CLIMAX – Providence Grove moved quickly this summer to hire a new girls’ basketball coach.
Johnathan Gainey is the new coach, filling the vacancy caused by the departure of Dylan Eppley.
Gainey previously coached girls’ teams at Winston-Salem Prep and Winston-Salem Reynolds. He also was the boys’ basketball coach at his alma mater, Kernersville Glenn.
Eppley left Providence Grove after three seasons to become the boys’ basketball coach at Southern Alamance.
“I felt like this was a move that I needed,” Eppley said of a chance to expand his professional experiences.
Eppley’s Providence Grove teams had a 26-37 record, including 6-18 last season.
Eppley, 30, said he embraced his coaching opportunity with the Patriots as it was his first role as a varsity head coach. Former athletics director Calvin Brown, who became the football coach at Asheboro last winter, was supportive, he said.
“Calvin sold me on Providence Grove,” said Eppley, who also was on the football coaching staff. “He built an athletic department that was very connected.”
Eppley goes from one school nicknamed Patriots to another with the same nickname. He’ll be in a rebuilding phase at Southern Alamance, which is moving from Class 4-A to Class 3-A and is coming off a three-year stretch with an 18-44 record. That includes last season’s 6-19 mark.
Cheek was active in each of the sports seasons, beginning as a multi-purpose back for the football team. He averaged more than 90 rushing yards per game as a senior in 2022. He again was selected as an All-Piedmont Athletic Conference player.
He was one of Providence Grove’s key players in boys’ basketball as a guard.
He wrapped up his prep career as a sprinter on the track and field team.
His twin brother, Zander Cheek, also was a standout athlete for the Patriots.
** During the summer, we recognize seniors from the past school year.
Members of the Uwharrie Charter Academy wrestling team celebrate a dual team state championship last winter. (PJ Ward-Brown/Randolph Record)
There were championships and near misses and an assortment of other superlatives associated with the 2022-23 school year for Randolph County high school teams.
Uwharrie Charter Academy racked up a pair of team state championships in Class 1-A.
The Eagles secured the dual team wrestling title and a few months later picked up the baseball crown.
** Eastern Randolph’s boys’ basketball team had its most successful season ever by advancing to the Class 1-A state championship game. Wilson Prep won the game.
Then in baseball, the Wildcats ended up one round away from a spot in the state finals. They were denied by UCA in the West Region finals.
Those might have been surprise postseason runs, but Eastern Randolph’s football success seemed normal. The Wildcats won the Piedmont Athletic Conference, received a first-round bye in the Class 1-A state playoffs and won two playoff games before they were derailed by Mount Airy.
** Wheatmore’s girls’ soccer team also played for a state championship, but its bid to repeat as the Class 2-A titlist was thwarted in the final by Manteo.
** Asheboro’s boys’ soccer team made it to the Class 3-A West Region final, falling to Hickory.
** Randleman’s baseball and girls’ basketball teams both reached the fourth round of the Class 2-A state playoffs. In baseball, the Tigers were the two-time defending state champions.
** Providence Grove’s football team won one game in the Class 2-A state playoffs. That was notable because it was the school’s first victory in a postseason football game.
** In softball, Southwestern Randolph won three games in the Class 2-A state playoffs before a 10-inning loss to West Wilkes. UCA and Eastern Randolph also reached the fourth round in Class 1-A.
Notes of interest
** Brecken Snotherly of Eastern Randolph was the PAC’s Runner of the Year in girls’ cross country, Player of the Year in girls’ basketball and the Most Valuable Track Athlete for PAC girls’ track and field.
** Shortstop / pitcher Tanner Marsh of Asheboro was a top honoree in two sports in the Mid-Piedmont Conference. He was dubbed the Defensive Player of the Year in boys’ basketball and the Player of the Year in baseball as a senior.
** Connor Carter of Eastern Randolph was the state individual runner-up for the past two seasons in Class 1-A boys’ golf.
** Infielder Hunter Atkins of Randleman was the Player of the Year for PAC baseball in 2021 and 2023. He’s heading to UNC Greensboro, though first he’s playing this summer for Randolph County Post 45 in American Legion baseball.
