Teams experience glory and pain as prep playoffs stretch on

Mike Duprez

Randolph Hub

Some dreams lived on and others were abruptly ended as high school playoffs continued in baseball and softball and began in soccer. There were some local triumps to note in golf and track & field, as well. Here are some reported highlights from the week.

Baseball

- Jose Ramirez had two hits and three RBIs as No. 2 Uwharrie Charter routed No. 23 Mountain Heritage 15-5 in five innings in the third round of the 1-A state playoffs. Grat Dalton had two hits and two RBIs. Caleb Stickle got a double, single and an RBI. Carter Brown had two hits and an RBI. Trey Kennedy had a run-scoring triple and Landon Zephir singled in a run. Jake Hunter allowed eight hits and two earned runs with seven strikeouts in five innings.

- Ramirez’s walk-off double brought home Dalton with the winning run in the bottom of the eighth inning as Uwharrie Charter rallied for a 4-3 win over Christ the King in the fourth round of the 1-A state playoffs. Ramirez was 3-for-3 while Dalton went 2-for-4 with an RBI. Troy Carver was 1-for-3 with an RBI. Logun Wilkins pitched two scoreless innings to get the win. Brett Smith allowed eight hits and three runs with four strikeouts in six innings.

- Seth Way pitched a four-hitter with 11 strikeouts but No. 6 Randleman fell 1-0 to No. 3 Morehead in the third round of the 2-A state playoffs. The Tigers ended the season with a 21-6 record. The heartbreaker also ended the Tigers’ incredible streak of reaching at least the fourth round of the state baseball playoffs every year since 2011.

Softball

- Emory Johnson and Kenzie Hill both had two hits and three RBIs as No. 1 Uwharrie Charter throttled No. 8 Mountain Island Charter 11-2 in the third round of the 1-A state playoffs. One of Johnson’s hits was a double. Katelyn West had double and single while Aubrie Kauffman had a two-run single. Jayla Hurley and Reece Thompson each had an RBI single. Mollie Bulla pitched a three-hitter with 14 strikeouts.

- Macie Crutchfield pitched a three-hitter with 11 strikeouts as No. 4 Southwestern Randolph beat No. 5 Owen 5-0 in the third round of the 2-A state playoffs. She also drove in a run. Kami Dunn doubled in a run while Madelyn Smith and Alyssa Harris each had an RBI single.

- Crutchfield hurled a two-hitter with 10 strikeouts as Southwestern Randolph edged previously undefeated West Wilkes 1-0 in the fourth round of the 2-A state playoffs. The Cougars scored the only run of the game when Smith singled to break up Lilly Proffit’s bid for a no-hitter, moved to third on an error and scored on a sacrifice fly by Harris in the top of the seventh inning. Smith’s hit was the only hit allowed by Proffit.

- No. 1 UCA lost a 4-3 decision to No. 4 Robbinsville despite a furious late-game rally. After trailing 4-0 heading into the bottom of the seventh, the Eagles scored three times but couldn’t get the tying run across. The PAC-7 Conference champions ended their season at 20-4-1. 

Soccer

- Ellie Garrison had another huge night with seven goals as No. 6 Weatmore blanked No. 27 Lincoln Charter 8-0 in the first round of the 2-A state playoffs. Natalie Bowman scored the other goal and had two assists. Ellie Bowman and Maggie Messner each had an assist. Lucy Lockwood made three saves.

- Taryn Waugh led the way with four goals as No. 13 Providence Grove whipped No. 20 Forest Hills 9-0 in the first round of the 2-A state playoffs. Anaeli Puente Garza scored two goals. Brooke Ingram, Patience Keller and Rylee Stover got the other goals. Stover had four assists and Garza had one. 

- Jazmin Palma, Kendal Jarrell and Lily Charlesworth all scored two goals as No. 3 Uwharrie Charter downed No. 30 Corvian Community 6-3 in the first round of the 1-A state playoffs. Charlesworth had two assists and Palma had one. Alexis Marion had a busy night in the net with 18 saves.

- Alma Garcia and Macy Allred scored the goals in No. 30 Southwestern Randolph’s 6-2 loss to No. 3 Wilkes Central in the first round of the 2-A state playoffs. The Cougars ended the season with a record of 8-13-1.

- Garrison scored five more goals, giving the NCHSAA career scoring leader 64 for the season, as No. 6 Wheatmore walloped No. 11 Mount Pleasant 9-0 in the second round of the 2-A state playoffs. Natalie Bowman had three goals and Kynnedi Routh scored once. Lockwood made four saves in her 24th career shutout.

- In other second round scores:

— No. 4 West Davidson moved past No. 13 Providence Grove in the second round, winning in a shootout after the teams played to a 1-1 tie.

— No. 3 UCA defeated No. 14 Cornerstone Charter 3-1 to advance to Monday’s game against No. 22 Bradford Prep, which had pulled off upsets in the first and second rounds.

— In the 3-A playoffs, No. 12 Asheboro rode a first-half goal to a 1-0 victory over No. 21 Kings Mountain at Lee J. Stone Stadium in Asheboro on Monday. On Thursday, the Blue Comets ran into a buzzsaw at No. 5 Hickory, losing 7-0 to end their season at 16-5-1.

Golf

Wheatmore’s Ryan Marshall finished in a tie for 14th place in the 2-A state tournament at Stonebridge Golf Club of Monroe. Marshall shot rounds of 76 and 73 to come in at 9-over-par.

Boys Track & Field

Randleman’s Chase Farlow won the 2-A state championship in the high jump with a leap of 6 feet, 8 inches.

Girls Track & Field

Randleman’s Gracie Beane was third in the high jump in the 2-A state meet. Beane was also seventh in the triple jump.

American Legion Basbeball

Carson Williams had a three-run double, and Jacob Flinchum added a two-run single as Liberty Post 81 opened the season with a 12-2 win in seven innings over Wilkes County. Bauer Bowlings had an RBI double. Chance Holdaway gave up two earned runs and struck out four in four innings. Brody Engle pitched two scoreless innings with two strikeouts. Cade McCallum struck out the side in the fifth inning.