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Post 45 final handshake

Season fizzles on Post 45 in elimination loss

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Randolph County Post 45 team members go through their final postgame handshake line of the season Saturday at McCrary Park.

ASHEBORO – This Randolph County Post 45 baseball team seemed built for big things.

Too many big innings for opponents became the undoing for the host team in the American Legion’s Southeast Regional.

“I definitely think we could have had a better season than this,” left fielder Adam Cole said.

The end came with a 15-5 loss to Wilmington Post 10 in an elimination game Saturday at McCrary Park. The game was reduced to five innings by the mercy rule, with Wilmington racking up the final 15 runs.

With back-to-back losses, Post 45 (31-13) was finished. That left three other teams from the original eight-team field left to determine the qualifier for next week’s American Legion World Series.

“I thought we were going to run through this,” Randolph County center fielder/pitcher Braylen Hayes said. “It’s all about how you play as a team.”

Just like the state tournament a week earlier, Post 45 began with two victories and then exited with losses in its next two games.

“A tough two weeks,” Post 45 manager Ronnie Pugh said. “With all the injuries, it’s pretty remarkable really that we were able to come out and win a couple games (in each tournament).”

The ailments had piled up, with a pitching staff reduced by injuries, shortstop Tanner Marsh limping around all week, Blake Marsh dealing with a sore wrist and catcher Alex Martinez hampered by a bashed finger.

Yet the most unpredictable development involved Post 45’s Trey Way, who had played five positions in the field across the first three days of the regional and was slated to be the catcher Saturday. Hours before the game, Way became ill because of an allergic reaction. He was held out of the lineup and then departed during the second rain delay for additional care.

Even with that, it started well for Post 45. Randolph County scored two runs before the first out, beginning the game with three singles and notching the first run on a wild pitch. Cole drove in a run with a single, but Hayes was thrown out at the plate on the play. Martinez roped a two-out, two-run single and Tyler Parks followed with an RBI single.

A 9-minute rain delay preceded starting pitcher Robert Garner throwing his first pitch in the bottom of the inning. Wilmington’s Logan Ponnett hammered a two-run homer in the bottom of the first before an out was recorded. After five Post 10 batters took their turns, there was a 53-minute halt.

The frame ended with a 5-3 score and Wilmington leaving the bases loaded.

Connor Kane’s grand slam on an 0-2 pitch from Garner with two outs in the bottom of the second inning gave Wilmington its first lead. Post 10 scored in every inning, with Post 45 using three pitchers but none could slow down Wilmington’s 14-hit barrage.

“We came in here lacking pitching,” Hayes said.

Still, Post 45 was stacked. There were veteran players along with newcomers Hayes and Way, who were standouts on Randleman’s second consecutive Class 2-A state championship team from the high school season. North Carolina recruit Tyler Parks was available for the postseason, Blake Marsh and Tatum Marsh had been in college programs, and Pugh could field a team with all-star credentials at about every position.

“We won 30-some games,” Pugh said. “Stuff hit at times. Maybe we were a couple of arms short.”

Blake Marsh and Cole both had two hits in the finale.

Much of the core of the team is eligible to return. Players have called it a positive experience.

“I loved it,” Hayes said of American Legion baseball. “Every second was fun for me.”

Saturday’s results

Wilmington 15, Randolph County 5 (Randolph County eliminated)

Rock Hill, S.C. vs. Camden, S.C., delayed

Post 45 coaches at states

Problems pile up on Post 45 in first regional loss

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Randolph County Post 45 coaches Ryan Hill, left, Ronnie Pugh and Andrew Conner will need a plan to win three more games in the Southeast Regional. (File photo)

Randolph County needs turnaround to extend season

ASHEBORO — It didn’t start well for Randolph County Post 45. Then it got worse Friday night.

Yet if there’s a good omen for the host team in Southeast Regional for American Legion baseball, things are bound to get better this weekend.

Or else the season will come to a disheartening conclusion.

“It’s an eye-opener,” Post 45 catcher Alex Martinez said after the 12-7 loss to Camden (S.C.) Post 17 at McCrary Park. “We have to come play and play harder. Need a lot more energy.”

