Dallas Callahan has been with Asheboro’s Coastal Plain League team even before this year. (PJ Ward-Brown/Randolph Record)
ASHEBORO – Tyler McPeak and Dallas Callahan have given the Asheboro ZooKeepers a veteran presence in different ways during the Coastal Plain League baseball season.
McPeak is looking to polish his swing and plate approach in advance of a final season at Lenoir-Rhyne, where he has been a record-setting slugger.
“I’ve always been a guy that feels there’s something else to be desired,” McPeak said. “Chasing perfection in an imperfect game.”
Callahan opted for a final go-around in a collegiate summer league even though he’s done playing at UNC Greensboro.
“I wanted to stay ready in case somebody wants to give me a shot,” said Callahan, 23.
Callahan, the son of first-year ZooKeepers general manager Melissa Godwin, started 53 games this year for UNCG (25-34), batting .195 in 55 games overall. He hit seven home runs.
Callahan, a catcher, played for Asheboro in the summer of 2021, when the team’s nickname was Copperheads. Last year, hip surgery kept him out of a summer circuit.
More recently, he had two-hit outings four times in a six-game stretch for the ZooKeepers.
“I’m here for the game,” Callahan said. “I’m not ready to give it up.”
Tyler McPeak has made big contributions at the plate for the Asheboro ZooKeepers. (PJ Ward-Brown/Randolph Record)
McPeak has been out of the lineup for two weeks with ailments after being the team’s biggest offensive threat. Yet even with the missed time, the first baseman entered the last week of the regular season second on the team in home runs (4) and runs batted in (23) behind Jared Beebe. McPeak’s nine doubles top the team and he holds a .314 batting average.
McPeak, a North Lincoln product, will be entering his sixth season in a college baseball program. He was on the Campbell team prior to transferring to Lenoir-Rhyne, where his 18 home runs this year set a single-season school record.
“It would be nice to break that record again,” he said.
Until then, time in a summer league was a good option again.
“I’m just trying to have fun,” McPeak said. “I know this is probably my last year of summer ball.”
Thompson honored
Daniel Thompson of the ZooKeepers was named the CPL Pitcher of the Week. Across two outings, the right-hander for UNC Greensboro struck out 12 batters in 8 2/3 innings and picked up one victory.
It also was a big week for Asheboro’s Daniel Hudson. He had the game-winning single against the Boone Bigfoots in a 13-12 comeback home victory and then homered twice the next night against the High Point-Thomasville HiToms at Finch Field. The 20-10 outcome against the HiToms gave the ZooKeepers a five-game winning streak, which was snapped the following night by the Wilson Tobs.
Note: The final regular-season home game of the season for the ZooKeepers is Tuesday night (Aug. 1) vs. the Forest City Owls.
Braylen Hayes takes a swing for Randolph County Post 45 this summer. (PJ Ward-Brown/Randolph Record)
ASHEBORO – Braylen Hayes didn’t anticipate being back with Randolph County Post 45 this summer, but he’s glad that opportunity existed.
It’s turning out to be a good thing for Post 45 despite his unexpected availability.
The former standout outfielder for Randleman didn’t make it to the finish line in his first college season at UNC Greensboro.
“Just having too much fun in college. It went downhill and ended up not having the best grades,” Hayes said. “It was all on me. It’s good, though, I’m going to get back right.
Braylen Hayes will play next year for Guilford Tech. (Bob Sutton/Randolph Record)
Hayes is the center fielder and bats third in the lineup for Post 45, which will be the host team for the American Legion’s Southeast Regional next week at McCrary Park.
So this is a summer to regroup for Hayes, who has committed to attend Guilford Tech and play a season with that junior college team.
He was lined up to play for the Asheboro ZooKeepers, a summer college team in the Coastal Plain League. But when grades interfered and he dropped off the UNCG roster, he wasn’t eligible for that because he wasn’t in a college program.
