Caleb Stickle and the Uwharrie Charter Academy baseball team are diving into the state playoffs this week. (P.J. Ward-Brown/Randolph Record)
Baseball teams from Randleman and Uwharrie Charter Academy and the Southwestern Randolph softball team all landed No. 2 seeds in the West Region for the state playoffs.
Brackets were unveiled Monday. Play begins Tuesday.
Teams that advance will be slated to play second-round games Friday.
Here’s a look where Randolph County teams were seeded:
Baseball
Randleman (20-4) welcomes No. 31 seed Reidsville (11-14) for the first round in Class 2-A.
A victory would mean that No. 15 Forbush (20-7) or No. 18 Providence Grove (14-10) would visit Randleman later in the week. Randleman won two of three games this season vs. Providence Grove.
Southwestern Randolph (9-14) took the last spot in the Class 2-A bracket, meaning a trip to top-seeded Burns (20-4). The winner of that game faces either No. 16 Trinity (15-10) or No. 17 East Gaston (13-9) in the second round.
Wheatmore (8-13) made the field as the No. 29 seed in Class 2-A so the Warriors go to No. 4 seed West Stokes (20-4).
In Class 1-A, UCA (14-10) is home against No. 31 seed Queen’s Grant (8-10). A potential second-round game looms against either No. 15 Murphy or No. 18 Bishop McGuinness.
Eastern Randolph (4-17) is seeded No. 21, visiting No. 12 seed Mount Airy (14-12).
In Class 3-A, No. 26 seed Asheboro (12-11) heads to No. 7 seed Enka (12-10).
Softball
Southwestern Randolph (19-1) takes on No. 31 seed East Davidson (10-8) in the Class 2-A first round.
The Cougars could have a rematch from the PAC Tournament final in the second round later this week. If Southwestern Randolph wins, it would take on the winner between No. 15 seed Providence Grove (13-8) and No. 18 seed West Caldwell (21-6).
Randleman (7-15) is the No. 29 seed and goes to fourth-seeded West Stanly (23-1).
In Class 1-A, fourth-seeded Eastern Randolph (15-5) has a home date with No. 29 seed Bradford Prep (4-7).
No. 15 seed UCA (12-8) is home vs. No. 18 seed Highland Tech (11-7).
Randleman’s Austin Lemons had a big night on the mound and at the plate in the PAC Tournament final. (Bob Sutton/Randolph Record)
RANDLEMAN – There was so much going on with Randleman’s baseball team in the Piedmont Athletic Conference Tournament final.
Everything from Drake Purvis making his much-anticipated season debut to the Tigers racking up their 20th victory of the year.
Yet pretty much nothing could overshadow Austin Lemons.
The senior who mostly waited in the wings behind a stacked roster from a year ago emerged as the pitching and hitting standout in Randleman’s 4-0 victory against visiting Trinity on Thursday night.
“This is the biggest game I’ve probably ever pitched in my life and I feel like I handled it really well out there. I could trust my team. We got some runs. I knew right when we got those runs, I felt good about it.”
Make no mistake, the Tigers got their runs because of Lemons, who hit a two-run homer and later doubled to set up another run,
So he went from having a up-close view of Randleman’s record-setting 2022 season as a reserve to becoming one of the main participants for this year’s conference titlist.
“It definitely feels rewarding after working a lot,” Lemons said. “It’s not just for me. Hunter (Atkins) and Seth (Way) are the two that were in the lineup last year. They’ve been killing it this year. Everybody else had to fill really big roles and I think we’re doing a really good job of that.”
Lemons, a UNC Greensboro signee as a pitcher, must have been paying good attention last year.
“He has worked for this,” Randleman coach Jake Smith said. “He has seen people being successful in front of him.”
Lemons said he grew as a player last summer and in the fall on the travel ball circuit. Combined with what he learned from watching his former Randleman teammates, he applied it all to his final high school season.
“I feel like I just stuck through the process. I came out here and practiced just the same as everybody else,” Lemons said. “I took a lot of time to learn watching these guys on the field and I think it really carried over to this year.”
So that’s why the Tigers felt good about sending Lemons to the mound for the tournament final after he tossed two shutout innings in relief in Tuesday night’s eight-inning escape against Providence Grove in the semifinals.
“He competed and threw strikes,” Smith said. “His body language, his presence. He’s very focused.”
He gave Randleman six innings vs. Trinity, allowing two hits and a walk with eight strikeouts.
Lemons relies mostly on fastballs and sliders. He said his control tended to be a glitch in past years, but that’s an area where he made significant improvement.
