RANDOLPH AIR FORCE BASE, Texas –
A third place finish last week at the South Texas Division tournament ended the Randolph Rebels baseball campaign. Sponsored by Universal City's American Legion Post #667, the Rebel roster which was 15 players strong and enjoyed some great successes while posting a 6-4 regular season record.
Great leadership and production came from each of the four graduating seniors on the team. Brad Thomas led the team in batting average and on base percentage, Cory Thurchak led the team in steals, then Zach Williams and Tyler Hastings were two top starting pitchers.
Other team members included Brandon Mackin, Nic Walters, Patrick Marley, and Tony Smith, Tyler Pumphrey, Zach Martinez, Allen Schwertner, Carl Garboletti, Matt Brown, Brandon Canter, and Josh Valentine.
Randolph journeyed to Laredo for the South Texas Division tournament and advanced to the final game, with a chance to gain a berth in the Department of Texas tournament in Houston in early August. That pivotal game pitted the Rebels against Edinburg Post #408, a powerhouse program and UIL 5A District Championship.
Randolph coaches ran out of fresh pitching from a mound staff that had been battling in the well over 100-degree heat throughout the tourney.
The Rebels wound up falling 20-10 to take third place in their Division tournament.
Tyler Pumphrey hit a ball off the outfield wall for a triple and then scored on a double by third baseman Brad Thomas to create an early 1-0 Randolph lead, but Edinburg rallied to go ahead 4-1.
Zach Williams was able to strike out the last two batters and was the Rebels' pitcher early on. Randolph scored again on a single up the middle by second baseman Nic Walters, who was driven in by designated hitter Carl Garboletti.
Zach Martinez singled, then scored on a Tyler Pumphrey triple to help Randolph stay close. Brad Thomas scored Pumphrey on a long single and them also stole second base. Catcher Brandon Mackin was hit by a pitch putting runners on first and third for right fielder Tony Smith, who hit a double to left, driving in both runners.
Cory Thurchak singled and later was caught in a rundown between first and second, but survived long enough for Scott to score making the score now 7-5 in favor of Randolph.
As the innings rolled along, Edinburg capitalized on numerous Randolph errors and widened its lead.
Williams struck out six batters through five innings and Carl Garboletti poked a double that plated two runs as Randolph stayed in striking distance. Hits by Brad Thomas and Mackin also drove home baserunners.
After the sixth inning, though, Edinburg pulled away.
The Rebels came home and finalized their season over the weekend with an exhibition series at UTSA's Roadrunner Field against a top program, Pharr, from the Rio Grande Valley.