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The season started off slow, but that was to be expected. The Randolph-Henry Statesmen lost a lot of firepower from last season’s senior-laden team, with multiple starters heading off to compete in college. That meant new faces filling new roles and that’s still taking a bit of time to come together, as evidenced by the 2-3 record. However, on Friday night, everything came together, as the Statesmen rallied to pick up the win and make a statement. This isn’t going to be just a rebuilding year. 

Going into the 7th inning Friday, the Statesmen were down 7-3 against the Windsor High Dukes. One by one, Randolph-Henry put together three straight hits to load the bases. Then Caden Powell was hit by a pitch, walking one run in. The next at-bat led to a fielder’s choice, which made it 7-5. An error by Windsor, another hit and a sacrifice fly tied the game up. A wild pitch from Windsor and an error on the throw to third allowed Samuel Critzer to race home, completing a five-run comeback in the bottom of the seventh. 

“We are a young team that needs some time to gain some experience and grow,” Statesmen Head Coach Josh Barmoy said. 

Part of it’s just been a natural growth from year to year. Some of the younger players struggled in roles last year, but it wasn’t because they didn’t practice or weren’t paying attention, Barmoy said. 

“A bunch of these guys were thrown into the fire. Last year, they knew what to do, but their body couldn’t perform at a 17 or 18 year old level because they were 13 and 14,” Barmoy said. “I’m really excited about the year to year growth we’re seeing.” 

Randolph-Henry has a change on the mound

The biggest change comes on the pitcher’s mound, where multiple starters are being replaced this year. And that’s one of the ways Barmoy has been able to see who is committed, who not only wants to play, but is willing to do the work to get there. The team gets pitchers in the weight room in December, going over some basics, some stretching, running and fundamentals. But in order to be ready in time for the season, they had to be throwing some on their own, to get their arm ready. 

“When you lose two or three arms, that’s some significant innings you have to make up,” Barmoy, himself a former standout pitcher at Chowan University, said. 

That’s a lot of work, a lot of strain on arms that may not be used to it. That’s why it’s so important to have a throwing program, to stretch an arm out and get it used to the work of a varsity baseball season. 

After a three-game losing streak to start the season, Randolph-Henry has won games back to back, beating Mecklenburg County 3-2 and then Windsor 8-7 on Friday. They’re on the road for the next couple of weeks, heading out to play at Arcadia on Wednesday, April 2, then traveling to take on Cumberland Tuesday, April 8.