Junior outfielder Trevor Marsh of UNC Wilmington was named to the All-Colonial Athletic Association first team in baseball. The Seahawks (34-23) won the league’s regular-season and tournament titles.
Trevor Marsh
Marsh, who played in high school for Asheboro, batted .319 with 12 home runs and 48 runs batted in. He also smacked 13 doubles and one triple and stole three bases. One of his home runs came in the NCAA regional opener against Duke last month at Conway, S.C.
Thomas, White pick up freshman honors
UNC Greensboro pitcher Luke Thomas and Western Carolina pitcher Matt White were named to the Southern Conference all-freshman team.
Thomas, in his first season out of Providence Grove, posted a 4-4 record with a 5.69 earned run average and a team-high three saves. Thomas was used in relief in 18 of his 22 outings. He struck out 50 batters in 55 1/3 innings.
Luke ThomasRyan White
Thomas shared the team-high mark in victories with Randleman alum Matt Kemp (4-3), whose 25 appearances – all in relief – were the second-most for the Spartans (25-34).
White, a rookie out of Randleman, posted a 5-0 record with a 3.86 ERA in 21 appearances, with 20 of those in relief. He struck out 16 and walked 19 in 30 1/3 innings. White notched wins in three of his last five regular-season appearances for the Catamounts (21-33).
Softball success
Campbell second baseman Makayla McClain was named to the All-Big South freshman team. The former Providence Grove standout batted .341 with two home runs.
McClain, who was twice named Big South Freshman of the Week, led Big South freshmen with six triples and 31 stolen bases. She had a 10-game hitting streak late in the season.
The Camels (42-18) won the Big South Tournament and went 1-2 in NCAA Tournament play in Durham.
** Edi Austin, a freshman out of Providence Grove, batted .389 with 28 home runs as Louisburg College set a school record for victories with a 63-5 record.
The Hurricanes finished fourth in the National Junior College Athletic Association Division II World Series.
GREENSBORO – Providence Grove alum Luke Thomas has moved to a role as a starting pitcher for UNC Greensboro’s baseball team the past two weeks.
Thomas, a freshman, was the starter for the Spartans in the opening games of the past two Southern Conference series. He had a no-decision against Virginia Military Institute and a loss at Samford.
Thomas (2-2) made his first 11 collegiate appearances as a reliever. He has one save.
The Spartans (16-16 overall, 4-5 Southern Conference) have a three-game conference series at home against The Citadel with games Friday night and Saturday and Sunday afternoons.
** At Elon, UNC Wilmington’s Trevor Marsh of Asheboro had two hits, including a double, in the second game of Sunday’s doubleheader as the visiting Seahawks won 7-6 against Elon in a matchup of the Colonial Athletic Association’s top two teams.
Marsh, a center fielder, also had a stolen base in the game. He’s batting .325 through 30 games.
Elon won the first game 3-1 after postponements the previous two days reduced the series to two games.
Several alums from Randolph County schools have produced notable opening stretches in their collegiate baseball careers.
Providence Grove alum Luke Thomas was the winning pitcher in his collegiate debut, throwing 1 2/3 shutout innings when UNC Greensboro defeated Northeastern on Feb. 18 in the second game of the season. The Spartans scored three runs in the bottom of the ninth inning.
The next day, Thomas took the loss when giving up four late-inning runs to Northeastern.
In the season’s second week, Thomas had two outings against Notre Dame, throwing one hitless inning in the second game of the series and, the next day, three shutout innings with five strikeouts in the series finale.
He added his first collegiate save March 1 with two shutout innings in a 4-1 home victory against Elon.
Then this past weekend, Thomas was the winning pitcher when the Spartans began a three-game sweep of visiting Rutgers. Thomas threw two shutout innings in the 3-2 outcome.
In the series finale against Rutgers, Randleman alum Matt Kemp, a junior, improved to 2-0 this season with a shutout inning in the Spartans’ 10-9, 10-inning victory.
White has mixed outings
Randleman alum Ryan White pitched in the season opener for Western Carolina, making his collegiate debut vs. Akron. His stint came to begin the ninth inning, striking out his first batter.
But an error and a pair of walks preceded Ian Pennington’s game-tying grand slam. The Zips went on to win 14-12.
Last week, White posted 1 2/3 hitless innings at Gardner-Webb and then he logged a shutout inning in a 10-3 victory against visiting Eastern Kentucky.
Gardner honored twice
Former Eastern Randolph baseball player Brody Gardner has had a strong start to his collegiate career with Greensboro College. The freshman outfielder was a two-time USA South Conference Rookie of the Week in February.
