Prep baseball - Randolph Record

25 Apr

Baseball tourneys coming to Asheboro; Southwestern Randolph has coaching change

Bob SuttonSportsAsheboro, McCrary Park, Mid-Piedmont Conference, NCISAA, piedmont athletic conference, Prep baseball, Prep softball, Southwestern Randolph Cougars

ASHEBORO – High school postseason baseball – and some softball – will be happening in Asheboro even if there’s not an in-county team involved. Next week, Asheboro will be the host school for next week’s semifinal and final rounds in the Mid-Piedmont Conference Tournament for both baseball and softball. Those matchups will come after quarterfinal games, which will definitely involve Asheboro, are contested at the site of the higher seeds. The baseball semifinals and final will be at McCrary Park. In baseball and softball, the Piedmont Athletic Conference Tournament begins Monday with games at the highest seed. For baseball, Randleman…

22 Apr

Prep Roundup: PAC softball race tightens after upset

Randolph RecordSportsAddie Flinchum, Asheboro Blue Comets, Eastern Randolph Wildcats, Ellie Garrison, Macie Crutchfield, Natalie Bowman, Parker Kines, Prep baseball, prep soccer, Prep softball, Southwestern Randolph Cougars, Taryn Waugh, UCA Eagles, Wheatmore Warriors

Anaeli Puente Garza cuts between Randleman’s Jocelyn Segovia, left, and Lacy Nelson during last week’s game. (PJ Ward-Brown/Randolph Record) Fourth-place Eastern Randolph muddled the Piedmont Athletic Conference softball race by defeating first-place Southwestern Randolph 4-1 last week with Addie Flinchum striking out seven in the road victory. Uwharrie Charter Academy closed within a half-game of Southwestern Randolph by week’s end. The teams will meet April 25 at Southwestern Randolph to end the regular season. UCA nipped host Eastern Randolph 5-4 behind Mollie Bulla’s pitching. Jayla Hurley and Aubrie Kauffman both doubled and scored a run. Earlier in the week UCA,…

18 Apr

Randleman Tigers conjure more magic for PAC baseball supremacy

Bob SuttonSportsBraxton Walker, Jake Smith, piedmont athletic conference, Prep baseball, Randleman Tigers, Seth Way, Trinity Bulldogs

Randleman’s Braxton Walker had a big impact at the plate and on the mound earlier this week. (Bob Sutton / Randolph Record) RANDLEMAN – Randleman had just enjoyed another one of those defining moments that seem to come so often for the school’s baseball team. There were various assessments of what that meant after Tuesday night’s 6-5, eight-inning victory against visiting Trinity. “We got to get better,” shortstop Jake Riddle said. “We got to.” While it wasn’t the smoothest outing for the Tigers, they again found a way. The result secured another outright Piedmont Athletic Conference regular-season championship and kept…

15 Apr

Wheatmore Warriors make most of 14-inning experience

Bob SuttonSportsAyden Byrd, Payton Mooney, piedmont athletic conference, Prep baseball, Southwestern Randolph Cougars, Trey Byrd, Wheatmore Warriors

Wheatmore coach Trey Byrd watches a game earlier this month. (PJ Ward Brown/Randolph Record) Games on consecutive nights test endurance TRINITY – Wheatmore catcher Payton Mooney didn’t let the drain of spending 14 innings behind the plate in a baseball game last week get to him. “During the game, with adrenaline going, I felt fine,” Mooney said. “Fourteen innings is a long time.” The Warriors won that game at Southwestern Randolph, then the next night had a rematch at home. Fortunately for Wheatmore, the second game lasted just six innings, but that still meant 20 innings in catching gear across…

13 Apr

Prep Baseball: Randleman racks up another PAC title; UCA takes down Eastern Randolph twice

Randolph RecordSportsJake Riddle, piedmont athletic conference, Prep baseball, Randleman baseball, Seth Way

RANDLEMAN – Randleman wrapped up another Piedmont Athletic Conference baseball championship by defeating visiting Providence Grove 8-1 on Friday night. The Tigers improved to 10-0 in league play. Randleman will be the top seed for the PAC Tournament in a couple of weeks, a spot clinched because the Tigers beat Wheatmore twice. Only Wheatmore can pull even with the Tigers, but that would require the Warriors winning their four remaining league games and Randleman losing twice to a sub-.500 Trinity team. Randleman has lost just two conference games in a four-season span. Jake Riddle struck out…