Most Valuable Track Athlete: Tristan Chriscoe (Randleman)
Most Outstanding Runner: Zach Hazelwood (Wheatmore)
Most Outstanding Field Event Participant: Chase Farlow (Randleman)
Coach of the Year: Marty Collinson (Randleman)
All-conference
Trinity: Jose Castillo, Memphis Chap, Zach Cox, Riley Foster, Dylan Hodges, Jacob Hodges, Giovanni Jaimes, Mitchell Marin-Pulido, Dominic Payne, AJ Poe, Robert Ratliff.
Providence Grove: Robert Burton, Malachi Combo, Jackson Rhyne.
Randleman: Tristan Chriscoe, Chase Farlow, Amari Ferdna, Tyshawn Goldston, Landon McGee, Amarion Moton, Ty Moton, Jonathan Sampson.
Wheatmore: Zach Hazelwood, Peyton McDevitt.
Girls’ track and field
Most Valuable Track Athlete: Brecken Snotherly (Eastern Randolph)
Southwestern Randolph team members celebrate after the PAC Tournament championship game against visiting Providence Grove. (Scott Pelkey/Randolph Record)
ASHEBORO – Macie Crutchfield threw a three-hit shutout with 11 strikeouts as Southwestern Randolph completed its domination of the Piedmont Athletic Conference with Thursday night’s 7-0 victory against visiting Providence Grove in the league tournament championship game.
Carleigh Whitson had two hits and two runs batted in to help the Cougars to their first conference tournament title in eight years.
Caressa King, who had a triple, drove in one run and scored a run, while Madelyn Smith and Madison Varner both knocked in one run. Lileigh Payne and Maddie Strider each scored two runs.
Southwestern Randolph (19-1) is expected to be one of the West Region’s top seed for the Class 2-A state playoffs that begin next week.
Crutchfield didn’t issue a walk, but she hit three batters. The Cougars were aided by error-less defense.
Southwestern Randolph’s Carleigh Whitson is about to be tagged out at the plate by Providence Grove pitcher Emma Mazzarone. (Scott Pelkey/Randolph Record)
Providence Grove (13-8) lost for the third time this season to the Cougars, scoring a total of one run in those games.
In the latest meeting, Emma Mazzarone, Mailey Way and Maddie Flinchum each had one single for the Patriots. Mazzarone was the losing pitcher, striking out nine and walking three.
Southwestern Randolph avenged a 1-0 loss from last year’s PAC Tournament final at Providence Grove.
Earlier rounds …
Southwestern Randolph won 3-0 against Uwharrie Charter Academy in the semifinals with Crutchfield’s two-hitter including 14 strikeouts. Varner had a triple and scored a run.
Third-seeded Providence Grove edged second-seeded Eastern Randolph 3-2 with Mazzarone’s complete game from the pitching circle.
Providence Grove began the tournament with an 11-1 victory against sixth-seeded Wheatmore with Mazzarone logging 11 strikeouts and driving in three runs. Leela Von Der Hey also knocked in two runs, while Kaylee St. Join joined Mazzarone with two doubles.
Eastern Randolph won 17-0 against seventh-seeded Trinity in the quarterfinals as Quachell Headen knocked in four runs and Skylar Pugh struck out 11 with one walk.
UCA’s Kenzie Hill went 4-for-4 and Kynley Brewer scored two runs in the fourth-seeded Eagles’ 6-3 victory against fifth-seeded Randleman.
One strike away from a tournament exit, Randleman overcomes Providence Grove
RANDLEMAN – Randleman’s baseball team hadn’t been in many of these situations in recent years.
Trailing by two runs and down to their final strike, the Tigers’ stranglehold on the Piedmont Athletic Conference was in jeopardy Tuesday night.
Providence Grove was on the cusp of pulling off an upset in the PAC Tournament semifinal.
“I haven’t been in that many situations like that.” Randleman junior Seth Way said. “Do what you have to do to win the game.”
So he did. Down 0-2 in the count with runners on second and third with two outs, Way rapped a single to center field on reliever JC Cruz’s knuckleball. That tied the game.
“I saw it coming,” Way said of the knuckler.
The game went to extra innings, where Chesney Welch’s one-out single to left field brought in Shawn Miller from second base. Miller drew a lead-off walk and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt.
