When the NCHSAA released its pairings on Monday, many around Cedar Ridge softball anticipated getting a high seed.
But when the Red Wolves received an 8-seed, despite finishing 15-1 overall, it left a sour taste in the mouths of Red Wolves coaches.
The 8-seed means Cedar Ridge could face the #1 seeded West Brunswick Trojans in the third round in Shallotte next week, if the Red Wolves advance that far. First, they have to get past Southern Wayne (9-11) on Wednesday in Hillsborough. In the second round, Cedar Ridge could face Coastal Conference Champions West Carteret, who went 10-0 in league play.
So why did Cedar Ridge get such a low seed? Why did teams with more losses like #2 seed Western Alamance (20-3), #4 Southern Alamance (20-4) and #6 C.B. Aycock (16-6) get a better seed?
First, understand teams are seeded based on their MaxPreps rankings. Since Cedar Ridge won their conference, the lowest they could be seeded was #9. Cedar Ridge’s MaxPrep ranking was #66. West Brunswick, the top overall seed in the East, had a #3 ranking. Western Alamance was #23. Southern Alamance was #36.
Why?
If you’re thinking about going to the FAQ section on MaxPreps seeding on the NCHSAA website, here’s a word of advice: don’t.
Based on help from Raleigh News and Observer High School Sports Editor J. Mike Blake, we got help in understanding what happened.
There are several factors:
The weather: It was a rainy and snowy spring across Orange County. Cedar Ridge had two nonconference games canceled because of weather. Both of them were against teams that won their respective conferences. In the first week of March, Cedar Ridge was scheduled to travel to Western Alamance, but there was enough snow that week to cancel the game. Western Alamance captured the Mid-State Conference Championship with a 11-3 league record. Roxboro Community, who is the only team to beat Cedar Ridge this season, won the 1A North Central Championship last week, taking a tiebreaker from Vance Charter School. According to Blake, if Cedar Ridge had played those games (not win them, simply play them) against the Warriors and Bulldogs, their MaxPreps rankings would have increased, perhaps substantially.
Not Enough Games: Cedar Ridge only played 16 games, the least of any team in the entire 3A State Tournament. Again, the weather was a factor. The Red Wolves missed opportunities to play good teams and boost their MaxPreps ranking.
The Schedule: As Blake points out, Cedar Ridge played one team with less than five losses. That was Roxboro Community School, who beat CRHS. Cedar Ridge couldn’t overcome the damage to its schedule done by the bottom feeders of the Big 8 Conference. Of Cedar Ridge’s 16 wins, six came against Hillside, Southern Durham and Chapel Hill. East Chapel Hill, Orange, Northwood, and Northern Durham all had less wins this season than in 2017.
Cedar Ridge outscored opposition 145-9 this season and won the first softball conference championship in school history. They have the talent to win a state championship against a loaded field. They’ll just have a tougher climb to get there than anticipated.