American Legion baseball - Randolph Record

09 Jul

Post 45 seeks strong push in Area 3 playoffs

Randolph RecordSportsAlex Martinez, American Legion baseball, Austin Lemons, Hunter Atkins, Post 45, Randolph County Post 45, Tanner Marsh

Alex Martinez of Randolph County Post 45 makes a catch in the outfield earlier this season against Chatham County. (PJ Ward-Brown/Randolph Record) ASHEBORO – There have been some gaps in the schedule for Randolph County Post 45, but the American Legion baseball team might be back in a good groove. Post 45 finished second in the Area 3 Northern Division by the time the regular season wrapped up last week. The team won its final two regular-season games at home and then opened the Area 3 playoffs Sunday night by defeating visiting Davidson County. That best-of-3 series was to continue…

06 Jul

Trinity’s Mowery picks Western Carolina – and might head there early

Bob SuttonSportsAmerican Legion baseball, Landon Mowery, Prep baseball, Trinity athletics, Western Carolina Catamounts

Baseball player Landon Mowery of Trinity has made a college choice. (Bob Sutton / Randolph Record) THOMASVILLE – Landon Mowery has had an eye on becoming a Division I college baseball player for quite some time. From his perspective, there might be no sense in putting that off. Mowery, a Trinity standout, is considering reclassifying and heading to college a year early to join the Western Carolina program. Last week, he committed to play for the Catamounts and by the end of the week things had accelerated. “A big decision to be made,” Lowery said. “They want me to come…

01 Jul

Post 45 learns hard lessons as winning streak ends

Bob SuttonSportsAmerican Legion baseball, Grat Dalton, Josh Meadows, Post 45, Randolph County Post 45, Ronnie Pugh, Tanner Marsh

Samuel Asbill of Randolph County Post 45 throws a pitch during a victory at Chatham County. (PJ Ward-Brown/Randolph Record) ASHEBORO – A dose of reality during the past week might not be as bad as it looked for Randolph County Post 45. The American Legion baseball team had breezed through much of its schedule for the first month of the season. Then in a pair of Area 3 North Division games against High Point-Thomasville Post 87, things didn’t go its way. “Ego got too high,” catcher Grat Dalton said. “We beat everybody. We thought less of this team and should…

26 Jun

Post 45 makes most of home action

Randolph RecordSportsAmerican Legion baseball, Braylen Hayes, Hunter Atkins, McCrary Park, Pierce Leonard, Randolph County Post 45, Tanner Marsh

Randolph County Post 45’s Grat Dalton reaches for the plate but is tagged out by Cleveland County Post 82 catcher Hagan Hoyle. (PJ Ward-Brown/Randolph Record) ASHEBORO – Randolph County Post 45 won all three games it completed in its first games this year at McCrary Park in Asheboro. The weekend victories against three different opponents pushed Post 45’s record to 14-1. With stadium renovations incomplete, the Randolph County team played road games or at Randleman High School in the first few weeks of the season. Then games early last week were rained out. The three-day event at McCrary Park…

19 Jun

Post 45 churns out more victories

Randolph RecordSportsAmerican Legion baseball, Drake Purvis, Hunter Atkins, Randolph County Post 45, Tanner Marsh

RANDLEMAN – A four-night stretch full of variety for Randolph County Post 45 also had a certain consistent component. The American Legion baseball team won each of its games last week. That included stiff non-league tests and its Area 3 Northern Division opener. Post 45 boosted its record to 11-1 entering this week. Then Monday night’s game at Greensboro was rained out. The showdown last week came with Rowan County Post 342, with Post 45 winning 4-3 on Friday night at Salisbury. Tanner Marsh provided a home run and a run-scoring double and Pierce Leonard scored two runs. Drew Harmon,…