The eight-team field in the double-elimination tournament has been cut in half, with only Camden with an unblemished mark.

Post 45 (31-12) meets North Carolina state champion Wilmington Post 10 in Saturday’s 4:30 p.m. elimination game. Camden, which is guaranteed of advancing to Sunday, takes on South Carolina state champion Rock Hill Post 34 in Saturday night’s nightcap.

Randolph County pitchers gave up 15 hits and five walks and were dinged by the team’s three fielding errors.

“A couple errors lead to more errors,” Martinez said. “Things started to fall apart. Not a lot of energy going on.”

The miscues extended to offense. Three Randolph County innings ended with base-running blunders.

“I don’t think I want to really replay that one,” Post 45 manager Ronnie Pugh said of the game. “When we’re on, we’re good. But we were sure bad (in this game).”

Camden scored two unearned first-inning runs. By the time Post 17 put on a third-inning hitting clinic to score five runs, it was 8-1.

“I felt they swung the bats really well and they were hitting it,” starting pitcher Tatum Marsh said. “We’ll learn from it.”

Trey Way, Connor Adams, Drew Harmon and Braylen Hayes were also used on the mound, with only Adams, who worked one inning, going unscored upon.

Yet Post 45 racked up 11 hits, with Tatum Marsh, Blake Marsh, Adam Cole and Josh Meadows all recording two.

Randolph County got on the board on Tatum Marsh’s two-out single in the second. Cole stroked an RBI double in the third.

Post 45 closed within 10-5 on Tyler Parks’ two-out, two-run single in the fifth. A wild pitch resulted in another run.

Adams worked into and out of a bases-loaded jam in the sixth without yielding a run.

In the bottom of the inning, Tanner Marsh’s sacrifice fly with the bases loaded made it 10-7, but that’s all Post 45 got when Cole lined out to right end to end the threat.

Randolph County and Wilmington didn’t meet in last week’s state tournament.

Friday’s results

Rock Hill, S.C. 7, Belleview, Fla. 3 (Belleview eliminated)

Wilmington 18, Evans, Ga. 0 (Evans eliminated)

Camden, S.C. 12, Randolph County 7

Braylen Hayes bats for Post 45

Hayes caps Post 45 drama in late-night Southeast Regional win

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Braylen Hayes had the final hit for Randolph County Post 45 in its extra-inning victory against Evans (Ga.) in the Southeast Regional. (File photo)

ASHEBORO – Braylen Hayes wanted the chance to end Thursday night’s game in the Southeast Regional.

The Randolph County Post 45 center fielder didn’t miss on that.

“It works at the end, that’s all that matters,” Hayes said. “I knew (it was the winning hit) because Blake (Marsh) can move pretty good. He’s going to score.”

Hayes belted a double off the wall in left field with one out in the bottom of the eighth inning, allowing Marsh to score from first base with the winning run in the 3-2 victory against Evans (Ga.) Post 192 in American Legion baseball at McCrary Park.

“He said (before going to the plate) that this game was over,” Post 45 manager Ronnie Pugh said of Hayes. “He didn’t say how.”

Randolph County (31-11) will meet Camden (S.C.) Post 17 at 7:30 p.m. Friday in the winners’ bracket. They’re the two remaining undefeated teams.

Until the game reached extra innings, it was another showcase for Post 45’s Tanner Marsh, who has hobbled around the field for two games and produced an alarming rate.

Hampered by an ailing left hamstring, he has come through at the plate and in the field.

“Sometimes you just have to push through,” Tanner Marsh said. “I’ll play all week.”

He drove in Randolph County’s first two runs and ended up as the winning pitcher with three innings of relief.

“He always steps up,” Pugh said. “You can’t get him out of the lineup. He told me today to throw away my eraser.”

Pugh adjusted the initial lineup configuration a bit, moving Tanner Marsh to third base rather than shortstop so any mobility issues would be less of a factor. Trey Way, an established shortstop who was the catcher Wednesday night, took the shortstop spot.

In the eighth, Blake Marsh reached on a one-out infield single. Then it was Hayes’ turn and he smacked his first hit of the regional for the most dramatic conclusion so far in the regional.

“Sometimes you have to win one like that,” Pugh said.