08 Apr

Prep baseball: UCA blasts three foes in Asheboro event; Randleman adds to win total during spring break

Randolph RecordSportsAsheboro Zookeepers, Jake Hunter, McCrary Park, Parker Kines, Prep baseball, Randleman Tigers, Seth Way, UCA Eagles, Walker Wilkins, Wheatmore Warriors

Southwestern Randolph’s Grant Kirk slides into the plate to score a run against Westchester Country Day School last week at McCrary Park in Asheboro. (PJ Ward-Brown/Randolph Record) ASHEBORO – Uwharrie Charter Academy’s baseball team won three times in the Asheboro ZooKeepers Classic last week at McCrary Park. The Eagles socked Southern Alamance 12-1, trounced Jordan-Matthews 15-5 and topped Montgomery Central 9-0. Wheatmore had a winning record in the classic, while Southwestern Randolph and Asheboro both finished with 1-2 records in the multi-day competition. UCA’s Jake Hunter pitched in the first game of the event. Walker Wilkins had four hits, including…

01 Apr

Prep roundup: Randleman edges UCA in tight baseball tilts

Randolph RecordSportsPrep baseball, prep soccer, Prep softball, Randleman athletics, Southwestern Randolph Cougars, UCA athletics, Wheatmore Warriors

Wheatmore’s Payton Mooney makes contact during the Warriors’ 4-3 baseball victory at West Davidson last week. (PJ Ward-Brown/Randolph Record) There was a reduced number of competitions last week in high school sports around Randolph County, largely because of weather-related postponements or cancelations. This week, schedules are limited in many cases because of spring break at many schools. Here are some the highlights from last week’s events: Baseball Randleman swept a Piedmont Athletic Conference doubleheader from Uwharrie Charter Academy, winning 1-0 and then 3-1 in nine innings in a matchup of recent state champions. Jake Riddle pitched the first game for…

25 Mar

Prep Roundup: Randleman makes early PAC baseball push; Southwestern Randolph, UCA have strong softball stretches

Randolph RecordSportsPrep baseball, prep soccer, Prep softball

Asheboro’s Aiden Robinson reaches for the ball as Randleman’s Kai Strickland dives into third base during a non-conference baseball game earlier this season at McCrary Park in Asheboro. (Randolph Record) Randleman was the only baseball team in the Piedmont Athletic Conference without a league loss entering this week. Randleman whipped visiting Southwestern Randolph 13-3 with Seth Way striking out nine from the mound and hitting a home run. Braxton Walker added three hits, including a double. Earlier in the week, Randleman won 9-5 against the Cougars with Jake Riddle pitching and Tate Andres and Way leading the offense. Those outcomes…

17 Mar

Prep Roundup: Array of results for area teams in baseball, softball, girls’ soccer

Randolph RecordSportspiedmont athletic conference, Prep baseball, prep soccer, Prep softball

There were an array of results in baseball, softball and girls’ soccer last week for Randolph County teams. Here’s an overview: Baseball Randleman blanked Wheatmore 10-0 at home behind Jake Riddle’s pitching in the Piedmont Athletic Conference. Two nights later, the Tigers won 12-5 at Wheatmore with Tate Andrews driving in five runs and collecting four hits and Braxton Walker posting three runs batted in and three hits. Seth Way struck out 10 batters in 5 2/3 innings. At Thomasville, Randleman dropped Saturday’s non-conference, neutral-site clash with West Davidson at Finch Field Also at that site, Southwest Guilford…

13 Mar

ATHLETE OF THE WEEK: Parker Kines

Randolph RecordSportsathlete of the week, Parker Kines, piedmont athletic conference, Prep baseball, Wheatmore athletics

Wheatmore, baseball ‌Kines, a junior left-hander, has been a key pitcher for the Warriors, who won three of their first five games. The Warriors opened Piedmont Athletic Conference play last week by defeating rival Trinity twice. Kines was the starting pitcher for the league opener. During the previous week, Kines struck out 10 Asheboro batters in four innings of Wheatmore’s season-opening victory. Kines is fresh off the basketball season when he led the Warriors in scoring.