ASHLAND, Va. – The Randolph-Macon baseball team has begun its fall practice, as Head Coach Ray Hedrick and his staff gear up for the 2027 season.

"It's kind of strange to say for someone who coaches a spring/summer sport," Hedrick said, "but I really enjoy the fall and the opportunity it presents to work with our student-athletes. Weather tends to be perfect from a temperature and precipitation standpoint which allows us 20+ days of limited interruption of player development and the implementation of team concepts."

After playing at The Diamond for the final time last season, RMC will have its exhibition contest with the Rams at CarMax Park. The two programs will meet on Saturday, Oct. 17 at 1:00 p.m. for a 12-inning contest.

Fall practice will culminate with the annual Kathryn Stephens Classic. The best-of-three series between the Lemon team and the Black squad will be played, with a specific date and time to be announced soon. All games are open to the public and admission is free.

Kathryn Stephens was the First Lady of RMC Baseball. She passed away in the fall of 2017 after nearly 70 years of support and service to RMC and to the Yellow Jacket baseball program. She was married to longtime RMC head coach and director of athletics Hugh Stephens. Mrs. Stephens also worked in the RMC Bookstore for many years.

Randolph-Macon baseball finished with an overall record of 29-17, including a 13-7 record in ODAC play, earning an NCAA Regional Tournament bid last year. Randolph-Macon defeated Trinity, CT 6-5 in Schenectady, N.Y., hosted by Russell Sage College. The Yellow Jackets went on to beat Penn State Harrisburg, marking the first time in program history that RMC won a regional tournament after losing one game. The score of the final game was a 3-0 shutout.

With the wins, Randolph-Macon earned its second Super Regional berth in program history, giving the Lemon and Black their third Regional Tournament trophy, with two coming in the past three seasons. RMC finished as the runner-up to Rowan during the Super Regional, concluding its 2026 campaign.