“I definitely feel like I’ve always had some of the talent there,” he said. “There’s potential, but I really had to work. I feel the biggest thing that changed for me is my mental approach, just being more confident.”
Randleman (20-4), the two-time defending Class 2-A state champion, will hold a high seed when the state playoffs begin next week.
Perfect inning for Purvis
Now, they’ll have Purvis ready to contribute. He hadn’t pitched in competition in about 10 months because of elbow surgery.
Randleman’s Drake Purvis throws a pitch in the final inning against Trinity. (PJ Ward-Brown/Randolph Record)
The junior left-hander entered in the seventh – though Lemons stayed loose on the side – and pitched a perfect inning.
“A couple of days ago we knew this would be the night,” Purvis said. “Slowly returning back. This is what you want. The place was packed, a big crowd.”
Second baseman Shawn Miller fielded a grounder toward the hole and snagged a line drive for the first two outs before a called third strike ended the game. Purvis celebrated with an emotion-filled prance toward the dugout.
“Wanted to see some live hitters in game in game situations,” he said. “Have that playoff mode. I’m used to this. It’s not my first rodeo and definitely not my last, either.”
It pretty much went by design for the Tigers. Purvis pitched a no-hitter in last June’s Game 1 of the state championship series vs. Farmville Central.
“We had to get him in and see him, and it was a positive,” Smith said. “He was amped up, for sure. I don’t blame him, I would be, too.”
Some offense, too
In part because of Randleman center fielder Way’s diving catch in right-center field that likely saved a run to end the top of the fourth, neither team had scored. In the bottom of the inning, Atkins drew a lead-off walk and scored on Lemons’ second home run of the season.
Randleman players react to teammate Chesney Welch’s home run. (PJ Ward-Brown/Randolph Record)
The lead grew to 3-0 on Chesney Welch’s first varsity home run when he led off the bottom of the fifth with a blast to right-center field.
“I’m just getting out of my spring training phase,” Welch said of bolstering his production. “Sometimes they feel a certain way, and that (swing) was one of them.”
Soon after, Trinity starter Ethan Willard was gone. The Tigers loaded the bases with one out, but didn’t score again in the fifth.
Lemons’ lead-off double in the sixth resulted in the game’s final run after a couple of defensive miscues.
Randleman posted its first shutout in an 11-game span.
Trinity (15-10) failed to score in the tournament final for the second year in a row. Last year, the Bulldogs bounced back and reached the fourth round of the state playoffs.
Trinity used Andon Simmons’ two-hitter in a 4-0 semifinal victory against visiting Uwharrie Charter Academy with Landon Mowery and Brody Little both homering. The Bulldogs needed a fifth-run sixth inning to rally past seventh-seeded Eastern Randolph 7-5 in the quarterfinals.
Coach Brandon Varner had Randleman’s girls’ basketball team on a winning path. (PJ Ward-Brown/Randolph Record)
RANDLEMAN – Brandon Varner’s wildly successful five-season stretch as Randleman’s girls’ basketball coach has come to an end.
“Just time to step away,” Varner said. “The biggest thing was the time I was putting into basketball. There’s really no breaks.”
Under Varner, the Tigers went 103-20, with half those defeats coming in his first season when the team went 15-10.
Varner, 40, will remain as athletics director at Randleman Middle School, where he also is on the football staff.
“It was just getting to be a lot of time and going back and forth to the high school,” Varner said.
Randleman finished 27-2 during the past season following a 25-1 record in 2021-22. The Tigers were the Class 2-A West Region top seed in each of those seasons, reaching the regional semifinals this year for the fourth season in a row.
“It was so much fun and so many memories,” he said. “So proud of what (the players) accomplished and how hard they worked. They bought in to accomplish everything as a team and were dedicated to being a championship team.”
Varner took charge of the program beginning with the 2018-19 season. The Tigers have rung up a 56-4 record in regular-season conference play during his time.
Randleman was 24-3 in his second season and 12-4 in the pandemic-shortened slate in the 2020-21 academic year.
There will be transition in the lineup as well. Senior standouts Gracyn Hall, Elizabeth York and Jordan Booker completed their eligibility. Gracie Beane and Audra Petty figure to form the nucleus for next season.
“It should be a very appealing job,” Varner said. “There’s a talented group of girls who work really hard and know how to win.”
Varner said his duties with Randleman Middle School that include driving the bus for some teams has kept him on the go. He said he sensed the need for near-constant attention on the girls’ basketball program, particularly without an assistant coach at all practices.
“I felt it needed to be year-round if we’re going to be good,” he said. “I felt like that’s what we needed to do. During the season, if we’re not practicing, I felt like somebody is getting ahead of us.”