Brody Gardner at Greensboro College.
He received the conference’s first rookie honor of the season as a result of a .350 batting average and driving in two runs when the Pride won two of three games against Lynchburg.
The next week, Gardner batted .316 with three doubles, two runs batted in and scored three runs when the Pride went 2-2. He has been in the lead-off spot in the batting order.
On Saturday, Gardner was 3-for-5 with two runs scored in a 7-5 victory at Berry (Ga.) College.
Chase Whitaker will remain a key part of Providence Grove’s defense, but his role might expand on offense. (PJ Ward-Brown/Randolph Record)
Providence Grove’s large senior class could pay off
CLIMAX – Two of the most productive players from Providence Grove’s special 2021 football team are gone.
But don’t feel bad for the Patriots because they’re bustling with experience.
“A lot of people assume that we’re going to be pretty good,” said coach Calvin Brown, whose roster has 22 seniors. “I think that experience and being a year older is going to make a difference. We’re not relying on a lot of youth this year.”
A second-place finish in the Piedmont Athletic Conference signaled a breakthrough for Providence Grove a year ago. Now, there could be more to come.
“I think we’ve got a good season lined up,” senior linebacker Chase Whitaker said. “If there’s going to be something big, hopefully this can be the year for it.”
Last season’s 8-3 team racked up a school-record 426 points. Often, big scoring games were needed.
“I don’t think we’ll have to score as much,” Brown said. “We might have to rely on defense.”
With nine starters back on the defensive unit, there’s a solid foundation.
That probably begins with Whitaker, who was the PAC Defensive Player of the Year last season. He shifts from middle linebacker to outside linebacker.
“He has a nose for the football,” Brown said. “If there’s a big play to be made on defense, he’s there. We’ve also got pieces to go around him.”
Whitaker, a 180-pounder, averaged 14.1 tackles per game and Karson Bowman, also a returnee, made 10.7 stops per game.
There are also 11 juniors, so the only one sophomore on the 34-player varsity roster is quarterback candidate and linebacker Brady Collins.
The Patriots, who open Friday night at home against East Davidson, are bound to go with a combination of quarterbacks. Whitaker, who was a tight end last year on offense, and senior Andrew Canter are also contenders. Whitaker might be a better runner, while Canter is a more accurate thrower.
“It may take a little time to figure it out,” Brown said. “Adjusting to that, I think our team has handled it well.”
This curiosity about the passing attack comes because four-year starting quarterback Luke Thomas, who set numerous school records, and team scoring and receiving leader Caleb Rogers were seniors last season.
“I’m excited to do it,” Whitaker said. “I’m not Luke Thomas. It’s hard to replace him. I can run the ball decent. … I don’t think it will wear me out too much.”
He posted four touchdowns with short-yardage runs last year.
Whitaker missed summer football workouts as he recovered from May surgery to have a cyst removed from his back.
The offensive weapons are numerous. Two-way players will include running back / safety Zane Cheek and running back / cornerback Zander Cheek. Zane Cheek racked up 89.5 yards per game on the ground last year.
Twins Joe Coltrane and Lemuel Coltrane could be keys among receivers.
Last week, Providence Grove took on Burlington Williams, Southern Alamance and Winston-Salem Reynolds in scrimmages. Those were challenges against larger schools.
“We kind of did it for a reason to prepare for the top level of competition,” Brown said.
Eastern Randolph Post 81 catcher Parker Evans tags out Stanly County’s Chance Hunt during an Area 3 playoff game. (PJ Ward-Brown/Randolph Record)
Eastern Randolph rediscovers winning ways in breakthrough season
RAMSEUR – Aside from the awkward ending, Eastern Randolph Post 81 put together a season that could set the foundation for the American Legion baseball program.
That would make this year’s efforts well worth it for a team that had endured some tough times in recent seasons.
“Our main goal was we wanted to bring life back to 81 baseball,” said first-year head coach Nate Cockman.
Consider that accomplished.
“It’s a different energy, for sure,” said third baseman Carson Rickman, who was also on the 2021 team. “I didn’t have great expectations because of last year.”
Eastern Randolph won two playoff series before forfeiting the Area 3 best-of-5 semifinals, which were slated to begin Saturday. Cockman cited lack of player availability for that decision.
Post 81 held an 18-9 record in games played, though two of those were overturned based on a player eligibility issue to give it a 16-11 mark (prior to the forfeited semifinal series).
Still, the team advanced to the Area 3 semifinals for the first time since 2015.
