Month: April 2018

Sophomore Joey Berini went 3-for-5 with a double, a triple and 3 RBI in the opening game of Friday night’s doubleheader against Southern Durham, which was Orange Coach Dean Dease’s 500th victory. This season, Berini leads the Panthers with a .407 average, 22 hits, nine doubles and a .571 on-base percentage. Orange is now tied for 3rd with East Chapel Hill in the Big 8 Conference. The Panthers will host senior night on Tuesday against Northern Durham. 

Orange SS Joey Berini Discusses a Big Night vs. Southern Durham

Sophomore Joey Berini went 3-for-5 with a double, a triple and 3 RBI in the opening game of Friday night’s doubleheader against Southern Durham, which was Orange Coach Dean Dease’s 500th victory. This season, Berini leads the Panthers with a .407 average, 22 hits, nine doubles and a .571 on-base percentage.

Cedar Ridge RF had a walkoff single last Friday when the Red Wolves defeated East Chapel Hill 5-4. Last week, the Red Wolves ensured a spot in the 3A state playoffs for the second straight year by sweeping Hillside in a two-game series. On Thursday, Zehnder hit two doubles as the Red Wolves won 10-0. On Friday in a 11-1 win over the Hornets, Zehnder went 1-for-3. On Saturday, Cedar Ridge defeated Eastern Guilford 8-2 in Gibsonville. Zehnder earned the win on the mound, striking out seven in five-and-two-thirds innings. He gave up just three hits as Cedar Ridge won its eighth straight game. 

Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week: Erik Zehnder

Cedar Ridge RF had a walkoff single last Friday when the Red Wolves defeated East Chapel Hill 5-4. Last week, the Red Wolves ensured a spot in the 3A state playoffs for the second straight year by sweeping Hillside in a two-game series. On Thursday, Zehnder hit two doubles as the Red Wolves won 10-0.

Orange Baseball Coach Dean Dease is already in exclusive company solely from remaining as the head of the Panther baseball program since 1988.

On Friday, he goes for his 500th career victory when Orange hosts Southern Durham for a doubleheader starting at 5. Once Dease earned his next win, he will move into even more exclusive company.

How exclusive?

According to the North Carolina High School Athletic Association, there are only seven members of the 500-win club among North Carolina high school baseball coaches.

The most recent totals were updates to the NCHSAA in 2013, according to spokesman James Alverson. At the time, three coaches had reached the 500 win plateau. Since them, four more have joined the club. The most recent was Charles Davis, who retired from C.B. Aycock in 2016 with 512 career wins.

The all-time leader is Ronald Vincent of J.H. Rose, who won his 900th game last season.

What are the playoff implications going into the final week of the regular season?

Of greater importance for Dease is Orange’s standing for the state playoffs. After Cedar Ridge’s 10-0 win over Hillside on Thursday night, the Red Wolves are in sole possession of 2nd place in the Big 8 Conference with a 8-3 record, one game behind first-place Chapel Hill. The Red Wolves travel to Durham on Friday.

If Orange sweeps Southern Durham, they will be 8-4 in conference play, placing them in no worse than a tie for 3rd place. On Friday afternoon, Northwood travels to East Chapel Hill. The Wildcats, were started last week tied for 1st with Chapel Hill, have lost three in a row and are tied with the Chargers for 4th at 7-4. Next week, Chapel Hill will face East to wrap up the regular season.

What are Cedar Ridge’s chances of trying for the Big 8 Championship? 

Average. As mentioned before, Cedar Ridge played the toughest part of its schedule in the opening five weeks of the season when they faced Northwood, Chapel Hill, Orange, East Chapel Hill and Northern Durham. If the Red Wolves win its final three conference games, they have to hope Chapel Hill loses two of its final three league games. Chapel Hill will face Northern Durham on Friday before starting the East Chapel Hill next week. Cedar Ridge and Chapel Hill split its season series, with Cedar Ridge winning 3-1 on March 19. Chapel Hill took the rematch four days later. If the Red Wolves and Tigers finish tied, the tiebreaker would greatly depend on where Northwood and East Chapel Hill finish in the league standings, which won’t be determined until the regular season ends next Thursday.

When Tyson Wolter graduates from Orange in June, he will leave behind a rich athletic history. He is the all-time saves leader in Orange lacrosse history. On Thursday night, he was in net as the Panthers defeated Chapel Hill 6-5 at Culton-Pearman Stadium, Orange’s first-ever win at CHHS. Now with an 8-6 record, Orange appears set to make the 3A/2A/1A State Playoffs. Hours before the win at Chapel Hill, Wolter officially signed his letter of intent to play college lacrosse at Division IIII Pfeiffer University On top of that, Wolter played football at Orange as an interior lineman. Plus, Wolter wrestled as a sophomore. When he hasn’t been on the lacrosse field, Wolter has learned to play a wide array of songs on guitar from his favorite progressive metal bands on guitar, including Tool, Mastodon, Dream Theater and Electric Wizard. 

Orange Panther of the Week: Goalkeeper Tyson Wolter, who commits to Pfeiffer University

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Despite a disappointing loss to East Chapel Hill on Wednesday afternoon, the Cedar Ridge Women’s Soccer team has officially qualified for the 3A State Playoffs for the third year in a row. The Red Wolves’ back line has been anchored by centerback Brittany Daley, who has committed to play at Greensboro College. Daley, who has played on the varsity level for four years,  has scored four goals this season while helping goalkeepers Taylin Jean and Grace Davies. Cedar Ridge is 8-3-4 overall and 6-3-2 in the Big 8. Next week, the Red Wolves wrap up the regular season with two home games. They host Hillside on Monday and Southern Durham on Wednesday.  