Hayes said it was his first walk-off hit in recent memory in this type of situation. During the past high school season, any walk-off hit for Randleman came in a mercy-rule situation.

Post 45 starting pitcher Blake Marsh made it through four innings. Just seconds after he dodged a bases-loaded jam to end the top of the fourth, umpires halted play for what became a 62-minute lightning delay.

Post 45 scored in the second inning when Hayes walked and later scored on Tanner Marsh’s sacrifice fly. Randolph County got its second run in the fourth, with a couple of misplayed fly balls resulting in the run.

Tyler Parks took over for Randolph County on the mound and yielded a fifth-inning run on Matthew Roa’s run-scoring double.

On the next batter, left fielder Adam Cole’s sliding catch of Chesney Lepard’s line drive toward the gap notched the second out and prevented the tying run from scoring.

Tanner Marsh went to the mound with two runners on base and no outs in the sixth. He worked out of the mess and the Post 45 lead stood at 2-1.

Evans put a runner on second with no outs in the seventh. Charlie Bussey came around from second base to score on a groundout. If he had been out at the plate, the game would have ended.

Tatum Marsh had two of Post 45’s eight hits.

Thursday’s scores

Wilmington 9, Owensboro, Ky. 4 (Owensboro eliminated)

Rock Hill, S.C. 11, Columbia, Tenn. 3 (Columbia eliminated)

Camden, S.C. 9, Belleview, Fla. 7

Randolph County 3, Evans, Ga. 2, 8 innings

Grant Little photo Post 45 file photo

Little comes up big as Post 45 pulls out victory in Southeast Regional opener

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Grant Little’s return to action turned out to be timely for Randolph County Post 45. (File photo)

ASHEBORO – The game barely started and Randolph County Post 45 needed big help in the Southeast Regional.

That came from Grant Little, who hadn’t pitched in more than a month.

Little calmed things down for Post 45 before the offense caused commotion in what became a 14-8 victory against Rock Hill (S.C.) Post 34 in the nightcap of the first day of the American Legion regional Wednesday night at McCrary Park.

“We realize what we’re playing for,” Post 45 shortstop Tanner Marsh said.

Little gave up one run across 3 2/3 innings – until a misplayed pop-up on the first batter after he was lifted resulted in two more runs. But what Little accomplished was big by putting a halt to Rock Hill’s momentum and allowing the Post 45 bats to finally get going.

Post 45 (30-11), which rallied from a five-run deficit, plays again at 7:30 p.m. Thursday against Evans (Ga.) Post 192 in a winners bracket game of the five-day, double-elimination event.

The offensive highlights were numerous. Josh Meadows drove in four runs, Blake Marsh and Tanner Marsh both rapped three hits and Adam Cole was on base five times and scored three runs – just to list a few.

Little, though, turned out to supply perhaps the most clutch performance. The Uwharrie Charter Academy player had been nursing a sore labrum that put him on the sideline.

“I didn’t know how long I was going to be out,” he said. “I wasn’t even expecting to pitch (in this game).”

Post 45 manager Ronnie Pugh said Little threw in the bullpen a couple of times in last week’s state tournament.

“You just think the opportunity might come for him,” Pugh said. “That opportunity came and look what he did with it.”

A seven-run fifth inning gave Post 45 a lead for the first time.

“We kept the faith,” Tanner Marsh said. “The coaches kept telling us we just need base runners.”

Randolph County went ahead on Meadows’ two-run single with one out. Tyler Parks followed with a two-run triple. By the time the uprising was complete, Post 45 held a 9-5 lead.

“We just didn’t give up,” said Meadows, who broke out of a slump. “I was told once you find it, it’s going to feel amazing. I was just missing the pitches I wanted and (Wednesday night) I finally fulfilled it. It felt amazing.”

Trey Way had two singles in the fifth.

Randolph County kept going in the sixth. Cole sliced an RBI single and Meadows knocked in a run with a ground-rule double before Tatum Marsh’s groundout resulted in another run.

With a run in the seventh, Post 45 scored in the final five innings.

“We wait until later to turn it on at the offensive end,” Little said.

There was a different tone set earlier when Rock Hill, the South Carolina state champion, poured on four first-inning runs against Robert Garner. Josh Wimmer’s lead-off homer in the second against Little made it 5-0 before – from Post 45’s perspective – order was restored.