Varner said he wouldn’t rule out returning to a coaching role if a season or two away has him itching to return. He also said a small-coaching assistant coaching position might be attractive as well.
Members of the Eastern Randolph team pose for a team photo after the championship game. (PJ Ward-Brown/Randolph Record)
RALEIGH – Saturday was a special day for Eastern Randolph as the Wildcats played in a state championship in basketball for the first time.
The result was a loss to Wilson Prep in the Class 1-A boys’ final at Reynolds Coliseum in Raleigh. Still, there were memorable moments as the team’s historic season came to a close.
Devonte Brooks of Eastern Randolph launches a 3-point shot against Wilson Prep in the Class 1-A state final. (PJ Ward-Brown/Randolph Record)Eastern Randolph fan Davis Inman shows his support for the Wildcats during the championship game. (PJ Ward-Brown/Randolph Record)Watching Wildcats: Eastern Randolph fans gathered in large numbers prior to the Class 1-A state championship game for boys’ basketball Saturday at Reynolds Coliseum in Raleigh. (PJ Ward-Brown/Randolph Record)
The season concluded with a 29-3 record and plenty of positive memories for the Piedmont Athletic Conference and Class 1-A West Region champions.
Eastern Randolph coach Johnny Thomas consoles Devonte Brooks, left, as Will Stalker looks on after the Class 1-A state final. (PJ Ward-Brown/Randolph Record)
RALEIGH – The greatest basketball season in the history of Eastern Randolph had a sour ending.
The Wildcats needed one more comeback and couldn’t quite generate it, falling 84-73 to Wilson Prep in the Class 1-A state championship game for boys’ basketball Saturday afternoon at Reynolds Coliseum.
“These boys have dedicated everything they possibly could to the sport of basketball the last four months,” Eastern Randolph coach Johnny Thomas said. “We have nothing to be sad over.”
But that was the mode for the Wildcats (29-3), whose knack for generating excitement the past few months lasted all the way until the final minute.
Eastern Randolph just didn’t quite have enough. Wilson Prep (27-7) won the Class 1-A title for the second time in three years.
Thomas offered perspective as his first season concluded.
“One year ago, they come out and got 8-15 for the season,” he said. “We turned it into a 29-3 season. I’m proud of them. … This moment is sad right now, but when we look back on it, it’s going to be one of the most highlighted moments of these guys’ careers.”
Devonte Brooks of Eastern Randolph soars toward the basket against Wilson Prep as part of his 34-point performance in the Class 1-A state final at Reynolds Coliseum. Eastern Randolph’s Pierce Leonard, left, looks on. (PJ Ward-Brown/Randolph Record)
Devonte Brooks churned out 34 points – 17 in each half – and 18 rebounds in his last game for Eastern Randolph. Teammate Timothy Brower posted 20 points and eight rebounds.
Eastern Randolph rallied from an 11-point first-half deficit to surge into the lead. Wilson Prep led 37-36 at halftime.
The Tigers built a 14-point lead in the third quarter, but the Wildcats were unfazed. They had overcome a 21-point second-half hole a week earlier in the West Region final against Bishop McGuinness and nearly pulled off another improbable comeback.
Eastern Randolph was within 73-70 and later pulled within 76-73. Wilson Prep scored the game’s last eight points.
The Tigers had to dig deep to withstand the Wildcats’ late push amid a wild environment.
Eastern Randolph’s Nicah Taylor reaches for the ball in front of Wilson Prep’s Josh Hicks during Saturday’s Class 1-A state final. (PJ Ward-Brown/Randolph Record)
“It shows you how tough mentally they are,” Wilson Prep coach Anthony Atkinson Jr. said. “The arena was crazy. To play in the environment like that.”
Jahmar Jones scored 20 points for Wilson Prep. Teammate Davis Ellis had 14 points and 19 rebounds and was named the Most Valuable Player from Wilson Prep.
Early on, Eastern Randolph struggled. Wilson Prep went up 13-2 as the Wildcats committed six turnovers.
Eastern Randolph hopes to add state-championship hardware to the West Region prize claimed Saturday. (PJ Ward-Brown/Randolph Record)
RAMSEUR – Eastern Randolph’s bid for its first state championship in boys’ basketball comes in the Class 1-A final at noon Saturday at Reynolds Coliseum on the North Carolina State campus in Raleigh.
The Wildcats (29-2) meet East Region champion Wilson Prep (26-7) in the title game.
The North Carolina High School Athletic Association announced game times and sites for the eight championship games – four for boys and four for girls – on Sunday afternoon.
