LOCAL SPORTS ROUNDUP: Playoffs dominate week’s highlights

The big outcomes from last week’s playoffs in baseball, softball and track are elsewhere on the site. But some other things had to happen for teams earlier in the week to set up those showdowns and scenarios. Here’s a look back.

Baseball 

■ Jake Riddle pitched a three-hitter with eight strike-outs and had two hits as No. 2 Randleman beat No. 10 Morehead 6-0 in the second round of the 4-A state playoffs. Tate Andrews had two hits and an RBI. Kyle Dillow had an RBI double while Jackson Hill and John Kirkpatrick each contributed an RBI single.

■ Ty McCauley smashed a two-run homer and Wilson Boswell had two hits with two RBIs in No. 4 Uwharrie Charter’s 7-2 win over No. 12 Roanoke Rapids in the second round of the 4-A state playoffs. Brody Engle had an RBI single. Jake Hunter went the distance on the mound with eight strikeouts.

■ Lane Poole had two hits, including a two-run double, in Southwestern Randolph’s six-run seventh inning as the No. 6 Cougars beat No. 3 SouthWest Edgecombe 8-2 in the second round of the 4-A state playoffs. Logan Weidman had a two-run single while Carson Coltrane, Matt Blankenship and Weston Reeder had RBI singles. Blankenship was the winning pitcher, striking out four.

■ Cohen Wolfe had two hits and two RBIs but No. 4 Trinity fell 7-5 to No. 12 Patton in the second round of the 3-A state playoffs. Grayson Fauber and Indiana Hill both had two hits. Cameron Hill had a two-run triple.

■ Keaton Hill and Engle got Uwharrie Charter’s only two hits in the Eagles’ 5-0 loss to No. 1 Bunn in the fourth round of the 4-A state playoffs. The loss ended Uwharrie Charter’s run of three consecutive state championships.

Softball 

■ Katelyn West had two hits, including a double, and two RBIs while pitching five innings in No. 3 Southwestern Randolph’s 9-1 romp over No. 6 Roanoke Rapids in the second round of the 4-A state playoffs. Ryleigh Hineline also had a single, double and two RBIs. Chloe Eudy had two hits, including a double, and an RBI and pitched one scoreless inning. Alyssa Harris had a two-run double and pitched a scoreless inning. Kami Dunn smashed a solo home run and Jada Freeland had an RBI single. 

■ Callie Lambert, Carly Lambert and Ruby Caudle had RBI singles in No. 9 Providence Grove’s 10-3 loss to No. 1 Midway in the second round of the 3-A state playoffs.

■ Ella Rogers had three hits and five RBIs while Addyson Dees homered in No. 1 Randleman’s 15-0 rout of No. 9 Nash Central in the second round of the 4-A state playoffs. Kinzie Ivey had a single, double and two RBIs while pitching a five-inning three-hitter with seven strikeouts. Elsie Prince had two hits and two RBIs. Olivia Ashby had two hits and an RBI. Lyric Chriscoe had a two-run single. 

■ Dees went 2-for-3 with a home run, triple and three RBIs in Randleman’s 9-5 win over East Duplin in the fourth round of the 4-A state playoffs. Kaylee Phillips was 3-for-4 with a home run, double and two RBIs. Ivey had two hits, including a double and two RBIs. Lilah Covington had a solo home run.

■ West pitched a five-hitter and Maddie Strider blasted a solo home run as No. 3 South-western Randolph beat No. 2 Central Davidson 4-1 in the fourth round of the 4-A state playoffs. Nauttica Parrish and Chloe Eudy both had two hits. Bristol Marine and Kami Dunn had RBI singles.

Girls Soccer 

■ Lena Hogan scored the goal as No. 17 Southwestern Randolph edged No. 16 West Stokes 1-0 in the first round of the 4-A state playoffs. Estephany Fiscal had the assist and Campbell Garner made 12 saves. 

■ Annissa Goldston and Jaira Arellano scored the goals in No. 11 Asheboro’s 2-0 win over No. 22 Piedmont in the first round of the 6-A state playoffs.

■ Natalie Hernandez had a huge game with five goals as No. 10 Providence Grove walloped No. 23 Bartlett Yancey in the first round of the 4-A state playoffs. Rylee Stover had two goals and two assists. Hayley Banks had one goal and one assist.

■ Randleman fell 3-1 to Jordan-Matthews in the first round of the 4-A state playoffs. The No. 15 Tigers ended the season with an 8-10-2 record.

■ Emmie Messner scored both goals in No. 4 Wheatmore’s 2-0 win over No. 13 Lincolnton in the second round of the 3-A state playoffs. Kinsley Davis made nine saves.

■ Laurel Kingston scored the goal in No. 11 Asheboro’s 3-1 loss to No. 6 T.C. Roberson in the second round of the 6-A state playoffs. Arellano had the assist and Crystal Castaneda made 19 saves.

Boys Track & Field 

■ Four athletes from Randolph County won regional championships, led by Asheboro’s Aaron Tyson, who took the 6-A high jump and pole vault. The Blue Comets’ Juan Pablo Munoz won the discus.

Randleman had two regional champions. Jazai Cassady won the triple jump and Izaiah Troxler was victorious in the shot put.

The top four finishers in each event advanced to their respective state tournaments.

■ Cassady won the high jump 4-A state championship to conclude an outstanding season, with his 46 feet easily topping the field.

The Tigers’ Troxler was fourth in the shot put and Bryson Nall was fourth in the 400-meter dash. 

■ Eastern Randolph’s Caden Revelle was fifth in the high jump at the 3-A state championship meet.

Girls Track & Field 

■ Seven girls from Randolph County won regional championships. Leading the way was Eastern Randolph’s Mirianna Corea, who won the 3-A discus and shot put. The Wildcats’ Roxanne Davis won the high jump.

Asheboro’s Jalaya Showers won the 6-A 100-meter dash while Uwharrie Charter’s Brennan Thomas won the 4-A shot put. Providence Grove’s Lyndsay Browder won the 300-meter hurdles and the Patriots’ Laurel Bernhardt took the 1,600-meter run. Trinity’s Kayla Franklin won the triple jump.

The top four finishers in each event advanced to their respective state tournaments.

■ Corea capped a brilliant career by winning the 3-A shot put and discus state championships. That gave her four outdoor high school state championships altogether, Corea won the 2025 state title in the shot put and the 2024 state title in the discus. She also won the indoor state title this year in the shot put.

■ Providence Grove’s Bernhardt reached the podium with a third-place finish in the 1,600 meters in the 3-A state meet and was fifth in the 800 meters.

There were two other fifth-place finishes from county schools: Davis (ER, girls high jump), and Scarlett Hildreth (Wheatmore, girls 1600 meters).

■ Uwharrie Charter’s Thomas was fifth in the shot put in the 4-A state meet.

■ Randleman’s Alexis Vaughn was fourth in the shot put in the 4-A state meet.

Boys Golf 

■ Asheboro’s Lee Hooker shot rounds of 93 and 84 to finish 45th in the 6-A state championship at Sapona Golf, Swim and Tennis Club.