The margin for error narrows at the regional level, and Randolph-Henry High School’s varsity baseball team was not able to stay within it enough to advance past the Region 2A tournament semifinals last week, bringing another otherwise successful season to a close.

The No. 2 Statesmen hosted No. 6 King William High School in the semifinal game May 28, ultimately falling 10-7.

“Losing any game is tough, especially of this magnitude, but our guys never quit, and for that I am truly proud of them,” Randolph-Henry Head Coach Joshua Barmoy said. “There was not one deciding factor that determined the outcome of the game; we just did not play a clean enough game to win.”

Statesmen senior Skylar Lacks pitched four innings, allowing one earned run while throwing five strikeouts. Junior Colby Jordan pitched three innings, allowing five earned runs and throwing two strikeouts.

The Statesmen recorded eight hits for the game, with multiple players contributing to the total.
Junior Carson Gibbs registered two RBIs, and sophomore Brenden Francisco had two runs scored.

“Xavier Eubanks had a great day at the dish,” Barmoy said. “He was a guy that slipped under the radar with one double, but in the second inning, he hit the ball hard to force an error that scored a run. Again, in the third inning he put the ball in play to shortstop that scored another run — all of this production coming out of the nine spot. He had a very productive day.”

The loss marks at least the fourth consecutive year in which Randolph-Henry’s season has ended in the regional semifinals.

“We have struggled in the spotlight to make routine plays and put together an A-plus performance during the regional semifinals,” Barmoy said. “Last year we could not finish as we were three outs away from advancing, and this year we played from behind the entire game. We have continued to put game-like pressure on players in practice to mimic these situations, but we will be taking it a step further next year by hosting a Spring Break tournament to create an opportunity for our players to play in a ‘win or go home’ environment. We hope this will give our players some experience they can revert to when we are in the regional semifinals again.”
The Statesmen finished this year with an overall record of 16-6.

“I’ll remember this season as a season of overcoming adversity,” Barmoy said. “By losing nine seniors in the previous year, we were behind the eight ball from the beginning. We started the season having only three guys who (had) played in a varsity game before. The inexperience transformed into chemistry that was amazing to watch as our guys developed great work habits and trust in our program’s philosophies. Shortly after, our starting catcher had a season-ending surgery, and our guys could have thrown the towel in for the year, but instead guys were willing to change positions to give our team the best chance to compete. I am extremely proud of the way our guys competed this year.”

Randolph-Henry returns most of its roster next season but will miss graduates Eubanks and Lacks.

“Xavier was a selfless player that trusted in his teammates and the process,” Barmoy said. “This is a trait that is a rarity in the ‘me’ world of sports today. He came to practice with a huge smile on his face and a humble heart daily. When it was his turn to play, he came up big for the Statesmen …”

The coach noted that “Skylar was a special piece to the Statesmen puzzle as he was the leader of the infield when he played shortstop, was our go-to arm on the mound, and (he) stepped up when Matthew Harding got hurt to catch a few games behind the plate.”