The offense had quite a bit to do with it as well. In the state tournament, Post 45 managed a total of 16 runs in four games before nearly matching that in the regional opener.

“We had clutch base hits,” Pugh said. “We finally got people on with no outs or one out. I thought we showed a lot of discipline.”

Wednesday’s scores

Camden, S.C. 10, Owensboro, Ky. 0

Evans, Ga. 5, Columbia, Tenn. 0

Belleview, Fla. 8, Wilmington 5

Randolph County 14, Rock Hill, S.C. 8

Post 45 around coach near dugout state semis

Post 45 looks for home comforts in regional

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Randolph County Post 45 players gather around manager Ronnie Pugh during the state tournament in Buies Creek. (PJ Ward-Brown/Randolph Record)

ASHEBORO – More than two weeks will have passed between official home games for Randolph County Post 45.

But those coming this week will be the biggest of the season in the American Legion baseball’s Southeast Regional at McCrary Park.

The eight-team regional will be held Wednesday through Aug. 7.

Post 45 will meet the South Carolina champion Rock Hill Post 34 in the Day 1 nightcap at 6:30 p.m. After that, Randolph County’s schedule will be dictated by its results based on how the bracket unfolds.

Two teams from North Carolina will be in the field. Post 45 (29-11) was guaranteed a spot as the host team, while North Carolina state champion Wilmington Post 10 will join Randolph County.

Other teams in the regional field will be South Carolina runner-up Camden Post 17, along with state champions from Georgia (Evans Post 192), Kentucky (Owensboro Post 9), Florida (Belleview Post 284) and Tennessee (Columbia Post 19).

Camden faces Owensboro in the regional opener, followed by Evans vs. Columbia and then Wilmington vs. Belleview.

Games are generally scheduled for 9:30 a.m., 11:30 a.m., 4:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m., though there are just three games on the Friday docket and then 4:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. games Saturday.

Randolph County Post 45 infielder Tatum Marsh of Asheboro has been a key player for the team this season. He also pitched during the state tournament. (PJ Ward-Brown/Randolph Record)

The double-elimination tournament is slated to conclude Aug. 7. A championship game is set for 1:30 p.m., with the “if necessary” game scheduled for 4:30 p.m.

The regional winner goes to the American Legion World Series, which takes place from Aug. 11-16 in Shelby.

Asheboro has been a fixture as a regional host since 2013, though sometimes it welcomes the Mid-Atlantic Regional. Post 45 won regionals in its home ballpark in 2017 and 2018 in the Southeast Regional and in 2019 in the Mid-Atlantic Regional. The 2023 Southeast Regional is also slated for McCrary Park.

Last year, Post 45 went 1-2 in the Mid-Atlantic Regional, so there’s a different pool of teams coming for this week’s Southeast Regional.

Other regional sites this year are in Pelham, Ala.; Shrewsbury, Mass.; Fairfield, Calif.; Midland, Mich.; Morgantown, W.Va.; Rapid City, S.D.; and Gillette, Wyo.

Post 81 Carson Rickman v Greensboro

American Legion teams hit strides in Randolph County

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Carson Rickman of Eastern Randolph Post 81 scores a run last week against Greensboro. (PJ Ward-Brown/Randolph Record)   

RAMSEUR – Eastern Randolph Post 81 had a recent nine-game winning streak in American Legion baseball.

That string ended with a 5-4 loss last Friday at Greensboro.

But Eastern Randolph was back on the winning mark Sunday night with a 4-2 win at Stanly County.  TJ. McGraw’s two-run home run was the big hit in that game as the team improved its record to 13-7.

In Asheboro, Randolph County Post 45 was the host for a multi-team event during the weekend at McCrary Park.

Post 45 went 3-1 in those games, with the lone loss a 3-2 setback in eight innings to Morgantown, W.Va.

Robert Garner, Tanner Marsh and Landon Williamson picked up pitching victories for Post 45. Tatum Marsh was among Randolph County’s big offensive contributors in each game. Marsh drove in four of the team’s nine runs scored Saturday when they split two games.