Eastern Randolph is coming off two comeback victories, winning Tuesday night at South Stokes in the regional semifinal and then Saturday afternoon’s West Region final with a 21-point second-half rally for a 62-59 decision against Bishop McGuinness at Morganton Freedom.
Wilson Prep, a 63-57 winner against Bertie in the East Region final, will meet Eastern Randolph for the first time.
Wilson Prep will be going for its second state title in three years. The Tigers won the Class 1-A championship in 2021 by defeating Lincoln Charter 65-58 in a game at Providence Grove to conclude the pandemic-altered season.
That was the only previous appearance in a state final for Wilson Prep. Anthony Atkinson Jr. remains as the team’s coach, while Johnny Thomas is in his first season with Eastern Randolph.
The Eastern Randolph/Wilson Prep matchup is the first of four games at Reynolds Coliseum, followed by the Rocky Mount/West Rowan (Class 3-A girls), Chatham Charter/Bishop McGuinness (Class 1-A girls) and Northwood/Central Cabarrus (Class 3-A boys).
At the Smith Center in Chapel Hill, the slate looks like this: Panther Creek/Lake Norman (Class 4-A girls) at noon, followed by Farmville Central/Reidsville (Class 2-A boys), Seaforth-Salisbury (Class 2-A girls) and Richmond Senior/Myers Park (Class 4-A boys).
Eastern Randolph team members and coach Johnny Thomas – with arms raised – celebrate the Class 1-A West Region title. (PJ Ward-Brown/Randolph Record)
MORGANTON – Eastern Randolph rallied from a 21-point halftime deficit to keep its season alive and advance to a state championship in boys’ basketball for the first time.
The Wildcats pulled out a 62-59 victory against Bishop McGuinness in the Class 1-A West Region final Saturday afternoon at Freedom High School.
“As the coach, even I’m at awe at what they just did,” first-year Eastern Randolph coach Johnny Thomas said of his players.
Eastern Randolph’s Pierce Leonard goes up for a shot in front of Jamison Graves of Bishop McGuinness. (PJ Ward-Brown/Randolph Record)
Eastern Randolph (29-2) will face Wilson Prep (26-7), a 63-57 winner against Bertie in the East Region final, next Saturday for the state championship in either Chapel Hill or Raleigh.
Fourth-seeded Bishop McGuinness led 41-20 at halftime before the third-seeded Wildcats stormed back. Eastern Randolph scored the first 13 points of the second half and was within 49-43 going to the fourth quarter.
“We ain’t going to lose here,” senior guard Pierce Leonard said. “We’re too close to it. We traveled three hours to get up here. We weren’t trying to go home like that.”
Leonard scored 24 of his 28 points in the second half.
Eastern Randolph had never been as far as the regional semifinals until this year, but it look bleak midway through the regional final.
At halftime, Thomas had a message about trying to extend the team’s record-breaking postseason: “We’ve already made history. Now we’ve got to do it again.”
The Villains (25-6) took three potential tying shots on the last possession and missed them all. Long forgotten was their 11-0 lead to start the game.
Timothy Brower had 13 points and Nicah Taylor posted 11 points for Eastern Randolph, which won its 10th game in a row.
And it was the Wildcats’ second second-half comeback of the week after winning the regional semifinal Tuesday night at South Stokes.
“I wasn’t really feeling any pressure because we still had plenty of time when they did foul out,” Leonard said. “Our bench players just had to really step up and do their part in the game.”
Eastern Randolph’s Nicah Taylor makes a steal in front of Bishop McGuinness guard Andrew Schrage. (PJ Ward-Brown/Randolph Record)
Three Eastern Randolph fouled out, including team scoring leader Davonte Brooks and reserve center Jani Norwood in the third quarter. Brooks had two points.
“With me in there, it would have made it a little bit easier,” Brooks said. “But my boys pulled through, came through with a ‘W’ my senior year. Now we’re going to the ‘ship.”
Brooks said the Wildcats, who were 6-for-8 on second-half 3-point attempts, remained motivated even as the challenge heightened throughout the first half.
“We just don’t want to lose,” Brooks said. “That’s what really jump-starts it.”
Leonard’s 3-pointer gave Eastern Randolph its first lead of the game at 54-51.
Thomas said without much of a basketball tradition, Eastern Randolph needed to overcome all sorts of obstacles against a Bishop McGuinness program that has played on similar stages in the past.
“They’ve been in this situation way more than we have,” he said.
Jamison Graves scored 17 of his 19 points in the first half for Bishop McGuinness, which shot 11-for-25 on free throws.
