Month: April 2017

Not only is Cedar Ridge baseball firmly in the race for one of the three Big 8 state playoff spots, but the Red Wolves pitching is finding its groove at the right time.

Sophomore Phillip Berger threw a one-hit shutout, striking out ten as Cedar Ridge defeated J.F. Webb 4-0 on Thursday in Oxford. The Red Wolves (12-5, 5-4 in the Big 8) have won six in a row and head into the final two weeks of the regular season in fourth place in the Big 8, one game in the loss column behind Orange and Chapel Hill for 2nd.

Sophomore Dante DiFranco and senior Brandon Andrews each doubled and scored, finishing 1-for-2. Junior Chris Cox had an RBI, as did Erik Zehnder.

Following the first complete game of his career, Berger improved to 5-2 with a 1.84 ERA. His previous best for longest outing came last week in the Hilltop Invitational, when he gave up six hits in six innings in a 9-3 victory over Western Harnett.

In three games this week, the Red Wolves outscored opposition 33-0. In Wednesday’s 20-0 rout of Southern Durham, Evan Hall and Zehnder combined on a five inning no-hitter. Andrews hit his third homer of the season, while Zehnder added two doubles.

Cedar Ridge hosts Oxford Preparatory on Monday, then welcomes Southern Durham for a home game Wednesday.

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If you’re looking for an article to make sense of the Big 8 baseball season, look somewhere else.

All you need to know is Orange went into its game against Northwood on Tuesday night coming off losses to Athens Drive  (5-11) and Western Harnett (6-14)  on Friday and Saturday in the Hilltop Invitational Tournament.

On the other hand, Northwood had won 14 in a row, was 15-2 overall, 6-0 in the Big 8, searching for its first conference championship since 2013.

Not only did Orange upset the Chargers 2-1 on Tuesday night at Panthers field, but Jayden Poteat knocked in courtesy runner Cody Evans for the game-winning run with a two-out walkoff single.

It was Poteat’s 1st RBI of the season.

Poteat was responsible for both of Orange’s runs. He led off the first inning with a single to centerfield, and scored off an infield hit by Ryan Puckett.

Orange’s Derek Lindaman earned his 4th win of the season with his 2nd complete game, yielding just one run and eight hits. He struck out four.

Northwood’s Davis Palermo took an unjustified loss, giving up just five hits and two runs, striking out six.

Following Puckett’s single, Palermo retired 16 of Orange’s next 17 batters over the following five innings. Caige Clayton’s two-out single in the third inning was the Panthers’ only baserunner in that span.

Northwood tied the game in the top of the second.  With runners at second and third, Max Hundley ripped a single to right field to score Colton Lineman. Orange right fielder Rodney Brooks made a strong throw to the plate to keep Logan Crabtree from scoring the go-ahead run. Northwood’s Bryce Davis grounded out to shortstop Joey Berini to end the inning on the next at-bat.

Orange will play Chapel Hill tonight at 6. We’ll have that broadcast here on HillsboroughSports.com.

At a time when Orange needed it most, senior pitcher Derek Lindaman provided his best performance of the season. Lindaman threw a complete game on Tuesday night, holding Northwood to one run as Orange defeated the Chargers 2-1. The Panthers and the Chargers are now tied in the loss column for first place in the Big 8.

Orange Pitcher Derek Lindaman on the Panthers 2-1 Win Over Northwood

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Jaden Hurdle drove in five runs as Orange defeated Northwood 10-7 on Tuesday night to remain undefeated in the Big 8. Hurdle, a first baseman, went into the game leading the team with a .545 batting average. Her two-run double in the sixth but Orange ahead 10-2, and turned out to be vital as the Chargers rallied for five runs in the seventh to put a scare in the Panther faithful. The two teams meet again in Pittsboro on Friday.

Orange Freshman Jaden Hurdle Discusses Win over Northwood

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The Cedar Ridge Red Wolves have taken a big step towards its first winning season since 2012.

Senior Brandon Andrews and junior Erik Zehnder doubled while first baseman Chris Cox drove in two runs as the Red Wolves shutout J.F. Webb 9-0 on Tuesday night at Red Wolves Field. Cedar Ridge (10-5, 3-4) have now won four in a row after sweeping its three games in the Hilltop Invitational Tournament against Riverside, Western Harnett and the Wake County Warriors.

Leadoff batter Dante DeFranco went 2-for-4 with a run scored and an RBI. Zehnder finished 2-for-3, scoring twice. Junior Sailor Ramos went 2-for-3 with two runs scored and an RBI.

Freshman Jake DeFranco’s four-game hitting streak came to an end against the Warriors, but he still leads Cedar Ridge with 22 hits and a .500 batting average.

After two scoreless innings, the Red Wolves struck for three in the third, including Andrews RBI double. It was Andrews’ 14th RBI of the season, which leads the team.

The Red Wolves, who travel to Southern Durham tonight, are now in 5th place in the Big 8, a game behind Webb and Chapel Hill, who are locked in a tie for 3rd at 4-3. The top three teams in the Big 8 automatically advance to the state playoffs.

In mid-March, Orange Coach Dean Dease hoped his young Orange squad would be a good team by April.

On Thursday night at the Hilltop Invitational, there were reasons to believe he hopes would come to fruition. On Friday night, there weren’t.

Athens Drive, coming in 3-10, bolted out to a 5-0 lead and defeated Orange 7-3 at Panther field. Jaguars centerfielder Sam Enders went 3-for-4 with 3 RBI, while 2nd baseman Braxton Boddorf came off the bench to score twice and finish the game in relief of freshman starter Zach Hurand, who earned his 3rd win.

The Panthers briefly had hopes of tying the game in the 3rd. After centerfielder Jaydin Poteat lined a single to left field, second baseman Jason Slaughter doubled to right field to reduce the Orange deficit to 5-1. After Caige Clayton walked, Mark Willms singled to left field to score Slaughter. With two on and two out, 1st baseman Eric Nichols slapped a 2-1 fastball to left that cleared the wall, albeit around 10 feet foul. Nichols walked, but Ryan Puckett flew out to Enders to end the threat.

Orange’s only other run came in the 5th when freshman shortstop Joey Berini dropped an opposite field floater to left field, leading to a triple. In the subsequent at-bat, Slaughter singled him in.

The Panthers conclude the Hilltop Invitational against Western Harnett on Saturday afternoon at 2:30 at Panther field. You can hear the game on Hillsboroughsports.com.