BEAR CREEK — Randolph County won the 2024 13/14 Chatham Pony League end of season tournament at Chatham Central High School Thursday.
The tournament was held in a round robin format from July 9 to Thursday, and the team with the best winning percentage through the three days was crowned the champion. Top-seeded Randolph County, the Chatham Pony League regular season champions, entered the final day as the only team with a 2-0 record, and it sealed the title in a thrilling 10-9 win over No. 2 Northwood.
With the game tied at nine runs apiece and bases loaded in the bottom of the seventh inning, Randolph County’s Adrian Jones got walked to bump in Will Murchison, the walk-off run.
Although that was Jones’ most impactful at-bat of the night, it wasn’t his only productive one. In four at-bats, Jones produced two hits, and his first one in the bottom of the second inning came with two RBIs.
Jones also pitched for just over four innings, striking out three batters. He said it was his “mentality” and taking the “right approach” that led him to being effective in both aspects of the game. For Jones, the “right approach” from the mound was pounding the strike zone, and from the plate, it was to simply not strike out.
Levi Stalker started the game on the mound for Randolph County, but Jones replaced him in the third inning.
Nevertheless, Stalker’s quietly productive night at the plate also gave Randolph County the boost it needed to win. Although he didn’t get a hit until the seventh inning, Stalker, the lead-off batter, reached first base in his first three plate appearances after getting walked twice and then hit by a pitch in that order. In each of those instances, Stalker eventually made it home, putting three runs on the board for Randolph County.
Randolph County built an 8-5 by the start of the seventh inning, but due to some late-game pitching struggles, Northwood stayed alive.
In the top of the seventh inning, five Northwood batters reached first base due to being walked or hit by a pitch. After a run was scored on Willie Boynton’s sac fly and another was walked in, Nic Armstrong hit a two-RBI single to give the Chargers a 9-8 lead before the final out.
“Myself and coach (Mark Hudson) told them, ‘We got two runs in us. We can score two here and win the ballgame,’” Randolph County head coach Jordan Baxter said.
Said Jones, “(I was) super confident and had lots of confidence in our team. We’re good hitters one through nine.”
Even with the bottom two batters in the lineup due up for Randolph County, its final chance went exactly as needed. After Jack Harmon was walked and Murchison reached first base on an error by Northwood’s left fielder, Stalker loaded the bases with a single to left field.
“I knew a curveball was coming,” Stalker said. “I was super confident coming into that at-bat because I had been 10-for-10 my last 10 at-bats.”
Cooper Smith got hit by a pitch in the following plate appearance and knocked in Harmon for the tying run, setting up Jones for his winning effort.
“There that late in the game, the game could go either way,” Baxter said. “Biggest part that helped up there at the end is we started out with eight and nine batters up, and then they both got on. Then, we turned it over to the top.”
Said Baxter, “I told them what kind of plate approach we wanted to take, and they all executed it.”
When asked after the game how it felt to be regular season and tournament champions, Jones joked that he and his teammates were “better than sophomores.” Jones and Stalker are rising eighth graders just like some other players in the league that compete against some high school level competition.
Prior to Thursday night’s championship game, Randolph County beat No. 4 Chatham Charter on July 9, 18-7, and won a close one on July 10 over No. 3 Chatham Central, 6-4.
Randolph County ended its season with a 12-2 overall record.
“I think the last two nights may have taken a year off my life,” Baxter said. “Two nail-biter ball games that we had to win right at the end. It’s been a blast coaching these guys…Just a phenomenal season.”
Chatham Central finished as the runner ups after beating Chatham Charter, 12-2, Thursday. Northwood finished third and Chatham Charter finished fourth.
