Month: March 2020

High school baseball coaches plan their schedules and Mother Nature laughs.

Often, she’ll also have a high likelihood of rain in the forecast for opening day whenever the Orange Panthers are concerned.

That was the situation last year when Orange was slated to face Ragsdale in Hillsborough for Jason Knapp’s first game as the coach of the Panthers. So instead of playing in Hillsborough, the Panthers cruised to an 18-1 win in Jamestown.

Originally, Orange was supposed to start the 2020 season against Western Alamance at Panther Field on Tuesday. But with a 50% chance of rain, the game was rescheduled over the weekend to Monday night.

Knapp started last season without his top two pitchers from the previous season. He will open his second season the same way.

Luke Riley, his opening day starter who went 4-4 with a 4.12 ERA last season, graduated last June. Cooper Porter, who started at Orange since his freshman year at six different positions, went 3-0 in 12 appearances last season. In January, Porter transferred to Wilson Fike.

Porter’s departure leaves Orange a much younger team that will be anchored by shortstop Joey Berini, a four-year starter who committed to East Carolina last year. Berini, who hit .541 with 33 hits and 26 RBIs with a team-high 35 runs scores, was the Big 8 Player of the Year in 2019.

After the graduations of Riley, Porter, Dante DeFranco, Colin Guentensberger, and Tucker Joseph, the Panthers are left with four returning starters.

Berini, first baseman Dayne Watkins, left fielder Tucker Miller and third baseman Cooper Hench were all regular starters in 2019.

In 20 games last year, Watkins hit .339 with 19 hits, 17 runs and eight doubles. Miller, a rotation player for the Orange men’s basketball team the past two seasons, hit .280 last year.

Hench split time between third base and on the mound in 2019. He hit .500 in 76 plate appearances. He was tied for second on the team with 31 hits. Hench also earned a critical win in Orange’s Big 8 Conference opener against East Chapel Hill, which was the only league loss for the Wildcats the whole year.

As for pitching, Hench and junior Jordan Underwood are the most experienced arms still on the roster. Underwood earned wins against Hillside, Cedar Ridge and Northern Durham last season. He made eight appearances on the hill in 2019, the longest coming in the 13-2 win over the Hornets on March 22 in Durham. Underwood went five innings and surrendered four hits, two runs and two walks with five strikeouts. It was his first varsity win.

While Colin Guentensberger graduated and is braving the final days of winter at Appalachian State, his younger brother Ethan is a senior with the Panthers. He may replace Joseph as the starter behind the plate.

New to Orange this season is freshman Jackson Berini, Joey’s younger brother who started at shortstop for Stanford Middle School last season. Jackson was also the leadoff batter for a Chargers team that won the Orange-Person Athletic Conference Northern Division Championship, and fell to Smith Middle School in the OPAC title game.

While rain is forecast throughout the week, Orange has a road trip to Eastern Alamance scheduled for Thursday, followed by a home game against Northern Guilford on Saturday.

Hillsboroughsports.com will broadcast the Orange-Western Alamance game tonight starting at 6:50pm. First pitch is at 7.

Brandon Homsey: As a sophomore, Homsey has qualified for the NCAA Division III Wrestling Tournament. Competing for Ferrum College, Homsey finished third in the NCAA Southeast Regional at Messiah College in Mechanicsburg, PA over the weekend. On Friday, Homsey lost his opening match to Washington & Jefferson’s Alex Donahue 3-1 in overtime. That left Homsey needing to win four matches to qualify for the national championships. He started Saturday by pinning Waynesboro University’s Adam Rigney. Homsey earned a 3-0 decision over Jack Bauer of Wilkes University, then rolled past Michael Reinhart of York University 7-1. Homsey received a medical forfeit against McDaniel College’s Anthony Wuest, then won a rematch over Donahue with a 10-0 decision in the third-place match. Homsey is 33-10 with four pins this season.

Landon Riley: The Liberty baseball team combined for its first no-hitter in 20 years when they defeated Marist 6-4 at Worthington Field on Saturday afternoon. Three pitchers participated in the no-no and Riley earned his first victory of the season in relief as the Flames won its fifth straight game. In two innings, Riley faced six batters and struck out three of them. Marist scored four runs on eight walks, three hit batters and an error, but no hits. On Friday, Riley earned his third save as the Flames defeated the Red Foxes 4-3. Riley retired four batters, striking out two and walked one. Liberty has won six in a row. They’re scheduled to host Elon on Tuesday in Lynchburg, VA.

Brad Debo: The #8 N.C. State baseball team swept all three games in the CambriaCollegeClassic at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis over the weekend. On Saturday, the Wolfpack defeated Purdue 6-0. Debo went 1-for-2 with a run scored. It was his only action of the weekend. N.C. State is 11-0.

Phillip Berger: Berger suffered his first loss at William Peace University against Greensboro College on Saturday. The Pride defeated the Pacers 11-8 at Ted Leonard Park in Greensboro. Berger threw two-and-two-thirds innings. He surrendered eight runs on six hits. He walked three and struck out three. Peace falls to 9-3, 1-2 in the USA South Athletic Conference after dropping two of three against the Pride.

Montana Davidson: The Mississippi State softball team won the Alex Wilson Memorial Tournament over the weekend, finishing 5-0 against UAB, Alcorn State, and UT Martin. On Sunday, the Bulldogs swept a doubleheader, beating Alcorn State 9-1 and UT Martin 6-1. Montana went 3-for-5 on the day, including going 2-for-3 against the Skyhawks. It was her second multi-hit game of the year. She tied her career high with four assists against the Braves. She went 1-for-3 with a run scored against UAB in a 16=6 win over the Blazers on Friday.

Mia Davidson: Mia made her first start of the season at third base during Mississippi State’s win over Alcorn State on Saturday. She eventually moved across the diamond to first base for the first time in her college career. Mia went 1-for-4 in Saturday’s game against the Braves, which extended her hitting streak to eight, the longest by any Bulldog this season. The streak was snapped the following day in Sunday’s win over the Braves when Mia went 0-for-3 with two runs scored and an RBI. On Friday, Mia went 1-for-4 with a double in the win over UAB. Mississippi State is 18-3 . They will host UT Martin on Monday afternoon.

Lauren Cates: The Wake Tech Community College women’s basketball team surprised Louisburg College 87-73 in its regular season finale on Saturday at the Taylor Center in Louisburg. Lauren Cates, a freshman for the Eagles, returned to the starting lineup and scored 16 points off 5-of-9 shooting from the field. Cates was 4-of-6 from three-point range. She also had eight rebounds and three assists as Wake Tech avenged a 14-point loss from January. Wake Tech completed the regular season 18-7. They will travel to the Region 10 Tournament in Martinsville, VA, where they will open against USC Salkehatchie on Thursday night at 6 PM.