in Connor Adams, who began the inning with a single.
Josh Meadows homered with one out in the third. Hunter Atkins made it 3-0 when his two-out single in the sixth drove in former Randleman teammate Caleb Dunn, who reached on a lead-off single.
Atkins, who doubled earlier, and Dunn both finished with two hits. John Dobkowski had two of Belleview’s hits.
In Thursday’s first game, North Carolina state champion Fuquay-Varina Post 116 sent Evans (Ga.) Post 192 home with a 6-1 decision in an elimination game.
ASHEBORO – Parts of a plan for Randolph County Post 45 played out well on the first day of the Southeast Regional for American Legion baseball.
But there were a few things that Post 45 couldn’t anticipate Wednesday night at McCrary Park and that was part of the downfall.
Columbia (Tenn.) Post 19 had two big innings and those turned into a 7-5 victory.
“We had a plan and we executed it for the most part,” Randolph County manager Ronnie Pugh said. “They had two big hits.”
Now Post 45 takes on Belleview (Fla.) Post 284 in an elimination game at 12:30 p.m. Thursday. It’s a double-elimination tournament, which wraps up Sunday.
“Win one and go to the next day,” Post 45 outfielder Carter Brown said of the objective.
Post 19’s No. 9 batter Baylan Tuten blasted a bases-clearing two-out triple over right fielder Tyler Parks’ head to turn a 5-4 deficit into a 7-4 lead in the fifth inning.
Post 45 had trouble generating much with its seven hits. The team had been off since July 17 when it failed to reach the Area 3 final.
“Hitting, a few of us didn’t have it,” outfielder Connor Adams said.
Post 45 was without center fielder Braylen Hayes because of an injury and catcher Grat Dalton because of a family situation. Pitcher Drake Purvis was absent due to another baseball endeavor.
Pugh said Randolph County has enough personnel to extend the season to the weekend.
“It’s tough coming off losses, but so is (Belleview),” he said. “We’ve got to win one game a day.”
Randolph County used Robert Garner for three innings as the starting pitcher. Reliever Samuel Asbill breezed through the fourth inning before trouble brewed in the fifth. A one-out single and two two-out walks triggered Columbia’s rally.
Earlier, Columbia loaded the bases with no outs in the first inning but a popup and two strikeouts allowed Post 45 to escape.
Randolph County didn’t waste its chances in the bottom of the inning, with Josh Meadows’ one-out single driving in two runs. Braxton Walker followed with a run-scoring triple.
Columbia converted in the second on Cam Vaughn’s one-out ground-rule double to pull within 3-2 and tacked on two more runs in the inning. In the third, Hunter Atkins doubled and scored on Meadows’ groundout before Walker’s single put Post 45 back ahead.
Walker was the only Post 45 player with more than one hit.
So after the layoff, the offseason looms unless Randolph County can make a quick turnaround.
“It was a long break, but we’re all happy to get back,” Brown said.
“We want to win it,” Adams said, suggesting the energy could increase a notch with the season the line.
In Wednesday’s earlier games, Owensboro (Ky.) topped Evans (Ga.) 5-1, West End (Va.) edged Belleview 7-4, and Florence (S.C.) defeated North Carolina state champion Fuquay-Varina 9-5. There are also games Thursday at 9 a.m., 4 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.
Second baseman Pierce Leonard of Randolph County Post 45 makes a play in the field earlier this season. (PJ Ward-Brown/Randolph Record)
ASHEBORO – Pierce Leonard is a first-year member of the Randolph County Post 45 baseball team. There’s a reason that he pursued American Legion baseball this summer.
Having finished his final high school year at Eastern Randolph after transferring from Uwharrie Charter Academy, Leonard chose baseball as a preference in terms of a sport to play in college.
“I figured I could go farther with baseball than I could basketball,” Leonard said.
He said he’ll play baseball at Guilford Tech.
But first, Leonard will be part of the Post 45 team aiming for a resurgence in this week’s Southeast Regional at McCrary Park. Games begin Wednesday.
Leonard, who was a defensive back in football, was one of the standouts in Eastern Randolph’s key players during a record-setting basketball season that extended into March in the Class 1-A championship game.
Days later, he was on the baseball field for the Wildcats.
“I hadn’t played baseball since my freshman year,” Leonard said. “I feel baseball is natural to me. I’m just loose up there.”
Leonard, after fouling a ball off his shin, was out for most of the recent Post 45 postseason games. Randolph County manager Ronnie Pugh said Monday that Leonard was pretty much at full speed at a weekend practice in advance of the regional.
“He should be good to go,” Pugh said.
Post 45 holds a 23-6 record, with four of those losses coming to Rowan County and the other two to High Point-Thomasville. Randolph’s spot in the regional was secured because of an automatic bid reserved for the host team.
When Post 45 failed to advance to the Area 3 finals, it meant the team would have more than a two-week layoff before the Southeast Regional.
Post 45 has numerous players with experience from last year’s regional. Among those are lineup regulars Tanner Marsh, Braylen Hayes, Tyler Parks and Josh Meadows plus Alex Martinez and Robert Garner.
