Two East Duplin baseball players make the all-region team

It was recently announced that East Duplin senior shortstop Zach Brown and sophomore pitcher and second baseman Baines Raynor made the North Carolina Baseball Coaches Association All-Region Team for region two.

Brown and Raynor’s selections to the team were no surprise as they made up the top two for almost every statistical category for East Duplin this season on offense with Raynor leading the team in average (.480), hits (36) on base percentage (.547), doubles (10), and steals (21), and coming in second in runs (28) while Brown led the team in runs (29) and came in second in batting average (.356), hits (26), and doubles (5).

They also made up an excellent defensive duo with Brown playing shortstop and Raynor either pitching or playing second base. In fact, head coach Brandon Thigpen said that when Raynor played at second base, he and Brown made up possibly the best infield defensive duo he’s ever coached.

“It’s a really good combination up the middle with Zach and Baynes turning double plays and receiving the ball around the bag from our catchers … probably one of the best I’ve had the chance to coach in 10 years combined,” Thigpen said.

While both Brown and Raynor always excelled defensively, it wasn’t until this season that Raynor took a big step forward offensively. Last season as a freshman he struggled at the plate batting just .200 with just 10 hits and 12 runs scored, one double, and five steals. However, with the team losing a total of eight seniors last season, he stepped up this season to help fill in for what they lost on offense.

Brown, who has been the model of consistency, continued to perform at a high level on both offense and defense although he didn’t quite post the numbers on offense that he did last season when he batted .397 and earned 35 hits, 31 runs, and six doubles.

Thigpen said that Brown’s leadership and consistency on the field will be missed next season, and he will miss sharing the dugout with him after coaching him for four seasons.

“He’s been a catalyst for us. He’s been our everyday shortstop for four years. I could talk all day about Zach. He’s played exceptionally on both sides of the ball both defensively and offensively. He’s been our leadoff guy; he’s been our sparkplug for the last four years, and he’s been really consistent,” Thigpen said.

“I’m certainly going to miss Zach. (We’ve) been through a lot: the good, the bad, the happy, the sad, everything, and I’m just really proud of him (and) the career he had.”