Cedar Ridge Women’s Soccer Centerback Brittany Daley Discusses Preparing for the State Playoffs

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Adam Chnupa has signed his letter of intent to play college football at Elon University of the Colonial Athletic Association. The Phoenix will host its spring game this Saturday, and Chnupa will miss Cedar Ridge’s baseball game against Eastern Guilford to be in attendance. Last season as a linebacker, Chnupa had 36 tackles and a fumble recovery. Before he leaves for Elon, Chnupa has some business to finish with the Cedar Ridge baseball team, which is only one game behind first-place Chapel Hill in the Big 8 Conference with four league games remaining. Cedar Ridge will host Hillside on Thursday, then travel to Durham to face the Hornets on Friday. This season, Chnupa has been a regular starter in right field while hitting two home runs.

Cedar Ridge’s Adam Chnupa Commits to Elon Phoenix Football

Adam Chnupa has signed his letter of intent to play college football at Elon University of the Colonial Athletic Association. The Phoenix will host its spring game this Saturday, and Chnupa will miss Cedar Ridge’s baseball game against Eastern Guilford to be in attendance.

Cedar Ridge junior Natalia Garay has set two personal bests this season for the Red Wolves Women’s Track & Field team. In Cedar Ridge’s 5th home meet of the season against Hillside, Garay ran a personal best time of 13.34 seconds in the 100 meters. In the Orange County Championships at Orange High on April 14th, she ran the 200 meters in 28.54. Garay is also part of the 100 and 200 meter relay teams for Cedar Ridge, along with Yolanda Simpson, Madison Wardlow and Katrina Watkins. The relay team finished third in the Orange County Championships in the 200 meters with a time of 1:57.5. In the 4×100 meter relay, Cedar Ridge finished 2nd with a time of 53.6. In the winter, Garay is a starting guard for the Cedar Ridge girls’ basketball team, who finished 14-12 last season.

Cedar Ridge Junior Natalia Garay Discusses Setting Team Bests for Cedar Ridge Girls Track

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A year removed from winning the 3A state championship, the Orange softball team finds itself in a battle just to make the state playoffs.

With four games remaining in Big 8 Conference play, Orange is tied with Northwood for 4th place with a 5-5 league record. The top four teams in the Big 8 automatically earn a state playoff birth.

Northern Durham is in 3rd place at 6-3. The Knights and the Lady Panthers start a two-game series on next Tuesday. In addition, Northern is slated to make up a rained-out game with 2nd place East Chapel Hill Thursday.

Northwood starts a crucial series with East Chapel Hill on Wednesday at Wildcat Field. East travels to Pittsboro on Friday. After dropping both games to Northern Durham last week, the Chargers finish the season next week against Hillside.

64 teams will make the 3A state softball tournament. There are spots for wildcard teams that finish in 5th place in their respective conferences, based on their overall win-loss records. The regular season ends on May 3rd.

The falloff from winning a state championship isn’t surprising for an Orange team that has been scrambling to make up for losses both planned and unexpected.

From the time that Orange swept the 3A State Championship series from Piedmont last June at N.C. State’s Dail Field, the Lady Panthers fans and players knew what odds they faced in 2018. They understood the entire starting battery would be gone, and it was a battery that came along very rarely.

Catcher Mia Davidson, the 2017 North Carolina Gatorade Player of the Year, now leads the Southeastern Conference in three categories as a freshman at Mississippi State. Pitcher Christina Givens went 22-3 with a 1.36 ERA in 22 starts in 2017. Another senior, Abby Hamlett, voluntarily moved to shortstop at the request of Coach Eddie Davidson to accommodate freshman Grace Andrews at 2nd base. Hamlett responded by hitting  a team-best .489 with 43 hits (also a team-high) and 22 RBIs, second only to you-know-who’s 39.

What wasn’t anticipated was Eddie Davidson’s departure just days before the season-opener against Eastern Alamance. Davidson moved to Washington, D.C. when he received a promotion with the National Letter Carriers’ Association, leaving assistant Henry Horn as the interim coach.

Now, Orange has a team with only four seniors on the roster with a 7-7 overall record going into a nonconference game at Eastern Guilford on Wednesday.

Last week, Orange swept Chapel Hill in a two-game series, winning 18-3 on Friday. Andrews went 3-for-3 with 5 RBI, while 1st baseman Jaden Hurdle went 2-for-3 with a double. Senior Olivia Latta-Harshaw went 2-for-2 with a double and 3 RBI.

On Tuesday, senior centerfielder Alysann Lloyd went 4-for-4 with 7 RBI as Orange defeated Chapel Hill 28-1. Sophomore Rachel Tilley hit a two-run homer to centerfield.

Hurdle, who has started eleven games as pitcher, is the leading hitter on the team with a .432 average. She also leads the team with 19 hits. Freshman Emma Puckett is hitting .415 with 13 RBIs. Junior Alisha Pettiford, playing 1st base in Hurdle’s absence, is hitting .343 and leads the team with 16 RBIs and two home runs.

The Cedar Ridge softball team was supposed to play Hillside on Tuesday, but they were rained out. Rain has been the only thing that has stopped the Red Wolves this season. After sweeping the two-game series against East Chapel Hill last week, the Red Wolves are 10-1 overall, 9-0 in the Big 8. In Friday’s 8-1 win, sophomore 1st baseman Tori Dalehite went 2-for-4 with 3 RBIs, including a triple. Dalehite, playing her first varsity season, leads the team with a .529 batting average. She leads the team in hits (18), runs scored (17), RBIs (16), triples (5) and on-base percentage (.579). 

Cedar Ridge 1st Baseman Tori Dalehite talks Sweeping East Chapel Hill & the State Playoffs

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