Randleman coach Jake Smith, whose two-time reigning Class 2-A state champions often dominated, couldn’t recall the last time the Tigers produced a late-game comeback.
“All that matters is our score is higher than theirs,” Way said.
The Tigers (19-4) will meet visiting Trinity, a 4-0 semifinal winner against Uwharrie Charter Academy, in Thursday night’s tournament final in a rematch from a year ago.
Providence Grove ended Randleman’s 38-game conference winning streak last month with a 3-2 victory and then dropped a 3-2 decision later that week in the regular-season rematch. The Patriots (14-10) needed just one more out to notch another upset.
“It is what it is,” Providence Grove coach Glen Hunt said. “That’s what they do. We played well three times against them.”
Way and Providence Grove’s Jayten Beasley were locked in a pitchers’ duel until Way’s home run to lead off the bottom of the fourth.
The Patriots struck back in the fifth, using four singles and an error on the way to three runs. The first run was scored by Brady Collins on a two-out double steal. Logan Fox capped the rally with an RBI single.
From there, the Patriots dodged trouble the next two innings. Cruz entered with two runners on base and two outs to strike out Hunter Atkins to end the fifth. The Tigers stranded two more runners in the sixth after Jake Riddle’s two-out double.
Smith said he was glad Way could overshadow his fifth-inning pitching misfortune with his bat.
“He took it out at the plate,” Smith said.
Then in the eighth, it was Welch’s turn for a clutch hit. He wasn’t on the team last year.
“Sitting in the dugout right before I went out, I was kind of hoping it would get to me,” he said.
Providence Grove, playing for the second night in a row, had to piece together the pitching. Hunt said Beasley excelled in a heightened role.
“He did a real good job keeping them off balance,” Hunt said. “I thought we played a really clean game defensively.”
Austin Lemons pitched two innings of shutout relief for the Tigers. Smith said he’ll be the starting pitcher for the tournament final.
With only two returning starters from a year ago in the Randleman lineup, this group wants to get the job done, too.
“It’s a pride thing,” Smith said. “You’re here at your home field and you’re protecting your home field. They’ve got a lot of pride.”
** In the quarterfinals, Providence Grove upended Southwestern Randolph 10-9 in eight innings. That game was contested at Randleman because of wet field conditions at Providence Grove.
Karson Bowman’s three-run homer in the bottom of the seventh inning tied the game. Andrew Canter was the winning pitcher in relief. Tyler Foust homered earlier in the game. Landon Williamson homered and Tyler Parks drove in three runs for Southwestern Randolph (9-14).
Logan Fox of Providence Grove had a role in tight baseball games with Randleman last week. (Randolph Record file photo)
Providence Grove did what might have seemed like the unthinkable in Piedmont Athletic Conference baseball last week.
The Patriots knocked off state power Randleman and ended a multi-year streak of domination.
“Probably was unexpected,” Providence Grove coach Glen Hunt said. “Not a lot of people thought we could go in and win that game.”
Providence Grove’s 3-2 victory halted Randleman’s 38-game winning streak against conference opponents that spread across parts of five seasons.
And two days later, the Patriots nearly did it again.
Providence Grove’s stunning victory came on Lemuel Coltrane’s three-run home run in the fourth inning at Randleman. How unusual was that?
It’s the only home run hit by the Patriots in what’s now 16 games played this year.
That blast off Seth Way followed singles by Andrew Canter and Joe Coltrane, that latter an attempted sacrifice bunt that turned into a single. Lemuel Coltrane, a right-handed batter, drove the ball over the fence in left-center field.
“He got ahold of a fastball and it went out,” Hunt said.
Freshman Andrew Thomas threw a three-hitter with three walks and seven strikeouts to frustrate an often-potent Randleman offense.
“That game really went fast,” Hunt said. “All of a sudden, I looked up and it’s the sixth inning and we’ve still got the lead.”
The Tigers hadn’t lost a game to a conference opponent since April 25, 2019, to Providence Grove. Two days earlier that year, the Patriots also defeated Randleman.
After that week, the Tigers went on their conference domination, including a May 2, 2019, victory against Providence Grove in the league tournament final.
