Randleman rolls behind Purvis’ no-hitter in opener of NCHSAA 2A baseball finals
It was a white wash for the Whiteville Wolfpack in the opening game of the North Carolina High School Athletic Association 2A baseball state championship series, Friday in Burlington.
Randleman, going for its second straight 2A state title, thumped the Tigers, 10-0, as sophomore left-hander Drake Purvis dominated on the mound for the Tigers, throwing a no-hitter in the contest which was halted by the mercy rule after five innings.
With his team scoring in all five of its at bats, Purvis cruised, as he struck out 12. He walked one a hit one batter to give Whiteville its only two base-runners of the evening.
Brooks Brannon, who will take his state leading RBI total to the University of North Carolina next year, doubled in Randleman’s first run of the night in the first. The lead grew to 4-0 in the third as two runs came home on an error and Hunter Atkins followed with an RBI single.
The Tigers tacked on five runs in the fourth, highlighted by three consecutive doubles by Brannon, Braylen Hayes and Bryson Sweatt. Leading 9-0 heading into the bottom of the fifth, Randleman was able to invoke the run rule with a sac fly off the bat of Sweatt.
Whiteville will try to get back in the series when the two teams meet again on Saturday afternoon, while the Tigers will be looking to earn a companion for the state championship trophy they captured last spring.
