In his 1994 song “The Wild Ones,” Waylon Jennings reminisced about the group he ran with in his younger Texas days that eventually found fame in Nashville because “we didn’t know we could fail.”
Right now, that’s a very basic but accurate way of describing Orange softball.
In its Big 8 Conference opener, the Lady Panthers trailed 7-1 after four innings, but they were too tough–and perhaps too young—to know how to fold.
With freshman Carson Bradsher and sophomore Lauren Jackson leading the way, the Lady Panthers pulled out a 10-8 victory at Wildcats Softball Field in Chapel Hill. Orange (2-1, 1-0 in the Big 8) scored five runs in the fifth inning and added four more in the sixth to beat East for the third straight time.
Bradsher finished 4-for-5 with two RBIs in just her third varsity game. Jackson, a sophomore, went 3-for-3 with three RBIs.
East (1-1, 0-1) suffered its first loss after a 17-6 win over Broughton to open the season Thursday.
Sophomore Courtney Watkins, who came on in relief during the fourth inning with Orange trailing 7-1, earned her second win in as many games. Senior Grace Perry picked up the save, retiring the final four Wildcats.
It was another freshman, Kelsey Tackett, who started the Orange comeback in the fifth. Tackett singled up the middle to score Grace Andrews, who reached on a fielder’s choice. With Bradsher at bat, Chloe Glaser scored on a wild pitch. Bradsher followed with a line drive single to left, scored Tackett and Bradsher and cut Orange’s deficit to 7-6.
After East scored seven runs off six hits in the first three innings, Watkins kept the Wildcat bats tame. East could only muster a walk in the fourth and a hit batter in the fifth, both of whom were stranded.
Andrews drew a walk to open the sixth, then moved to second after Glaser reached on a bunt single. Colley tied the game when she reached on an error following a grounder to second, leading to Andrews scoring. Bradsher wound up with the game-winning hit with a line drive single to centerfield, bringing in Glaser and loading the bases. Then Maddy Bartlett was hit by a pitch to bring in Colley. Jackson knocked in Orange’s final run on a sacrifice fly, leading to a tag up from Rachel Tilley at third.
East put together a run in the sixth when Gabrielle Sielken got on board off an infield single. With senior Ella Pedersen at bat, Sielken eventually scored off an Orange throwing error.
Perry retired the Wildcats in order in the 7th, the only time all day that East went down 1-2-3.
Five Orange players had multi-hit games. In addition to Bradsher and Jackson, freshman centerfielder Serenity McPherson went 2-for-4 with an RBI. Junior third baseman Emma Puckett also finished 2-for-4 with a walk. Colley ended up 2-for-5 with two runs scored and an RBI.
Orange will host Person in Hillsborough on Wednesday at 5. East Chapel Hill will return the visit to Orange on April 14.