The pandemic limited Randleman to one conference game in 2020 before the rest of that season was cancelled. The Tigers were 8-0 in PAC play this season before the loss.
The outcome ended Randleman’s nine-game overall winning streak this season.
Last Thursday, Randleman avenged that outcome with a 3-2 victory of its own against Providence Grove. Austin Lemons pitched a complete game while allowing one earned run and Hunter Atkins drove in two runs and Shawn Miller scored two runs for the Tigers.
“We played some pretty good defense in that game,” Hunt said.
Logan Fox had two of Providence Grove’s five hits off Lemons. Lemuel Coltrane doubled and scored, but Canter’s 5 2/3 innings on the mound went for naught. The loss means the Patriots can’t catch Randleman in the regular-season standings.
Only Trinity with two conference losses and four league games to go can move to the top. That would require beating the Tigers twice this week.
Providence Grove has split four conference series to hold a 4-4 PAC mark and 10-6 record entering this week.
“Hopefully, the kids realize what they can do,” Hunt said. “Beating a team like Randleman should solidify that.”
** Southwestern Randolph won twice against Wheatmore, posting a 7-3 road victory as Grant Little pitched into the sixth inning without allowing an earned run in the PAC game. Adam Cole and Tyler Parks both had two hits, including a double apiece, and Grant Kirk scored two runs.
Later in the week at Asheboro, Austin Harvell’s grand slam in the sixth inning clicked in the mercy rule in a 12-1 romp. Cole launched a three-run home run, Easton Clapp had three hits and scored three runs and Parks had two runs batted in. Jonah Campbell’s 5 1/3 innings on the mound earned him the victory.
In between those games, Southwestern Randolph hammered visiting Jordan-Matthews 18-6 as Eli Gravely drilled a home run and joined Harvell with three runs batted in.
** Jake Hunter and Brett Smith combined for Uwharrie Charter Academy’s 3-0 shutout of host Eastern Randolph.
In the rematch, UCA won 4-3 at home in 10 innings with Troy Carver and Caleb Brown knocking in runs in the 10th, which began with the score tied 1-1. The winning run scored on a passed ball. Eastern Randolph’s Stratton Barwick struck out 12 in seven innings.
UCA topped host Winston-Salem Atkins 11-2 in non-league play with Walker Wilkins driving in three runs in the Eagles’ first outing of a three-win week.
Asheboro’s Josh Meadows, left, Tanner Marsh and Davis Gore stand during the national anthem Saturday prior to a game at First National Bank Field in Greensboro. (PJ Ward-Brown/Randolph Record)
** At Greensboro, Asheboro finished 1-2 in a three-day tournament at First National Bank Field.
Asheboro salvaged the seventh-place game on Tanner Marsh’s game-winning double in the bottom of the seventh inning of a 2-1 victory against Northern Guilford on Saturday. Marsh struck out 10 in a six-inning pitching performance before Connor Adams worked the seventh for the victory.
Earlier, the Blue Comets lost 13-6 to Southeast Guilford and fell 2-1 to Western Alamance.
Emma Mazzarone of Providence Grove fires a pitch earlier this season. (PJ Ward-Brown/Randolph Record)
Providence Grove senior pitcher holds dominating form
CLIMAX – Emma Mazzarone doesn’t mind the workload that comes with being Providence Grove’s ace softball pitcher.
She keeps on striking out batters at a staggering rate.
“Before every game, I’ll try not to put a number in my head,” Mazzarone said of strikeout totals. “I try to pitch to certain batters to strike them out. And if they get a hit, more power to them. I’m really just focused on what I’m going to pitch to each and every batter in the lineup and what they have.”
Mazzarone is in her final season for the Patriots before she goes on to play collegiately for Virginia Tech.
For Providence Grove coach Tim Brown, he remembered years ago coming across Mazzarone. She was barely in youth leagues at the time.
“She told me, ‘I’m going to pitch for you.’ ” he said.
Sure enough, she has logged so many innings the past couple of years that she became a fixture in the circle. The Patriots went through the regular season undefeated last year and they’re off to another good start this year.
Mazzarone struck out a state-leading 364 batters in 2022. That comes with a lot of innings.