Eastern Randolph’s Nicah Taylor soars in the lane for a shot against South Stokes. (PJ. Ward-Brown/Randolph Record)
RAMSEUR – Eastern Randolph will head to Morganton as part of the best season in history of the school’s boys’ basketball team.
That’s where the Wildcats will take on Bishop McGuinness in the Class 1-A West Region final at 1 p.m. Saturday. The game will be at Freedom High School.
The North Carolina High School Athletic Association announced the venues for the neutral-site regional finals Wednesday morning, a day after Tuesday night’s semifinals set the matchups across the state.
Third-seeded Eastern Randolph (28-2) has won nine games in a row. Fourth-seeded Bishop McGuinness (25-5) holds a 14-game winning streak.
The Class 1-A West Region boys’ final will come before the Class 1-A West Region girls’ final between Bishop McGuinness and Robbinsville.
The NCHSAA had designated potential sites in both the East Region and West Region for the regional finals, pending the locations of the participating schools. Grimsley High School in Greensboro was one of those in the West Region.
An Eastern Randolph-Bishop McGuinness would have been a good fit for the Greensboro site, but with Bishop McGuinness, a Kernersville school, also having its girls’ team playing Saturday that had to be taken into consideration.
If a school has multiple teams in late rounds of state playoffs, the NCHSAA attempts to make it feasible for fans to attend all their school’s competitions. With Robbinsville on the far western part of the state, that made Morganton the pick.
Freedom High School is 104 miles from Bishop McGuinness, 131 miles from Eastern Randolph and 144 miles from Robbinsville.
Last Saturday, Robbinsville’s girls’ and boys’ teams traveled for third-round games at Eastern Randolph.
Eastern Randolph played its first postseason road game Tuesday night with the 74-71 comeback victory against second-seeded South Stokes. Bishop McGuinness won 58-54 at top-seeded Mountain Heritage after surviving with a 65-60 overtime decision in the third round against visiting Thomasville.
The Class 2-A West Region finals were tabbed for Grimsley, with Salisbury meeting East Burke at noon in the girls’ game and Reidsville taking on Lincoln Charter in the boys’ game at 2 p.m.
The Class 1-A East Region final pits Bertie (26-4) vs. Wilson Prep (25-7) at 3 p.m. at South Johnston.
Regional winners advance to the March 11 state championship games in either Chapel Hill or Raleigh.
Coach Johnny Thomas makes a postgame video with his Eastern Randolph boys’ basketball team after winning the Class 1-A West Region semifinal at South Stokes. (PJ Ward-Brown/Randolph Record)
WALNUT COVE – Pierce Leonard scored 10 of his 21 points in the fourth quarter and Eastern Randolph rallied past South Stokes to continue its best postseason in program history.
The Wildcats put together a strong second half to pull out the Class 1-A West Region semifinal, winning 74-71 on Tuesday night.
“I told them, ‘I am proud of you. We’ve had a long season, but this is not it,’ ” first-year Eastern Randolph coach Johnny Thomas said.
Devonte Brooks scored 15 points despite foul trouble, Timothy Brower posted 10 of his 12 points in the second half and Nicah Taylor finished with 11 points in Eastern Randolph’s first road game of the postseason.
“The whole season we have built a foundation where we can play with or without Devonte,” Thomas said.
The Wildcats made enough plays down the stretch. The Sauras missed three potential tying 3-point shots in the final 12 seconds.
Eastern Randolph’s Pierce Leonard makes a steal on Brendon Bradford of South Stokes during Tuesday night’s Class 1-A West Region semifinal. Eastern Randolph’s Timothy Brower, left, and Davonte Brooks also apply defensive pressure. (PJ Ward-Brown/Randolph Record)
Third-seeded Eastern Randolph (28-2) meets fourth-seeded Bishop McGuinness (25-5), which eliminated top-seeded Mountain Heritage 58-54, on Saturday at a to-be-determined neutral site.
South Stokes (25-5) led 45-36 at halftime.
“It was just a simple adjustment of pride,” Thomas said.
Barry Hairston poured in 23 points for the Sauras.
Bertie (26-4) and Wilson Prep (25-7) will meet in the East Region final.
Girls’ basketball
At Randleman, top-seeded Randleman dropped a 49-42 decision to visiting East Burke in the Class 2-A West Region semifinals.
Gracyn Hall scored 12 points for Randleman (27-2), which led 24-21 at halftime before trailing 33-29 entering the fourth quarter.
With the Tigers facing a 42-40 deficit, East Burke posted the next five points.
Randleman’s Elizabeth York and Audra Petty both notched nine points.
Fifth-seeded East Burke (27-2) takes on third-seeded Salisbury (25-3) in the regional final.