Post 81 lost three players based on eligibility ruling following the regular season. That contributed to the low roster number.
“We wanted to set small goals,” Cockman said. “We wanted to have a winning record. We wanted to win playoff series. We made those milestones.”
There were just a few returning players for Post 81 this season.
Creating a winning attitude took some time.
“When we showed up from Day 1, we had some talent,” shortstop Nate Gardner said. “It has been a great summer.”
Gardner, who plays for Faith Christian, had been on the Post 81 junior team, so he was pleased to be part of the progress.
“We opened people’s eyes,” he said.
Indeed, even with a lineup that constantly changed, Post 81 found ways to win games. Eastern Randolph tied for the Area 3 North Division title and would have been the top seed out of the division for the playoffs if not for a forfeited league game that knocked it down one spot.
Luke Thomas, a recent Providence Grove graduate heading to UNC Greensboro on baseball scholarship, made a huge impact in his only Post 81 season. He was the ace on the mound and played as the center fielder at other times. He occupied the lead-off spot in the batting order.
Brody Gardner, who played in high school for Eastern Randolph, also was a key player. But his availability was limited because of a role for the Lexington Flying Pigs of the Old North State League. He’ll join Rickman on the Greensboro College team.
“We need him here,” Cockman said of the impact Brody Gardner made for Post 81.
Catcher Parker Evans and infielder Aidan Allred also gave Eastern Randolph experience in the Post 81 system.
A victory in early June against Randolph County Post 45 sparked Post 81, which had a losing record at the time.
“That really kicked us off,” Nate Gardner said. “We saw that if we can get our act together, we’ll win games.”
In several games, late rallies carried the team to victories. That tended to be a theme, Cockman said.
In the best-of-3 quarterfinals vs. Stanly County, all games were played at Craven Stadium in Ramseur after Game 2 was postponed for a day and then Stanly County’s field deemed unplayable.
In Game 1 on July 12, Post 81 rallied from a 6-0 deficit to tie the game only to fall 7-6 when visiting Stanly County scored a run in the top of the seventh. Evans drove in two runs and Thomas notched two hits.
Post 81 needed to win twice last Thursday, doing so by 13-3 and 13-4 scores. In Game 2, Thomas struck out 10 in five innings. Samuel Asbill was the winning pitcher in Game 3. Chance Terry, who drove in six runs, and Rickman each had five hits in the two games combined. Thomas was 4-for-8 at the plate.
Blake Marsh has been a factor for Randolph County Post 45 in the American Legion baseball playoffs. (PJ Ward-Brown/Randolph Record)
Randolph County Post 45 and Eastern Randolph Post 81 took different paths to reach the Area 3 playoff semifinals for American Legion baseball.
Both ways worked out.
Post 45 rolled to 14-0 and 9-0 victories against Mooresville Post 66 in the best-of-3 quarterfinals.
Post 81 lost its series opener against Stanley County, then recovered to win twice Thursday night to keep its season alive.
Due to field availability issues in Asheboro, Game 1 was played at Mooresville, with Post 45 using Trey Way’s 3-for-4 effort at the plate along with four runs batted in from both Drew Harmon and Tanner Marsh. Robert Garner threw four innings and Braylen Hayes worked the fifth to complete the mercy-shortened five-inning romp.
In Game 2 at McCrary Park, Randolph County rode the pitching of Way, Blake Marsh and Connor Adams to secure another shutout and clinch the series.
Blake Marsh supplied a three-run triple in the second inning after Post 45 scored twice in the first inning on Tanner Marsh’s run-scoring double and Way’s RBI single. Adam Cole and Tatum Marsh had two-out singles in the third to stretch the gap to 8-0. Carson Whitehead’s single drove in a fifth-inning run.
Next for Randolph County (24-8) is the best-of-5 series against Kannapolis, with Games 1 and 2 at home Saturday (7 p.m.) and Sunday (8 p.m.)
Eastern Randolph had to wait a day to qualify for the next round after Wednesday night’s Game 2 was postponed because of weather. As it turned out, all three games were played at Craven Stadium in Ramseur because Stanly County’s field was deemed unplayable after Wednesday’s storms.
Post 81 needed to win twice Thursday, doing so by 13-3 and 13-4 scores. In Game 2, Luke Thomas struck out 10 in five innings. Samuel Asbill was the winning pitcher in Game 3.
Chance Terry, who drove in six runs, and Carson Rickman each had five hits in the two games combined. Thomas was 4-for-8 at the plate.
In Tuesday night’s Game 1, Post 81 rallied from a 6-0 deficit to tie the game only to fall 7-6 when visiting Stanly County scored a run in the top of the seventh. Parker Evans drove in two runs and Thomas notched two hits.