“Last year I would throw a full seven innings,” she said. “I have to have a lot of arm care. It’s just mentally tough first. I have it physically right now. I just have to keep my mental game straight to play three games a week.”
Mazzarone makes multiple visits a week to Athletic Training & Conditioning in Asheboro to help keep her arm in pitching shape.
Double-figure strikeout totals from Mazzarone are the norm. That works out well for Providence Grove’s fielders.
“It makes the defense easier,” Brown said. “We only have to make four or five plays a game.”
Mazzarone, who can appear imposing even at 5-foot-11 in the circle, said she hasn’t stopped her pursuit to improve. She knows the competition is aiming to solve her pitching.
“Every girl in Randolph County, I’ve played with for at least one season somewhere. Even in travel ball or practice,” she said. “So I know most of them and they know me. … I went to a lesson and changed a few things. I’m just trying to get better spin-wise and location-wise.”
She has nine complete games in 11 pitching appearances this year, recording 160 strikeouts in 72 innings – or more than two strikeout victims per inning. She has issued 21 walks and allowed seven earned runs.
Early in the recruiting process, she said college coaches seemed most interested in what she could do at the plate. The pitching dominance became too much to ignore.
Mazzarone, 17, is a major threat at the plate, even though she’s constantly assessing what she can do better with the bat.
“Hitting is not there for me right now,” she said earlier this season. “I’m trying some different stuff out and working on a few different things to just better myself. We’ll get it figured out.”
Midway through the regular season, she’s batting a team-leading .531 with four home runs and 12 total extra-base hits.
Mazzarone, who was an All-Piedmont Athletic Conference player in volleyball, plays center field in the rare cases when she’s not pitching.
It helps the Patriots having her in the lineup to go with what she normally has done with firing pitches past opposing batters.
Providence Grove’s Leela Von Der Hay tags out Southwestern Randolph’s Madison Varner. (PJ Ward-Brown/Randolph Record)
CLIMAX – Some growing pains are going to be part of the process for Providence Grove’s softball team this season.
That’s fine with coach Tim Brown as long as the Patriots show progress.
Providence Grove was undefeated in the regular season last year, but five starters are gone from that team.
“Comparing everything to last year would be difficult for everybody,” senior pitcher Emma Mazzarone said. “It was a special team. This year could be special, too. You can’t compare to last year because it won’t happen again.”
Brown said the Patriots will be tested regularly in the Piedmont Athletic Conference.
“In Randolph County, you have to bring it every night,” he said. “We’re going to keep (winning) as long as we can.”
Mazzarone and catcher Gracie Smith provide a nice foundation. Mazzarone led the state in strikeouts with 364 in 2022.
The Patriots are learning as they go.
“I think the girls are definitely feeling a little more pressure considering they have to step into last year’s girls’ shoes,” Mazzarone said. “They all know the fundamentals of softball and they’ll be just fine.”
First baseman Callie Lambert said maintaining the standard is important, but not an overwhelming issue.
“There is pressure, but the goal is to always play hard,” Lambert said.
The Patriots dropped a non-conference decision to Oak Grove, a matchup that Brown knew would be a challenge.
“We wanted to see good pitching,” he said.
In the Piedmont Athletic Conference, Providence Grove began with Mazzarone striking out 13 Wheatmore batters in a 10-0, five-inning home victory. Callie Lambert a home run and a double.
The grip might have been loosened on the PAC by contender Southwestern Randolph, which topped the host Patriots 5-0 in Friday’s meeting.
Providence Grove’s only hit off Southwestern Randolph ace Macie Crutchfield was Devon Kelly’s seventh-inning single. Crutchfield struck out 14 with three walks.
Caressa King and Alley Lowe had two hits, including a double apiece, and knocked in runs for the Cougars. Mazzarone struck out 11 batters and walked two.
Other softball …
Earlier in the week, Crutchfield struck out 18 in an 8-0 romp past North Davidson.
Randleman’s Sarah Norton threw two shutouts during the week. She handled Northern Guilford in a 3-0 non-conference game and then blanked Wheatmore 9-0.
