UCA seeks 4th straight state title

ASHEBORO — Uwharrie Charter Academy entered rarified air last year after capturing its third straight state 1-A baseball championship. The road to a fourth-straight championship is going to be a little rougher this season.

UCA may be entering the state playoffs with the best record it had in the last four years, but there are still questions that must be answered quickly.

“The one thing we can’t do as coaches is we can’t make you face adversity during a game,” UCA fourth-year head coach Rob Shore said. “The practice part has never been a problem. It’s being punched in the face early and how you respond. If you’re punched in the face, you have to respond the right way.”

It’s been a different regular season than the past three seasons. 

Three years ago, the Eagles started 5-9 before winning the first of their three straight 1-A state championships by winning 16 of their final 17 games, finishing 21-10.

Two years ago, UCA was a mediocre 6-5 before winning 22 of their last 23 games to complete a 28-6 year.

Last year, the Eagles were 10-11 late in the year before winning 10 of their final 11 games for a 20-12 record and a third consecutive state championship.

This year, the Eagles flipped the script, starting the year 9-1. But UCA is 8-6 in the past 14 games, including entering the state tournament on a three-game skid, losing to Central Davidson 6-5, Northwood 7-2 and Eastern Randolph 12-3 in the semifinals of the Four Rivers Conference Tournament.

“We lost eight kids off the team from last year,” Shore said. “That’s a big chunk. That means a lot of inexperience as far as playing at a high level. The ’24 and ’25 teams knew what it took, they had experienced it in ’23. We had a good number returning from those teams. We do not have a lot of experience from last year back.

“We are at the point that we’re at the end of the year and just because you won three state championships, no one is going to lay down for you, and because you won those three straight state championships, they are coming after you,” Shore added. “There are adjustments that have to be made from the mental aspect. There are things we have to correct.”

Shore said that last year, he didn’t believe his team was playing very well. But, Shore said, after his senior class realized that this was their final chance to win a state title, they took it upon themselves to correct any problems the team was having.

“They figured it out,” Shore said, adding he hopes this year’s talented class of seniors will realize this is their last opportunity for a high school state championship. “Sometimes it has to come from someone other than a coach.”

In two of the three latest losses, the Eagles fell behind early.

“There was too much pressure early in the game and our guys could not overcome that pressure to get back into the game and the game got out of hand,” Shore said. “It’s almost like a deer in headlights. We’re learning how to handle that pressure the right way.”

When the seeds and pairings were announced Monday, it was expected that the Eagles, who have played most of the season without an injured Grat Dalton, would still earn a first-round bye in the state 4-A bracket. Even if they didn’t, Shore said his team will be ready for its first playoff action.

“We ran into a funk the last two weeks and we need to get out of it,” Shore said. “I think my guys are ready to get the playoffs rolling.”