16 Jun

Post 81 sponsors younger team, skips American Legion season

Bob SuttonSportsAmerican Legion baseball, Eastern Randolph Post 81, Nate Cockman

Eastern Randolph Post 81 pitcher Samuel Asbill throws to a Foothills batter last year. This year, Asbill is on the Randolph County Post 45 roster. (PJ Ward-Brown/Randolph Record) RAMSEUR – There’s no American Legion baseball season for Eastern Randolph Post 81 this year, but planning for the future is being emphasized. Low player availability surfaced last year. Without a clear remedy for that, organizers opted to focus on younger players who might help revive the program. “We didn’t want to field a team with 11 guys and then not be able to play some nights,” said Nate Cockman, who was…

12 Jun

Returnees help Post 45 hit early groove

Randolph RecordSportsAdam Cole, American Legion baseball, Austin Lemons, Braylen Hayes, Carter Brown, Connor Adams, Ethan Frye, Hunter Atkins, Josh Meadows, McCrary Park, Pierce Leonard, Post 45, Randolph County Post 45, Ronnie Pugh, Tanner Marsh, Tyler Parks

Pierce Leonard takes a swing for Randolph County Post 45. (PJ Ward-Brown/Randolph Record) Randolph County Post 45 has been off a strong start to the American Legion baseball season. The team has a good core of returning players who’ve produced across the first couple of weeks of the season. Post 45 had a 7-1 record – capped with a 5-4 victory at Davidson County last week – before a five-day break in the schedule. The team is slated to be back in action this week. The lone loss came by a 3-2 score at Rowan County. Twelve days later, Post…

06 Jun

ZooKeepers, Post 45 wait on McCrary Park

Bob SuttonSportsAmerican Legion baseball, Asheboro Zookeepers, Coastal Plain League, McCrary Park, Randleman High School, Randolph County Post 45, Ronnie Pugh, Tanner Marsh

Randolph County Post 45 shortstop Tanner Marsh makes a tag at second base against Davidson County during an American Legion game last week in Randleman, where the team is playing home games temporarily. (PJ Ward-Brown/Randolph Record) ASHEBORO – The Asheboro ZooKeepers and Randolph County Post 45 baseball teams are playing relocated home games for perhaps a few more weeks as the latest renovation project at McCrary Park is keeping the park off limits to spectators. The ZooKeepers, a collegiate summer team, have reworked the early portion of their schedule and already have played road games. The team will play select…

21 Oct

McCrary Park takes on another new look

Bob SuttonNews, SportsAmerican Legion baseball, Asheboro Zookeepers, City of Asheboro, Coastal Plain League, McCrary Park, Randolph County Post 45

The grandstand has been flattened at McCrary Park as another phase of the renovation is in the works at the baseball park in Asheboro. (PJ Ward-Brown/Randolph Record) ASHEBORO — The grandstand is gone, and renovations are picking up again at McCrary Park. This latest development marks the latest phase in the upgrades for the baseball park. “It’s a lot of work to do,” said Ronnie Pugh, an owner of the Coastal Plain League’s Asheboro ZooKeepers. “It’s moving along, and it’s pretty exciting. It can’t happen soon enough.” For any past visitors, the sight of the grandstand no longer in place might…

26 Aug

Post 45 could have core of roster back next year

Bob SuttonSportsAdam Cole, American Legion baseball, Braylen Hayes, McCrary Park, Post 45, Randleman baseball, Randolph County Post 45, Ronnie Pugh, Southeast Regional, Tanner Marsh, Trey Way, Tyler Parks

Alex Martinez, shown here batting for Randolph County Post 45 during the Southeast Regional earlier this month in Asheboro, could be among the team's returning players for 2023. (PJ Ward-Brown/Randolph Record) ASHEBORO – When the season ended for Randolph County Post 45 earlier this month, it was a downer. The team lost back-to-back games to be eliminated from the Southeast Regional in American Legion baseball in its home ballpark. Yet there might have been a ray of hope regarding the future that day at McCrary Park. “Only three of our 17 players are gone,” Randolph County manager Ronnie Pugh…