Month: May 2021

This week’s Orange Panther of the Week is sophomore tennis player Brandon Gwinn. Last week, Gwinn teamed with Colin O’Hagerty to win their opening two matches in the Big 8 Conference Men’s Tennis Championships in Lindsey Linker Tennis Stadium at East Chapel Hill High School. Gwinn and O’Hagerty defeated a team from Chapel Hill 6-0, 6-0 in the quarterfinals to earn a spot in the 3A Mideast Regional Tournament, which will be held on Friday afternoon at Burlington Tennis Center. Gwinn and O’Hagerty won their opening match 6-0, 6-0. In the semifinals, Northwood defeated Gwinn & O’Hagerty 3-6, 6-2, 10-4 to advance to the finals. This season, Gwinn was a vital player on an Orange team that finished with a winning record for the fourth straight season under head coach Justin Webb. Against Northwood on April 19, Gwinn defeated Matteus Butler 6-0, 6-1 at #3 singles. Later in the day with the match on the line, Gwinn teamed with O’Hagerty to win at #1 doubles 8-3 to earn the victory for the Panthers. Last week, Gwinn won his #2 singles match against Southern Durham, then teamed with O’Hagerty again for a win in #1 doubles. Brandon also likes to show off his personality with a pumpkin design on his racket, which was specially made for him. Good luck to Gwinn & O’Hagerty in Friday’s Mideast Regional, as well as Orange singles player Justin Conover, who also qualified.

Jaylin Jones: Jones was named to the Division III USA South Athletic Conference first-team as a short-stick defensive midfielder over the weekend. Jones, who played lacrosse and football at Orange, also was named to the USA South All-East Division first-team. On Saturday, Pfeiffer captured the USA South East Division championship with a 13-11 win over Greensboro College at Lefko Field in Misenheimer. It was Pfeiffer’s tenth consecutive victory, a school record. Jones had two ground balls and created two turnovers. Next weekend, Pfeiffer will face Piedmont College for the USA South Conference championship at Lefko Field. The winner advances to the NCAA Division III Tournament.

Montana Davidson: On Friday, the former Orange High shortstop hit two home runs for the Mississippi State softball team in an 8-7 loss to South Carolina at Carolina Softball Stadium in Columbia, S.C. In the second inning, Montana drilled a two-run homer to centerfield. In the fourth, Davidson hit a solo blast to left field. Montana finished 2-for-4 with 4 RBIs. Mississippi State bounced back with wins on Saturday and Sunday to take the series. On Saturday, Montana had an RBI off a fielder’s choice to wrap up a 6-run 1st inning as the Bulldogs won 6-2. Davidson went 2-for-3 with an RBI double as Mississippi State won 7-1. For the weekend, Montana hit .400 with a team-high 6 RBIs.

Mia Davidson: Mia tied a Mississippi State record with her 67th career home run in Sunday’s win over the Gamecocks. Davidson hit a solo home run in the fifth inning to tie Rafael Palmeiro for the most home runs in Mississippi State history, baseball or softball. Mia is now in 3rd place in Southeastern Conference softball history for career home runs behind Florida’s Lauren Haeger (71) and Georgia’s Alyssa DiCarlo (69). Davidson also drew a walk with the bases loaded against the Gamecocks in the sixth inning. On Saturday, Mia drove in the Bulldogs’ opening run with another bases loaded walk. She finished 1-for-3. On Friday, she went 0-for-3. Mississippi State is now 27-22, 3-15 in the SEC.

Tori Dalehite: On Saturday, Mercer defeated UNC Greensboro softball 2-1 in the opening game of a doubleheader at Sikes Field in Macon, GA. Dalehite entered the game as a pinch runner. The Spartans rebounded to win the final two games of the series and are now 28-15 overall, 11-4 in the Southern Conference.