“It was pretty hard,” Hayes said. “It was just weird. I had never had to go through anything like that. Had to figure out.”
And he needed a summer baseball destination.
“Would have had a crap summer, no baseball would be rough,” he said.
Fortunately for him, he’s young enough – just turning 19 – for another season of American Legion baseball. He also played for Post 45 last year.
Post 45 manager Ronnie Pugh said Hayes is a big part of the team.
“We know the things he can do,” Pugh said.
Hayes said he’s a much better player than last summer.
“Making more contact on balls, hard contact,” he said. “Knowing the strike zone a lot better from seeing pitching at the D-I level.”
Things didn’t go as Hayes planned at UNCG.
“I didn’t play the best in the fall. I was struggling a little bit,” he said. “Going from seeing alright arms, to really good arms really fast. It was just a huge jump. At the time, I wasn’t ready for it.”
When the 2023 season began, he was a reserve, gaining more playing time a few weeks into the season. Hayes batted .250 in nine games, including three starts. He was 3-for-3 on stolen base attempts.
Yet his time with the Spartans didn’t go for naught. That has been evident with Hayes’ throws from the outfield.
“UNCG, they’ve got a great throwing program,” he said. “My arm has gotten so much stronger.”
Hayes was on three high school state championship teams – one at Uwharrrie Charter Academy and two at Randleman. In 2022, he shared Player of the Year honors in the Piedmont Athletic Conference with teammate future Boston Red Sox draft pick Brooks Brannon.
Now Hayes wants to turn the detour into something good after the Guilford Tech season.
The Asheboro ZooKeepers have had mixed results from the mound during their games so far this season. (Photo courtesy of ZooKeepers)
ASHEBORO – The Asheboro ZooKeepers made notable progress last week.
The biggest of those achievements was finally winning a game.
The Coastal Plain League baseball team lost its first six games of the season, which already has been disjointed by playing home games at UNC Greensboro while McCrary Park renovations are ongoing. The plan is to have the ZooKeepers playing in Asheboro by the end of this week.
At least they’ve experienced success.
The ZooKeepers didn’t pick up a victory until their seventh game of the season, defeating the Martinsville Mustangs 9-4 last Tuesday in Greensboro after facing a four-run hole. Tyler McPeak’s three-run home run was an offensive highlight.
Three nights later, they swept a doubleheader from the visiting Florence Flamingos. Shortstop Alex Lodise had a game-winning hit to end Asheboro’s 1-0 victory in the opener of the twinbill.
It was quite an introduction for Lodise, a soon-to-be Florida State player who was making his ZooKeepers debut. Lodise played for North Florida during the 2023 college season, mashed a school freshman-record 16 home runs and was an All-Atlantic Sun selection, but he’s transferring to Florida State.
Pitchers Jacob Dienes and Garrett Kangas combined for the shutout.
In the nightcap, Asheboro won 5-1 behind work on the mound by Jacob Halford and Ethan Snyder.
Pitching became a trouble spot for Asheboro during the weekend. A 13-4 loss Saturday at Florence was followed by Sunday’s 9-5 setback at Holly Springs.
In the Holly Springs game, Dallas Callahan of the ZooKeepers homered but it wasn’t enough to wipe out an 8-0 hole after three innings.
So with a 3-8 record through Sunday, the ZooKeepers were stuck in last place in the West Division. Asheboro’s .234 batting average was tied for the worst mark in the CPL. Monday night’s home game against the High Point-Thomasville HiToms in Greensboro was rained out.
Because of rescheduled games amid the adjustments because of McCrary Park’s status, Asheboro could be playing a total of eight home games in the last 10 days of June.
Members of the Asheboro ZooKeepers hang out at the dugout at UNCG. (Photo courtesy of ZooKeepers)
GREENSBORO – College baseball players arrived to play a summer season in Asheboro.
So far, they’ve played only elsewhere.
That’s just part of the rough opening stretch of the season for the Asheboro ZooKeepers.
