Randall Raiders are state bound after comeback series win over Stephenville

MIDLAND, Texas (KFDA) - On Friday morning, the Randall Raiders snapped a 16-year state tournament drought and won the regional final series over Stephenville to advance to the state tournament after coming back and winning game two and three of the series.

The Raiders lost in game one on Thursday night 3-2. Game two on Friday morning started out scoreless until the bottom of the sixth. The Yellow Jackets tallied a few errors. Blaine Brannon comes up to bat and lays down a sacrifice bunt, putting runners in the corners. Hagen Shedd steals second and a RBI double from Dylan Ray brings in two for the Raiders. After a stellar performance on the mound from Duncan Bowles, the Raiders keep the 2-0 lead and win game two forcing a third.

Game three started with a scoring drought until the top of the fifth. Carson Haffner leads off with a triple, and Payton Bush brings Haffner home with a RBI single. Bases loaded now, and future Texas Tech Red Raider Hagen Shedd sends one over the wall for a grand slam! Raiders go up 5-0 to finish the inning.

“We got to keep doing us.” Shedd said after the game. “Don’t do anything more than try to be bigger than us, just do our thing... This is something very special to be a part of. A once in a lifetime thing.”

“Man, it’s just so surreal.” Raiders head coach Cory Hamilton said as his team advanced to the state tournament. “It’s not about me in anyway, That group behind me right there. It’s all about those guys. It’s a special chemistry. It’s a special group that’s played together for a long, long time. I couldn’t be more proud of them.”

Kameron Johnson scored on a sacrifice fly from Logan Tice to extend the lead 6-0 in the top of the sixth.

With another shutout from the Raiders pitching staff, this one from Logan Tice, the Raiders keep the lead and win game three 6-0.

Randall is headed to Austin for the first time since 2007 to compete for a state title.

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