Post 81 (16-11) takes on Rowan County in the semifinal round, set to begin Saturday at Catawba College in Salisbury.
Coming in the next Randolph Record edition:
** Find out how Randolph County Post 45 turned around its season after a slow start.
** It has been a breakthrough season for Eastern Randolph Post 81.
Luke Thomas fires a pitch from the mound this spring. He’s planning to play college baseball. (PJ Ward-Brown/Randolph Record)
CLIMAX – Whatever the sport at Providence Grove, Luke Thomas had the ball in his hands.
Those were good hands for the Patriots.
“I like being in control of the game. I don’t like leaning on other players,” Thomas said. “I like being the make-or-break type of guy.”
Thomas helped make Providence Grove relevant on just about every level during a high school career that turned out unmatched.
“A fixture not only in the football program but a fixture in the whole athletic program,” said Calvin Brown, the athletics director and football coach. “Pretty much everything that our athletic department has done for four years, on the male side, has revolved around Luke Thomas.”
The recognition extended beyond the Patriots. He’s the Male Athlete of the Year for the Piedmont Athletic Conference.
His impact came in various forms – from the quarterback who was the PAC’s Offensive Player of the Year in football, a starting guard on the school’s PAC regular-season champion basketball team, and the lead-off batter and starting pitcher for the baseball team.
Aside from statistics and accolades, it was clear Thomas was making a difference. You don’t have to investigate much to find the guy with the golden locks flowing out of the helmet or baseball cap.
“I haven’t cut it,” he said of the flow. “I’ve always liked it. When I first did it, nobody really had it. My grandma could find me on the field.”
Luke Thomas goes between Eastern Randolph defenders during a basketball game last winter. (PJ Ward-Brown/Randolph Record)
Thomas, 18, is heading to UNC Greensboro as a pitcher after this summer’s American Legion baseball season with Eastern Randolph Post 81.
To excel as a three-sport athlete was something that gave Thomas a sense of satisfaction, not to mention the team success that evolved.
The breakdown for Thomas goes like this: “The funnest sport to play is football because there’s nothing like it. … I had to work the hardest at basketball. My overall favorite is baseball.”
Even as the individual accolades piled up, Thomas seemed prone to brag on teammates.
“I’m confident, but I’m not cocky,” Thomas said. “You have to have a little swagger. I get a lot of hate sometimes when I go places. But that’s fine. That comes with doing a lot of things and trying to be good in sports. You know that coming in. That’s what we ask for.”
Check a postgame handshake line, and it’s often clear that Thomas receives doses of respect from the opponents.
It’s no surprise that he’s well-known around Randolph County. He has been doing this for quite some time.
Better be ready
In the third game of the 2018 football season, Providence Grove quarterback Andrew Poteat went out with a torn knee ligament. There weren’t many options for Brown.
“From that point, Luke was the guy,” he said. “We knew Luke was going to be good, and we also knew he was a freshman.”
Luke Thomas had a record-setting career as Providence Grove’s quarterback. He was the PAC’s top offensive player as a senior. (PJ Ward-Brown/Randolph Record)
There was no junior varsity team, so Thomas had been the varsity backup. Thomas said he wasn’t sure he was ready, and yet the circumstances dictated that he would be thrust into a key role.
“I got thrown into the fire, and it ended up working out for me,” he said.
That began a stretch when Thomas set every school passing record. By last fall, when he threw for 22 touchdowns, it took his career total to 55. He passed for more than 6,000 yards, even with the abbreviated 2021 spring season (replacing the nixed 2020 season).
“Each year, we put more and more on his shoulders, but he could handle that,” Brown said.
The Patriots have had eight-win records the past two full seasons. There was even a 2021 home game in the state playoffs.
“It’s unheard of,” Thomas said. “Providence Grove could barely get into a playoff game. We weren’t happy with the result. I had higher expectations for myself and my team. I’m glad I ended on that field.”
Yet so often, Thomas left that venue only to turn up at another the next day to play another sport.
Brown said he knew Thomas’ pursuit of baseball was important and marveled at how the morning after a football game that he would be on the way to play baseball.
“That says a lot about him to turn around the next day and go pitch because college coaches wanted to see him,” Brown said. “He was always up for those challenges. He always had that drive and competitiveness.”
For Thomas, it was a sense of pride in being a three-sport athlete and a difference-maker.
“Showing you can do all three and still get where you want to be,” Thomas said. “About every weekend (in the fall), I was playing baseball. I’d try to recover a little bit. That’s what I had to do because of my situation.