“It’s a little strange,” said third baseman Tanner Thomas, who plays collegiately for Longwood. “We’re very thankful that we have a place like this to play.”
He was referring to UNC Greensboro Baseball Stadium.
With a renovation project behind schedule at McCrary Park, the ZooKeepers have mostly played road games in the Coastal Plain League. They could be using the UNCG facility for select home games through June 21.
So the ZooKeepers played their ”home” opener Friday night at UNCG. The 3-0 loss to the Forest City Owls dropped Asheboro’s record to 0-5. In a rematch the next night at Forest City, the Owls won 6-5.
“We’re keeping a positive attitude,” ZooKeepers catcher Dallas Callahan, who played the 2021 summer season in Asheboro and is a UNCG product. “We’re piecing it together.”
That’s the message from first-year coach Korey Dunbar.
“We’ve got a young group of guys,” he said. “We’re going to continue to get better as we go once we start to figure things out.”
The Asheboro ZooKeepers line up with young fans for the national anthem prior to the “home” opener. (Photo courtesy of ZooKeepers)
Since the start of the season, some players have trickled in. For instance, Jake Holland, a catcher from New Mexico (and transfer who also played for Georgia Tech), was on hand for his first game Friday night.
Dunbar didn’t have pitching coach Josh Pike available until late in the week because of his commitments as a graduate assistant at North Carolina State.
Asheboro received a solid outing from starting pitcher Jacob Dienes, an N.C. State lefty. And by the ninth inning, the ZooKeepers had two runners on base when the game ended on Luke Holland’s lineout to second base.
“We’re not playing our best baseball and we’re in ball games,” Dunbar said. “We’ve got to do some work. I’m positive with these guys.”
Another scoring chance fizzled in the fourth after Dylan Driver’s lead-off double.
Thomas said he’s excited about playing the summer in the CPL after appearing in 44 games as a freshman for Longwood.
“We’re working every day and we’re constantly getting better,” Thomas said. “Little things here and there that aren’t falling our way. Everybody is trying to get kick-started.”
For Callahan, who played this year as a UNCG senior, he figured his playing days on campus had been completed.
“You play your last game here (for UNCG) and think you’re done here,” Callahan said. “And you’re back.”
About 100 spectators attended the ZooKeepers’ first game in Greensboro.
ZooKeepers general manager Melissa Godwin, who’s in her first season, is wife to UNCG coach Billy Godwin. She said she views the relocation of games as a short-term glitch.
“It’s a blessing to be able to use UNCG,” she said. “It definitely has been an operational challenge.”
Dunbar praised Melissa Godwin’s efforts to pull things together the past few weeks. The ZooKeepers have been able to use McCrary Park for practices while renovations continue on off-field fan areas.
“She’s making it a good experience and that’s what we want for the guys,” Dunbar said. “It’s going to pay off.”
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.
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.”
ASHEBORO — When something notable happens for the Asheboro Copperheads, there’s a good chance it could have something to do with one of their players from UNC Greensboro.
The time this summer with the Coastal Plain League team has been an ideal proving grounds for the college players.
“It’s top-level competition, really good,” said infielder Matt Kemp, who’s from Randleman. “It’s better than I thought it would be.”
While Kemp is getting back in the swing of things after his freshman season, pitcher Jared Mathewson is trying to tune up for a final go-around at the college level.
“It has been a lot of fun,” Mathewson said. “Getting to meet a lot of new guys and playing with some of the guys I know. … Next year is my last year playing so this is my last summer playing.”
The Copperheads are stacked with four players from UNCG — outfielder Bradley Bott and catcher Dallas Callahan are the others. Bott hit the game-winning single in a victory last week against Wilmington.
And some of Asheboro’s top competition comes from the High Point-Thomasville HiToms, who have UNCG slugger Hogan Windish in their lineup. Windish is the CPL leader in home runs and runs batted in. The teams have four more meetings across the final two-plus weeks of the regular season.