Martinez, a catcher and utility player, is with Post 45 after a season with Brunswick Community College. He didn’t play much in the spring, in part because he was behind Tatum Marsh, a former high school teammate at Asheboro and ex-Post 45 mate.
Checking the regional …
The five-day regional includes teams from seven states. It’s a double-elimination format.
There are four games the first two days and then three games Friday, two more Saturday and one or two games Sunday.
Post 45 will play the nightcap each day if it’s in the winner’s bracket. Randolph County opens Wednesday against Columbia (Tenn.) Post 19. That game is set for 7:30 p.m.
Other first-day games are Evans (Ga.) Post 192 vs. Owensboro (Ky.) Post 9 at 9:30 a.m.; Belleview (Fla.) Post 284 vs. West End (Va.) Post 361 at 12:30 p.m.; and Florence (S.C.) Post 1 vs. Fuquay-Varina Post 116.
Belleview, Evans, Owensboro and Columbia all played in the regional last year at McCrary Park. Post 45’s only game against any of those teams came with an eight-inning victory against Evans on the second day in a winner’s bracket game, but Randolph County lost its next two games and was eliminated.
Fuquay-Varina won the North Carolina state tournament, topping Wayne County Post 11 in Saturday’s final in Buies Creek.
The regional winner advances to the American Legion World Series next week in Shelby.
Braylen Hayes takes a swing for Randolph County Post 45 this summer. (PJ Ward-Brown/Randolph Record)
ASHEBORO – Braylen Hayes didn’t anticipate being back with Randolph County Post 45 this summer, but he’s glad that opportunity existed.
It’s turning out to be a good thing for Post 45 despite his unexpected availability.
The former standout outfielder for Randleman didn’t make it to the finish line in his first college season at UNC Greensboro.
“Just having too much fun in college. It went downhill and ended up not having the best grades,” Hayes said. “It was all on me. It’s good, though, I’m going to get back right.
Braylen Hayes will play next year for Guilford Tech. (Bob Sutton/Randolph Record)
Hayes is the center fielder and bats third in the lineup for Post 45, which will be the host team for the American Legion’s Southeast Regional next week at McCrary Park.
So this is a summer to regroup for Hayes, who has committed to attend Guilford Tech and play a season with that junior college team.
He was lined up to play for the Asheboro ZooKeepers, a summer college team in the Coastal Plain League. But when grades interfered and he dropped off the UNCG roster, he wasn’t eligible for that because he wasn’t in a college program.
“It was pretty hard,” Hayes said. “It was just weird. I had never had to go through anything like that. Had to figure out.”
And he needed a summer baseball destination.
“Would have had a crap summer, no baseball would be rough,” he said.
Fortunately for him, he’s young enough – just turning 19 – for another season of American Legion baseball. He also played for Post 45 last year.
Post 45 manager Ronnie Pugh said Hayes is a big part of the team.
“We know the things he can do,” Pugh said.
Hayes said he’s a much better player than last summer.
“Making more contact on balls, hard contact,” he said. “Knowing the strike zone a lot better from seeing pitching at the D-I level.”
Things didn’t go as Hayes planned at UNCG.
“I didn’t play the best in the fall. I was struggling a little bit,” he said. “Going from seeing alright arms, to really good arms really fast. It was just a huge jump. At the time, I wasn’t ready for it.”
When the 2023 season began, he was a reserve, gaining more playing time a few weeks into the season. Hayes batted .250 in nine games, including three starts. He was 3-for-3 on stolen base attempts.
Yet his time with the Spartans didn’t go for naught. That has been evident with Hayes’ throws from the outfield.
“UNCG, they’ve got a great throwing program,” he said. “My arm has gotten so much stronger.”
Hayes was on three high school state championship teams – one at Uwharrrie Charter Academy and two at Randleman. In 2022, he shared Player of the Year honors in the Piedmont Athletic Conference with teammate future Boston Red Sox draft pick Brooks Brannon.
Now Hayes wants to turn the detour into something good after the Guilford Tech season.
Members of Randolph County Post 45 gather after a loss in the Area 3 semifinal series in Salisbury. (PJ Ward-Brown/Randolph Record)
SALISBURY – Randolph County Post 45 will have a gap in its schedule before resuming play next month in American Legion baseball.
Post 45 wasn’t able to reach the Area 3 championship series based on Monday night’s 5-0 loss to Rowan County Post 342 in Game 5 of the best-of-5 semifinal series.
Rowan County won Games 1 and 3, so it won each of its home games at Newman Park on the Catawba College campus.
Randolph County (23-6) will have more games this season after a layoff of more than two weeks. Post 45, as the host team, has an automatic spot in the Southeast Regional that runs from Aug. 2-6 at McCrary Park in Asheboro.
Rowan County (35-5) plays High Point-Thomasville Post 87 (17-3) in Thursday night’s winner-take-all Area 3 final. Both teams advance to next week’s state tournament in Buies Creek. Post 87 swept Kannapolis Post 115 in the other semifinal series.