“That is not easy to do. It’s very hard on your body and mentally. You don’t always want to play Friday night and get up Saturday morning and go play baseball.”
So after dodging defenders and flinging the football around the field, those 7 a.m. wake-up moments and perhaps a two-hour drive were a grind.
“You’re not the most fresh that next day,” he said. “I can’t really complain about it.”
On days he didn’t pitch, he usually was slotted for another position in the field.
In basketball, Thomas was regarded as the Patriots’ best defender, which coach Wes Luther said was only a slim part of what made him so critical for the Patriots.
“My thing is defense. If I can bring that, they’re going to take care of the rest,” Thomas said of his teammates. “I can have a good night every once and a while. That’s not my job with this team. My job is to defend and take care of the ball.”
Yet he turned in a 24-point performance against Randleman in an overtime victory in the PAC Tournament.
He missed a few midseason basketball games because of a meniscus ailment and later wore a brace on his right knee. And even with hair tied up to keep it out of his eyes, it wasn’t difficult to identify one of the best athletes on the court.
Proud Patriots
Much of the influence for what seems like this nonstop success came from his father, Doug Thomas. A conversation about his achievements is bound to involve the father-son connection.
“I started being successful because I started working a lot harder, getting in the weight room,” Luke Thomas said. “Dad pushed me, just having support. Somebody to humble you and somebody to give you support when you need to be pulled up.”
The elder Thomas has been an assistant coach for the Providence Grove baseball team. Early on, he planted the idea that Providence Grove would be an ideal setting for notable accomplishments if coupled with the right work ethic.
There was no reason to look elsewhere, even if rosters at other schools often seemed to have changing personnel.
“I wanted to show people you could win doing it this way,” Luke Thomas said. “You could do it with your buddies and the kids you went to elementary school with. I like the way I did it. I showed people you could stay at your own school and be successful. I think that’s a big thing in high school. I like the underdog aspect of it.”
At times, Providence Grove might seem like an out-of-the-way rural school almost devoid of fanfare. That’s something that Thomas used as motivation.
“We get disrespected,” he said. “When you do it the right way, you’re not going to have the greatest seasons. When you have Randleman, Eastern (Randolph), Asheboro, Southwest (Randolph), they always overshine us, especially in publicity. Adding this (basketball title), finally gets us some.
“We like it here. We feed off that. That’s why I like being here.”
For the past few weeks, he has been one of the leading players for Post 81. It’s his first season with the team, though it didn’t take long for coach Nate Cockman to be thankful for that development.
“Getting Luke was huge,” Cockman said, listing many intangibles that Thomas’ presence provides and noting the boost for Post 81 in attracting such a well-regarded athlete.
Of course, the foundation for this came at Providence Grove.
By the time Thomas was a junior, his roles had been more defined in terms of leadership.
“I don’t have any regrets. I’m at peace,” he said. “The best part is probably the friends I made throughout playing these sports. You learn as you’re doing it, especially when you’re older. It got easier because people there you get to know and they care about you.”
There will be a shifting of gears when he arrives at UNCG. But that doesn’t mean he’ll be slowing down after this juggling act at Providence Grove.
“I’m glad I played three because it could only help me,” he said. “It will be nice to focus on one sport now.”
Front row, left to right: Madison Farlow, Kylie Vaughan, David Makupson, Molly Strider, Haley Langley, Haley Hedrick. Back row: Gus Shelton, Brody Gardner, Luke Thomas, Gracie Ballard, Edi Austin, Spencer Hall. (Courtesy photo)
SOPHIA – Area high school athletes were recognized for sportsmanship during the Randolph Sports Council’s spring banquet last month at Snyder Farms Restaurant.
Two senior athletes from seven schools were recipients of the sportsmanship awards, which are accompanied by $500 scholarships. Recipients are selected by each school’s scholarship committee.
The recipients were:
Madison Arroyo and Tramir Martin of Asheboro.
Haley Langley and Brody Gardner of Eastern Randolph.
Edi Austin and Luke Thomas of Providence Grove.
Kylie Vaughan and Gus Shelton of Randleman.
Molly Strider and Madison Farlow of Southwestern Randolph.
Gracie Ballard and David Makupson of Trinity.
Haley Hedrick and Spencer Hall of Wheatmore.
Darrell Moody, senior advisor to North Carolina football coach Mack Brown, was the guest speaker. Moody, a former NFL scout and longtime college assistant coach, was on past coaching staffs at Asheboro and Eastern Randolph.