“It’s fun playing against them,” Kemp said. “I know a ton of guys for the HiToms.”
Kemp has been mostly playing as a shortstop for the Copperheads after playing in a limited role for UNCG, where he was the third baseman.
He’s using the time in the CPL to boost his confidence.
“I really didn’t take advantage of the opportunities I had (during my freshman season),” Kemp said. “The confidence was definitely low this spring. I started out a little slow (with the Copperheads), but I’m mainly getting back in a groove. Just being aggressive.”
Copperheads head coach Jeremy Knight said Kemp has shown good patience at the plate and that has allowed him to heat up the past few weeks.
“Recently he has been tearing it up,” Knight said. “He has a really keen eye at the plate.”
Knight said Kemp’s work in the field has been consistent and that has given the Copperheads stability defensively.
Aside from a key member of Randleman teams, Kemp played on the travel-ball circuit while in high school. Then last year he played with High Point in the Old North State League just to get some time on the field after summer leagues were scrambled because of the pandemic.
So this is just another piece of a solid foundation for Kemp.
“I’ve played with wood bats the past five years,” he said. “It’s more challenging than a mental bat, but it makes you better.”
Mathewson has made a mark on the mound for the Copperheads. He was a transfer from Mars Hill when he suited up for UNCG.
He had Tommy John surgery in May 2018, so it has been a slow climb back, particularly with the 2020 season interruption.
“This is the strongest I’ve felt,” Mathewson said. “I’ve just been able to build up my confidence on the mound.”
Entering this week, he’s second in the CPL with 34 2/3 innings to go with a 3-0 record and 2.34 earned run average. UNCG coach Billy Godwin told Mathewson to build up his endurance this summer.
“I kind of struggled early on (with UNCG) and I improved and it has carried on into the summer,” Mathewson said. “My goal was to throw as many innings as possible.”
That has worked out well for the Copperheads.
“Jared has done amazing for us,” Knight said. “He’s looking to work into a starting role (for UNCG). He just wanted to get innings.”
Rivals ready for more
The Copperheads and HiToms have a home-and-home set this week, with Friday night’s game at Thomasville’s Finch Field and Saturday night’s matchup at Asheboro’s McCrary Park.
“It makes it a lot of fun,” Mathewson said. “We strap it on with these guys throughout the year and then we get to go compete against each other.”
Windish, a second baseman who finished his redshirt sophomore season in the spring, has been an All-Southern Conference second-team selection in 2019 and 2021. With 11 home runs and 41 RBI through 29 games, his production with the HiToms puts him ahead of his rate of 10 home runs and 51 RBI in 52 games this year for UNCG.
With an abbreviated season with only some teams participating in the 2020 season, Windish was named the CPL Hitter of the Year. He led the league in batting (.447) and RBI (37) in 25 games.
“He did it last year and he’s doing it again,” Kemp said. “It’s nothing new. … Hogan is definitely a threat more than anyone else in the CPL right now. He can put on a show like that. He’s always a threat, especially this summer he has found a groove.”
The Copperheads held Windish in check in some matchups early in the season. But Knight said discussions with staff members from Forest City and Martinsville made it clear that Windish was still a focal point for the HiToms.
“They were asking if he had been doing that to us and I said ‘not yet,’ ” Knight said. “I had a feeling it was coming.”
It did in the most-recent meeting, when Windish homered.
“Every team is having trouble dealing with him this year,” Knight said. “He’s really tough to get out. He’s dialed in so much right now. He’s a pain to deal with.”
Mathewson faced Windish earlier this year and recorded a strikeout and flyout. But he knows he might have dodged trouble.
“It’s fun watching what he does,” Mathewson said. “I like to check the box score every night to see what he does. He’s a great hitter – one of the best we have at UNCG.”
UNCG is also represented on the HiToms roster by outfielder Collin Fowler and pitcher KJ Wells .
“It’s kind of neat for the guys,” Knight said. “This league is really UNCG-heavy. They have a lot of fun with it.”
