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Ronnie Pugh

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

Post 45 Robert Garner pitches in state tourney2022

Post 45 aims to make it to weekend

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Randolph County Post 45 pitcher Robert Garner is bound to be called upon for a critical role during the Southeast Regional for American Legion baseball. (PJ Ward-Brown/Randolph Record)

Southeast Regional provides array of challenges for Randolph County

ASHEBORO – In order for Randolph County Post 45 to be playing this weekend when the remaining teams have dwindled in the Southeast Regional of American Legion baseball, there are bound to be several key factors.

Post 45 manager Ronnie Pugh has tried to develop pitching depth, something that became a challenge at times when the team’s schedule was either spread out or — during a stretch late in the regular season and early in the Area 3 playoffs — when games were forfeited or reduced to five innings by the mercy rule.

“A lot of times we do matchups,” Pugh said. “We have a lot of position players who pitch.”

Post 45 has counted on several pitchers for clutch duty on the mound. One of them is Robert Garner, who has been strictly a pitcher.

Post 45 is bound to need more stellar pitching from Garner, who delivered with 6 1/3 shutout innings in a game in last week’s state tournament.

“I’ve been throwing good up here (with Post 45),” Garner said. “It’s the exact same stuff I did in high school.”

He graduated from North Moore in the spring and is heading to play baseball for Wake Tech. For North Moore, he gained Class 1-A Pitcher of the Year accolades from the North Carolina Baseball Coaches Association, so he has credentials that could boost Post 45 if the team is able to extend its stay in the regional.

Garner is a second-year player with Post 45, though Pugh said with Garner coming through the group’s junior program he had been on the radar.

“He loves to play,” Pugh said.

So does left fielder Adam Cole, who’s a second-year player for Post 45.

Left fielder Adam Cole of Randolph County Post 45 will be busy this week during the Southeast Regional. He also plays football for Southwestern Randolph, with practice beginning this week. (PJ Ward-Brown/Randolph Record)

Cole has an interesting workload in terms of athletics. He’s a record-setting football player for Southwestern Randolph, with official practices having started Monday across the state.

Cole said he won’t be a regular participant in football practices if Post 45 is playing on the same day. That’s the case for Wednesday and Thursday, and it’s possible at times during the week that Randolph County could be playing at the same time as the Cougars are holding football practices.

“I won’t do both on the same day, but I can go out to the practice,” Cole said.

He said he has put in time regarding football in recent weeks.

“I’ve been going out to the field on my own and working out,” Cole said. “After the last couple of years, I’ve pretty much memorized the playbook.”

State champion Wilmington Post 10 is also in the Southeast Regional field. Randolph County and Wilmington didn’t meet in the state tournament.

When games begin Wednesday, the other teams include South Carolina champion Rock Hill Post 34, South Carolina runner-up Camden Post 17, Georgia champion Evans Post 192, Kentucky champion Owensboro Post 9, Florida champion Belleview Post 284 and Tennessee champion Columbia Post 19.

The double-elimination regional is set to wrap up Sunday. There’s a potential title game at 1:30 p.m., with an “if necessary” game at 4:30 p.m. After four games slated for Wednesday and Thursday, there are three game slots on Friday’s schedule and two more Saturday.

The regional winner advances to the American Legion World Series, which takes place next week in Shelby.

Post 45 Tanner Marsh pitching

Right on time: Post 45 hits stride

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Tanner Marsh has been a key factor as a shortstop and pitcher for Randolph County Post 45. (PJ Ward-Brown/Randolph Record)

Randolph County roars into postseason on hot streak

ASHEBORO — It took a little time for Randolph County Post 45 to figure it out.

The timing, though, is ideal.

The American Legion baseball team has been riding a hot streak that began with the second part of the regular season and has extended into the postseason.

“We’re coming together as a team and understanding how to play with each other,” outfielder Adam Cole said.

That tends to be the sentiment.

“We started connecting,” said shortstop Tanner Marsh. “Really got to know each other. Just being around each other and getting to know each other makes baseball more fun.”

Randolph County is 27-8 and secured a spot in the North Carolina state tournament by sweeping Kannapolis Post 115 in a best-of-5 Area 3 semifinal series, capped with Monday night’s 15-2 road victory. 

Post 45 has won 17 of 19 games after a rather mundane start to the season.

There’s a winner-take-all Area 3 title game vs. Rowan County at 7 p.m. Friday at Catawba College in Salisbury. The state tournament is next week in Buies Creek.

Post 45 manager Ronnie Pugh has finally had roster stability, something that has taken time.

Outfielder Braylen Hayes and utility player Trey Way arrived from Randleman’s Class 2-A state championship team. First baseman Josh Meadows is on board after a broken hand during the high school season with Asheboro. Third baseman Tyler Parks out of Southwestern Randolph missed the Area 3 quarterfinal series last week because he was with a travel ball team, but he’s on board the rest of the way with Post 45.

“Our team chemistry is there,” said Parks, who missed about 10 of Randolph County’s games. “The more we play together, the more we learn about each other.”

Way had been with the High Point Hushpuppies in the Old North State League, a college summer circuit, last month. But the rising Virginia Tech freshman said his college coaches wanted him to get more plate appearances, so switching to Post 45 made sense.

“We have a lot of good players,” Way said. “It just took a couple of games to learn to play together. I think it’s clicking now, so I can’t wait to watch what this team can do.”

Pitcher Grant Little out of Trinity has been dealing with a shoulder ailment, but the pitching staff otherwise looks rather stocked.

Pugh said he hopes a challenging schedule has prepared Post 45 along the way.

“We played probably our best schedule we’ve ever had, and that might have played into it,” he said of some of the early defeats.

Cole, a returning player with Post 45, said it was a bit startling with how the opening weeks of the season went.

“I didn’t expect that at all,” he said, then noting the turnaround. “This is Post 45 baseball right here.”

Now it’s a matter of keeping it going.

“I don’t want to get our heads too big,” Tanner Marsh said.

 In cruise control

Randolph County won three games shortened by the mercy rule in the best-of-5 semifinals, topping Kannapolis by 11-1 and 12-0 at McCrary Park on the weekend.

In Monday’s series clincher, Blake Marsh was the winning pitcher in his first start on the mound this season. Marsh also drove in two runs along with Hayes, Drew Harmon, and Tatum Marsh.

In Saturday night’s Game 1, Hayes went 3-for-4, and Tanner Marsh, who pitched five innings, homered. 

On Sunday night, Hayes smashed a grand slam in a 10-run third inning, drilling the first pitch from Kannapolis reliever Jack Brandle. Starting pitcher Robert Garner allowed one base runner in four innings. Hayes and Harmon each had two hits.

In the quarterfinals, Post 45 rolled to 14-0 and 9-0 victories against Mooresville Post 66 in the best-of-3 series. Due to field availability in Asheboro, Game 1 was played at Mooresville, with Post 45 using Way’s 3-for-4 effort at the plate along with four runs batted in from both Harmon and Tanner Marsh. Garner threw four innings, and Hayes worked the fifth to complete the 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. 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.