Jaden Hurdle: On the weekend she celebrated her 19th birthday, Hurdle had several strong performances for the Patrick Henry Community College softball team. On Sunday, Patrick Henry swept a doubleheader from Surry Community College in Martinsville, VA. In the opening 4-3 win, Hurdle earned the save as she threw the final two-thirds of an inning. She surrendered one hit. At the plate, Hurdle went 0-for-3. The Patriots won the nightcap 4-0. Hurdle hit her ninth home run of the season. She also had an RBI double and finished 2-for-3 with two runs scored. On Friday, Florence-Darlington Technical College swept a doubleheader from Patrick Henry by identical 5-2 scores. In the opener, Hurdle went 1-for-3 with a double. Patrick Henry finished the regular season 19-17 overall, 13-7 in Region X of the National Junior College Athletic Association. The Patriots finished 3rd in the Region X West Division, only one game behind first-place Caldwell Community College and Technical Institute. In 34 games, Hurdle hit .356 with nine home runs and 27 RBIs. On May 14, Patrick Henry will be in the Region 10 Tournament at Springwood Park in Burlington.

Grace Andrews: The Catawba Valley Community College softball team split a doubleheader with Caldwell Community College and Technical Institute at Highland Recreation Center in Hickory on Saturday. Catawba Valley took the opener 9-2. Andrews, starting a shortstop, went 1-for-4 with a two-run single in the first inning. Andrews later scored off a double by Lillie Pennington. CCTI took the second game 14-7. Andrews went 2-for-4 with a two-run double in the 3rd inning. Catawba Valley finished the regular season 23-11, 12- 8 in Region X. Andrews played in all of the Red Hawks’ games and was second on the team with a .461 batting average (10th in Region X). She led the team with 53 hits (4th in Region X) and 41 RBIs (tied for 4th in Region X). Andrews also scored 35 runs (3rd on the team), hit eleven doubles (2nd on the team), and eight home runs (2nd). She goes into the Region X Tournament on a 7-game hitting streak.

Landon Riley: Riley earned his second win of the season for the Liberty baseball team in a 9-8 victory over Bellarmine on Sunday. In one-third of an inning, Riley surrendered three runs off three hits. It was only the second game this year where Riley surrendered a run. The Flames earned the walkoff win in the bottom of the ninth inning when Logan Mathieu hit a two-run homer. The Flames are now 30-11, 14-1 in the Atlantic Sun Conference.

Bryse Wilson: Wilson was optioned by the Atlanta Braves to the team’s alternate training site after he started Thursday’s game against the Chicago Cubs. In three innings, Wilson surrendered seven runs off four hits with two walks and one strikeout. The Cubs won 9-3 and Wilson fell to 1-2 on the year.

Natalie Chandler: The #2 UNC women’s soccer team has started play in the NCAA Tournament. The Tar Heels defeated Denver 2-0 in Matthews on Friday. Chandler, who was the captain of the Orange women’s soccer team in her junior and senior seasons, is a senior for the Tar Heels. UNC will face Washington at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary on Wednesday.

Orange sophomore Thomas Loch is a two-sport athlete. This season, he qualified for the 3A Mideast Regionals for the Orange golf team. Loch’s nine-hole average for the season was below 42, which made him one of only two Panthers to reach the regionals. The Mideast Championship will be held at Keith Hills Golf Course in Lillington on Monday. Orange senior Joshua Frank also qualified for regionals. Loch also played center for the Orange men’s basketball team this past winter. In fact, Loch made his varsity debut during the Panthers’ first win of the season against Vance County on February 6. Loch spoke to us on Saturday at Occoneechee Golf Course in Hillsborough, the home of Orange and Cedar Ridge golf. Loch has spent a substantial part of his young life on the links. His father, Chris, was a club pro in New Hampshire who taught his son. Thomas began taking the game seriously about three years ago. Loch and Frank will be on the course in Lillington on Monday with hopes of qualifying for the 3A State Championships, which will be held Longleaf Golf and Family Club in Southern Pines on May 9.

Throughout this shortened season, the Orange softball coach staff has tried to arrange a matchup against a team from the Mid-Piedmont Conference.

Now, they’ll get it. Just not against the one they thought.