Rowan County goes for a repeat because last year it topped Randolph County in the Area 3 title game.
Randolph County was limited to two hits in Monday night’s game. Those were by Grat Dalton and Hunter Atkins.
Samuel Asbill was the losing pitcher in the decisive game. Rowan County, aided by a pair of errors, plated five runs in the first inning. Atkins and Tanner Marsh combined for five shutout innings in relief for Post 45.
The first four games of the Area 3 semifinal series were defined by lopsided scores.
Randolph County Post 45 catcher Grat Dalton makes a tag on Rowan County’s Lucas Graham during Game 3 of the Area 3 semifinal series. (PJ Ward-Brown/Randolph Record)
The series began last Thursday in Salisbury, where the game was suspended with Rowan County leading 6-1 and completed the next day in Asheboro with Post 342 winning 8-2.
Later Friday, Post 45 got even with an 11-0 result that included two home runs and six runs batted in by Atkins in a 10-run six-inning. His grand slam ended the game via the mercy rule. Meanwhile, pitcher Drake Purvis threw a no-hitter with six strikeouts and two walks. The game’s first run didn’t come until Carter Brown’s solo homer with two outs in the fifth.
Rowan County responded Saturday night in Salisbury, scoring five first-inning runs off Austin Lemons on the way to a 10-0, five-inning rout.
Randolph County had answers Sunday afternoon at McCrary Park by overcoming a two-run deficit. Post 45 pulled within 2-1 in the third inning before another 10-run sixth.
Marsh’s grand slam followed by Atkins’ homer put Post 45 in control. Brown drove in two runs. Robert Garner pitched a complete game with five strikeouts.
Randolph County Post 45 first baseman Josh Meadows makes a catch against Davidson County Post 8 with catcher Grat Dalton looking on in Game 1 of that playoff series. (PJ Ward-Brown/Randolph Record)
Randolph County Post 45 is moving on to the semifinals of the Area 3 playoffs and it shapes up as a significant showdown.
Post 45 (21-3) and Rowan County Post 342 (32-3) will match up in a best-of-5 series beginning Thursday night at Catawba College in Salisbury.
Monday night at Lexington, Post 45 won 6-1 vs. Davidson County Post 8 to complete a sweep of the best-of-3 first-round series. Tanner Marsh homered, Connor Adams scored two runs and Samuel Asbill pitched six innings with eight strikeouts without issuing a walk.
Rowan County, which was the South Division regular-season champion, already had a spot in the semifinals based on Foothills Post 123 forfeiting the first-round series.
Randolph County was the second-place team in the North Division.
Post 45 and Post 342 played three times during the regular season, with Randolph County winning the final two of those meetings. Each team had a one-run victory and Post 45 also won 10-5.
Game 2 comes Friday night at McCrary Park in Asheboro with Game 3 back in Salisbury on Saturday night. If necessary, the fourth and fifth games are set for Sunday and Monday, respectively.
Last year, Rowan County defeated Randolph County in the Area 3 final.
In the other semifinals series, High Point-Thomasville Post 87 meets Kannapolis Post 115.
Alex Martinez of Randolph County Post 45 makes a catch in the outfield earlier this season against Chatham County. (PJ Ward-Brown/Randolph Record)
ASHEBORO – There have been some gaps in the schedule for Randolph County Post 45, but the American Legion baseball team might be back in a good groove.
Post 45 finished second in the Area 3 Northern Division by the time the regular season wrapped up last week.
The team won its final two regular-season games at home and then opened the Area 3 playoffs Sunday night by defeating visiting Davidson County.
That best-of-3 series was to continue this week. The Area 3 semifinals begin later this week in a best-of-5 format.
In the series opener, Randolph County’s 8-1 victory was boosted by two-run home runs from Braylen Hayes and Tanner Marsh. Hayes ended up with four runs batted in that helped support Robert Garner’s six innings of pitching before Marsh worked the seventh from the mound.
The goal for Post 45 is a state championship, but there are other benefits for extending the playoff run. The team is tournament host with an automatic bid for the Southeast Regional that’s scheduled for Aug. 2-6, so to avoid a huge break in the schedule it’s beneficial if Randolph County can keep going in the Area 3 playoffs.
Last week, Randolph County topped Foothills Post 123 by 7-3 and then defeated Chatham County Post 292 by 5-3.
Against Foothills, five pitchers went to the mound for Post 45. Carter Brown had two hits.
In the Chatham County game, Post 45 rallied from 3-0 hole as Hunter Atkins drove in two runs and Connor Adams scored two runs. Atkins and Marsh both had triples for Randolph County, while Austin Lemons was the winning pitcher with three innings of relief and Marsh recorded a save by logging a perfect seventh inning.
So that meant that Randolph County completed the regular season with a 19-3 record, including 6-2 in Area 3 divisional play. High Point-Thomasville Post 87 went 8-0 in the division to claim the top seed.
Davidson County was the third-place team in the Southern Division.
Rowan County Post 342 has already advanced to the Area 3 semifinals based on Foothills forfeiting the first-round series. It takes on the winner of the Randolph-County-Davidson County series.