Eastern Randolph topped host Southern Alamance 13-10 in nine innings. The Wildcats built a 10-3 lead before Southern Alamance rallied in the sixth and seventh innings to extend the game. Lanie McDaniel had four hits and three RBI for Eastern Randolph and teammate Addie Flinchum, who strikeout 16 from the circle, also drove in four runs.
Eastern Randolph’s Davonte Brooks ties the game with a dunk late in the third quarter at Providence Grove. (PJ Ward-Brown/Randolph Record)
Wildcats withstand Providence Grove for rare basketball prize
CLIMAX – Eastern Randolph had to make changes to figure out how to topple Providence Grove in Thursday night’s unexpected down-to-the-end tussle in boys’ basketball.
Just mark it up as another accomplishment for this group of Wildcats.
They’re outright Piedmont Athletic Conference regular-season champions, collecting the school’s first league title of any sort in boys’ basketball in seven years and only second regular-season title in 29 years.
“We wanted to bring something back to Eastern Randolph for basketball and not just football,” senior forward Davonte Brooks said. “Now we can be a basketball and football school, not just football.”
The biggest variation of the past couple of months might come in perception considering Eastern Randolph won just eight games last season.
“It’s hard to change someone’s mindset,” first-year coach Johnny Thomas said.
And it was plenty difficult do dispatch Providence Grove, which turned in perhaps its best performance of the season on Senior Night.
Eastern Randolph clung to a one-point lead in the final minute, making three free throws in the last 12 seconds to secure an 88-84 victory against its neighboring rival.
“We got it done,” reserve Mason Briles said, calling it the wildest environment the Wildcats had competed in all season. “It feels great.”
The Wildcats (22-2, 11-1 PAC) will be the top seed and receive a quarterfinal bye in the league tournament next week before a Wednesday night semifinal at home. Eastern Randolph will be the location of the girls’ and boys’ tournament finals Feb. 17.
Brooks scored 30 points and Connor Carter had all 11 of his points in the second half, beginning with a go-ahead 3-pointer at the buzzer to close the third quarter.
“I didn’t want to lose, period,” Brooks said, “especially to PG. After we felt (how it felt) to lose the first two (defeats), we didn’t want another.”
It appeared the Patriots weren’t interested in coming up short again, either.
“All I asked them to do is fight,” Providence Grove coach Wes Luther said. “We’ve had a disappointing season, but the way we played (this game), I’ll take it.”
Sixth-place Providence Grove (7-17, 3-9), which lost by 33 points in the first meeting with Eastern Randolph, went to halftime with a 38-37 lead courtesy of Jacob Grantham’s difficult 16-foot shot at the buzzer. He kept up a personal scoring spree in the third quarter, when the Patriots went up 50-42.
Connor Carter drains a second-half 3-pointer over Providence Grove’s Joseph Coltrane. (PJ Ward-Brown/Randolph Record)
A Brooks dunk tied it at 60-60 shortly before Carter heated up. He was dialed in from both corners in the fourth quarter, with the Wildcats building an eight-point advantage and later his 3-pointer stretching the edge to 83-78.
Grantham’s two free throws and Zane Cheek’s breakaway layup for Providence Grove – the latter with 51 seconds left – were sandwiched around Brooks’ basket off a rebound before the Wildcats sealed it with free throws.
“It was a great game both ways,” Luther said. “We did hit more shots than we have all year. They kept trying to put us away with big shots. We just wouldn’t go away.”
Eastern Randolph’s Timothy Brower tallied 15 points, Pierce Leonard had 13 points and Nicah Taylor added 11 points. The contributions didn’t end there.
“You’ve got Jani (Norwood) and Will Stalker and those guys in there getting big rebounds,” Thomas said.
Grantham finished with 17 points, Chase Whitaker had 14 and Sakai McKoy notched 13 points for the Patriots, who were last season’s regular-season PAC champions.
Eastern Randolph finished one game ahead of Southwestern Randolph, which snapped the Wildcats’ 19-game winning streak Jan. 31.
“We know everybody is going to come and everybody is going to fight us the best that they possibly can,” Thomas said. “Coming into halftime, my speech to my kids was, of course, very intense.”
So the Wildcats amped up their pressure defense to extend to full court.
As a result, it was a regular season full of rewards.