Randolph County entered this week with a 15-7 overall record.

Asheboro ZooKeepers logo 2022

ZooKeepers could be solid on mound

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ASHEBORO – There will be a few returning players on Asheboro’s Coastal Plain League team, but by and large the 2022 roster will look different in many ways.

An upgrade in experience is something that could benefit the ZooKeepers the most.

“We try our best to get the best players you come across,” said head coach Jeremy Knight, who’s also the co-general manager and in his second year with the team.

Asheboro posted a 23-21 record last year, when it was nicknamed Copperheads before an offseason rebranding.

The ZooKeepers are slated for road games at Forest City and Holly Springs on Thursday and Friday nights before Saturday night’s home opener against the Wilson Tobs at renovated McCrary Park. That begins a stretch of four home games across six nights.

Knight said he likes the mix of pitchers likely to be the core of the staff.

“I think we’ll be good with arms,” he said. “We might be light on position players when we begin.”

As always, there can be surprises regarding the roster right up until the season starts.

“With summer ball, you don’t really know what you’re going to get until they get here,” Knight said.

The Asheboro returnees are catcher Justin Wilcoxen out of East Carolina and pitchers Danny Heintz of Pennsylvania, Michael Osmond from Division III Wittenburg (Ohio) and John Owen from Division III Pfeiffer.

There’s also the possibility that Asheboro High School alum Trevor Marsh, an outfielder for UNC Wilmington, could rejoin the team after playing for his hometown club last summer. That won’t come at least until after this week’s Colonial Athletic Association Tournament at Elon.

Knight said the ZooKeepers will have more players who were regulars in their college lineups than a year ago.

“We’re going to see if that makes a difference,” he said, figuring that should be a plus. “They might come in tired, so there’s a double-edged sword.”

Area colleges will be well-represented. From UNC Greensboro, there’s pitchers Sam Murchison and Hunter Shuey and outfielders Ethan McKay and Kennedy Jones; from High Point, pitchers Patrick Libby and Connor Smith; and from Davidson, pitcher Maddux Smith.

There’s also a hometown element with Asheboro’s Bryce Marsh. The former Southwestern Randolph player is a first baseman/pitcher for Pfeiffer.

Post45_Jackson

Post 45 vies for another regional title

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ASHEBORO — It’s a well-rested Randolph County Post 45 baseball team competing in this week’s American Legion postseason games at McCrary Park.

Perhaps experience is on Post 45’s side along with homefield advantage for the eight-team Mid-Atlantic Regional.

Randolph County begins its quest to make the national tournament by taking on Allentown, N.J., at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday.

The five-day regional runs through Sunday. The winner advances to the American Legion World Series later this month in Shelby.

Also on the opening-day regional docket is Harrisburg (Pa.) Post 370 vs. Wilmington (Del.) Post 1; Ridge (Md.) Post 255 vs. Pottstown, Pa.; and Chesapeake (Va.) Post 280 vs. North Carolina champion Fuquay-Varina Post 116.

Post 45 holds a 15-6 record and it has been idle for a couple of weeks, but that time off should have the team rested and ready, head coach Ronnie Pugh said.

“Sometimes it helps you be healthy,” Pugh said, “but you don’t want to lose that last game.”

Post 45 won the Area 3 Northern Division regular-season title. The team lost in the Area 3 finals, so it sat out while other teams competed in the state tournament.

There also are slated to be four games Thursday, with three more Friday, two on Saturday and either one or two Sunday depending on how many are needed to determine the winner of the double-elimination regional.

The regional features six state champions, Pennsylvania’s runner-up and host Post 45. Pottstown won the Pennsylvania title and Harrisburg is in the regional field as the runner-up.

Post 45 won regional titles at its home facility in 2017, 2018 and 2019. The first of those two were Southeast Region championships and the 2019 version came in the Mid-Atlantic Region.

So the stage should be familiar for Post 45. That’s not the case for its first opponent.

Allentown won its first New Jersey state championship this summer. The team is composed of players from four high schools across Monmouth and Ocean counties.

The Southeast Regional will return to Asheboro for 2022 and 2023. Regionals have been held in Asheboro since 2013 (with the exception of the cancelled 2020 edition because of the pandemic).

 

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