American Legion baseball - Randolph Record

21 May

Post 81 returns to action after one-year hiatus in American Legion baseball

Bob SuttonSportsAmerican Legion baseball, Eastern Randolph, Liberty Post 81, Nate Cockman, Post 81, Providence Grove

RAMSEUR – Baseball is back on the top American Legion level for Post 81. The Liberty Post 81 team began the season last week after a one-year hiatus. “With the community involvement, we were able to make it happen,” said Nate Cockman, the head coach. “We took that summer off to get those young guys ready.” With 18 players on board and potentially a couple of more, it’s a foundation that Cockman said he likes even with about half the players coming off their freshman years of high school. “It’s good for the future,” he said. “It’s going to be…

13 Jan

Asheboro man heard around the state

Bob SuttonFeatures, SportsAmerican Legion baseball, Asheboro, Don Bullins, N.C. State athletics, PA announcer

Don Bullins of Asheboro makes some pregame announcements recently at Reynolds Coliseum in Raleigh. (Bob Sutton/Randolph Record) RALEIGH – Don Bullins of Asheboro has been a busy man behind the mic as a public address announcer for various sports events during the past month. In some ways, it’s a continuation of assignments during many stretches of the year. Just since December, he has handled assignments for high school football and basketball and college basketball. “It has been a busy few weeks,” Bullins said. “I didn’t take off a lot of time.” Bullins spends a good amount of time as a…

12 Aug

Post 45 cherishes season’s successes, improvements

Bob SuttonSportsAmerican Legion baseball, Carter Brown, Hunter Atkins, Post 45, Randolph County Post 45, Ronnie Pugh, Southeast Regional, Tyler Parks

Randolph County manager Ronnie Pugh, center, makes a mound visit in extra innings in the Southeast Regional to check on pitcher Hunter Atkins, right. Catcher Caleb Dunn looks on. (PJ Ward-Brown/Randolph Record) ASHEBORO – Hunter Atkins built a reputation largely as a hitter during high school for Randleman’s baseball team. But that’s far from his only attribute, something that was on display at times during the American Legion season for Randolph County Post 45. In what became the season finale, Atkins threw six innings of relief against eventual regional champion Florence (S.C.) Post 1. It came while he labored…

06 Aug

Florence leaves Asheboro with Southeast Regional title

Randolph RecordSportsAmerican Legion baseball, Florence (S.C.) Post 1, McCrary Park, Southeast Regional

ASHEBORO – Florence (S.C.) Post 1 completed a sweep of the Southeast Regional in American Legion baseball, winning Sunday afternoon’s title game by 8-5 against Fuquay-Varina Post 116. Florence went 5-0 in the regional at McCrary Park, including Saturday night’s 5-4 decision in 11 innings against host Randolph County Post 45. Florence (30-5) needed just one victory Sunday, but an extra game wasn’t required as Post 1 topped Fuquay-Varina, the North Carolina state champion, for the second time in the regional. Post 1 goes on to the American Legion World Series later this week in Shelby. This marked Florence’s third…

05 Aug

Post 45’s season ends with 11-inning loss in Southeast Regional

Bob SuttonSportsAmerican Legion baseball, Hunter Atkins, McCrary Park, Randolph County Post 45, Ronnie Pugh, Southeast Regional, Tanner Marsh, Tyler Parks

ASHEBORO – It took most of Saturday night before Randolph County Post 45 was dismissed from the Southeast Regional. The host team battled for 11 innings with Florence (S.C.) Post 1 before suffering a 5-4 loss at McCrary Park. “We’ve been playing all night,” Post 45 manager Ronnie Pugh said. “This was a classic. Our guys sucked it up and played.” Florence (29-5) is unbeaten in the double-elimination regional and will play Fuquay-Varina Post 116 (30-6) at 1:30 p.m. Sunday. If Fuquay-Varina wins, another winner-take-all game will follow. Post 45 ended the season with a 25-8 record, going 2-2 in…

04 Aug

Post 45 blasts off, keeps season going in Southeast Regional

Randolph RecordSportsAmerican Legion baseball, Connor Adams, Hunter Atkins, Josh Meadows, McCrary Park, Pierce Leonard, Post 45, Randolph County Post 45, Southeast Regional, Tanner Marsh, Tyler Parks

Hunter Atkins, above, and several of his Randolph County Post 45 teammates had strong offensive games in Friday's Southeast Regional game. (Randolph Record file photo) ASHEBORO – Hunter Atkins drove in three runs and six of his Randolph County Post 45 teammates racked up two runs batted in a 17-1 whipping of Owensboro (Ky.) Post 9 in Friday afternoon’s elimination game of the Southeast Regional at McCrary Park. The American Legion baseball game ended after five innings. Post 45 (25-7) scored in every inning, including seven runs in the top of the fifth. For the second year in a row,…

03 Aug

Lemons pitches gem as Randolph County Post 45 stays alive in Southeast Regional

Randolph RecordSportsAmerican Legion baseball, Austin Lemons, Hunter Atkins, Josh Meadows, McCrary Park, Post 45, Randolph County Post 45, Tanner Marsh

Austin Lemons throws a pitch earlier this season (Randolph Record file photo) ASHEBORO – Austin Lemons made sure Randolph County Post 45’s season has a little more life. Lemons threw a four-hitter as Post 45 defeated Belleview (Fla.) Post 284 by 3-0 in Thursday afternoon’s elimination game of the Southeast Regional for American Legion baseball. Lemons, a former Randleman High School pitcher headed for UNC Greensboro, walked three batters and struck out seven. The game lasted only 79 minutes at McCrary Park. The outcome puts Post 45 (24-7) in another must-win matchup at 12:30 p.m. Friday against the loser of…

02 Aug

Glitch in plan pins loss on Post 45 in Southeast Regional opener

Bob SuttonSportsAmerican Legion baseball, Hunter Atkins, Josh Meadows, Post 45, Randolph County Post 45, Robert Garner, Ronnie Pugh, Samuel Asbill

ASHEBORO – Parts of a plan for Randolph County Post 45 played out well on the first day of the Southeast Regional for American Legion baseball. But there were a few things that Post 45 couldn’t anticipate Wednesday night at McCrary Park and that was part of the downfall. Columbia (Tenn.) Post 19 had two big innings and those turned into a 7-5 victory. “We had a plan and we executed it for the most part,” Randolph County manager Ronnie Pugh said. “They had two big hits.” Now Post 45 takes on Belleview (Fla.) Post 284 in an elimination game…

01 Aug

Leonard takes baseball path with Post 45; Southeast Regional set to begin in Asheboro

Bob SuttonSportsAmerican Legion baseball, Eastern Randolph athletics, McCrary Park, Pierce Leonard, Randolph County Post 45, Ronnie Pugh, Southeast Regional

Second baseman Pierce Leonard of Randolph County Post 45 makes a play in the field earlier this season. (PJ Ward-Brown/Randolph Record) ASHEBORO – Pierce Leonard is a first-year member of the Randolph County Post 45 baseball team. There’s a reason that he pursued American Legion baseball this summer. Having finished his final high school year at Eastern Randolph after transferring from Uwharrie Charter Academy, Leonard chose baseball as a preference in terms of a sport to play in college. “I figured I could go farther with baseball than I could basketball,” Leonard said. He said he’ll play baseball at Guilford…

30 Jul

Hayes backtracks to Post 45, carves new path

Bob SuttonSportsAmerican Legion baseball, Braylen Hayes, Randleman athletics, Randleman baseball, Randolph County Post 45, UNCG

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,…