Randleman baseball smashes state records on its way to NCHSAA regionals
RANDLEMAN — Randleman’s baseball steamroller flattened yet another playoff opponent Friday night.
Trey Way smashed two home runs for the second straight game and Drake Purvis hurled a two-hitter as the defending 2-A state champions routed East Surry 10-0 in the fourth round of NCHSAA playoffs at Joe Brookshire Field.
The Tigers (29-1) have run-ruled all four of their state playoffs opponents, outscoring them by a combined 53-0. They also set two more state records. Seth Way added a home run, giving the Tigers three for the game and 56 for the season. The old record was 55, set by Apex in 2000 and East Rutherford in 2007. Trey Way also set a record for runs scored in a season with 61. The former record was 59, set by East Rutherford’s Chad Flack in 2004 and East Rutherford’s Zeke Blanton in 2007.
“Another great night all around,” said Randleman coach Jake Smith. “I'm so proud of these kids. They compete so hard.”
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The Tigers will host 15th-seeded Community School of Davidson in Game 1 of the best-of-three Western Regional championship series Tuesday.
Brooks Brannon had already obliterated the state record for RBIs. The North Carolina commit has 81 and the old record was 62. Brannon also has 18 home runs, two shy of his father’s state record.
Randleman’s lineup is so potent from top to bottom that it didn’t matter that Brannon had no homers or RBIs on Friday. Trey Way’s two homers gave him 10 for the season, making Way the third Randleman player to reach double figures in the 2022 season. Braylen Hayes has 12 homers.
“It just seems easy,” said Way, a Virginia Tech recruit. “Just sticking to my approach, staying up the middle, putting the ball in play. That's when good things happen right there.”
On paper, Friday’s game seemed like a more competitive matchup for the Tigers. East Surry (24-2) had lost only one game. But the Cardinals became yet another blowout victim of the Tigers.
Seth Way's leadoff homer — his fourth of the season — off East Surry starter Luke Brown gave Randleman a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second. Brown later surrendered consecutive walks to Ryan White and Kaden Ethier. That set the stage for the older brother. Trey Way’s three-run blast gave Randleman a 4-0 advantage.
That’s a commanding lead with a guy like Purvis on the mound. The North Carolina State recruit, who is only a sophomore, struck out nine and didn’t walk a batter.
Purvis is now 11-0 with an 0.49 earned-run average and 112 strikeouts in 56⅔ innings.
The Cardinals also self-destructed as Randleman added two more runs on a throwing error in the third. They did the same thing in the fourth inning and Ryan White contributed a run-scoring single.
When Trey Way launched his second homer on an 0-1 pitch leading off the bottom of the fifth, it was over.
This article originally appeared on The Courier-Tribune: Randleman baseball dominates in bid for NCHSAA championship repeat