Orange will face Southwestern Randolph in the opening round of the 3A State Playoffs on Monday night at 6PM in Hillsborough. The winner will face the victor of Southern Nash vs. Clayton, each of whom won their respective conferences.

The Lady Panthers, who became the first softball team in the history of the school to finish undefeated in the regular season after beating Northern Durham 12-0 on Thursday, are the #2 overall seed in the East. It’s the ninth straight time that Orange has made the 3A State Playoffs (not counting last year’s canceled tournament because of the COVID-19 pandemic).

Southwestern Randolph (8-4) tied for the Mid-Piedmont Conference Championship with Southern Alamance. The Cougars opened the season with a 5-4 win over the Patriots on March 27, which turned out to be the first of three meetings. Southern Alamance took the rematch 15-0 on April 8 in Graham. On Thursday night, they met again in a special one-game playoff to determine the #1 seed from the Mid-Piedmont in Asheboro, which the Patriots captured 5-0.

Orange didn’t play a nonconference game this year, despite the best efforts of head coach Johnny Barefoot. In early April, Barefoot had reached an agreement with Southern Alamance officials to play a game against the Patriots in Graham, which was scheduled for this past week. But it was delayed twice and ultimately canceled, due in part to the Patriot’s special playoff game against Southwestern Randolph.

Orange is one of five 3A teams to finish the regular season undefeated. The others are D.H. Conley, Piedmont, West Brunswick and Crest.

Usually a 64-team tournament, this year’s 3A State Championship was scaled back to 32 teams because of the pandemic, like almost all other team sports. Among the 16 teams in the East Region, the only other Big 8 Conference squad to make the field was Northern Durham. The Knights earned a #11 seed and will travel to Morehead City to face West Carteret, who captured the Coastal Conference championship for the third year in a row.

For the first time since 2017, Cedar Ridge will miss the playoffs. With a 9-5 overall record, the Red Wolves were denied one of the four wildcard spots from the Eastern Region. Cedar Ridge ended the season with four straight wins, ending with a doubleheader sweep of Southern Durham on Friday night at Red Wolves Softball Stadium. Cedar Ridge came the closest to beating Orange in the regular season after they scored seven runs in the seventh inning to send the game to extra innings. Orange won 11-9 in nine innings.

The size of the field wasn’t the only change created by the pandemic. The NCHSAA relied on a predetermined draw, rather than seeding from MaxPreps, to finalize the bracket. Orange, which ended the regular season ranked #3 in the state by MaxPreps among 3A teams, benefited greatly from this method. If they advance far enough, the Lady Panthers are guaranteed home games through the first three rounds.

With a reduced field, the Eastern Region shouldn’t lack for drama. Two teams from the Mid State Conference, including defending 3A State Champion Eastern Alamance, made the postseason. The Eagles, seeded fifth, open with Havelock. Western Alamance, the Mid State Runner-up, will travel to Hope Mills to face Gray’s Creek.

Topsail, which finished second in the 4A/3A Mideastern Conference (behind Hoggard, a 4A team), earned the #1 seed. The Pirates open with Franklinton. D.H. Conley, which is ranked #1 in the MaxPreps rankings, was seeded #8 and could potentially travel to Topsail for the second round on Wednesday.

The second round of the playoffs is slated for Wednesday. The 3rd round is scheduled for next Friday.

It was the final game for six very special Cedar Ridge softball seniors on Friday night. Marlee Rakouskas, ShiLi Quade, Alexandria Matthews, Reagan Ruhl, Emma-Rae Sharp and Lajoan Stuart finished out the year with a doubleheader sweep of Southern Durham at Cedar Ridge Softball Park. Rakouskas and Quade have played on the varsity for four years. In that time, Cedar Ridge went 50-11 and won the 2018 and 2019 Big 8 Conference Championships. They were the first team to win conference titles in softball in Cedar Ridge history. They also won four state playoff games, including consecutive trips to the 3rd round of the 3A State Playoffs in 2018 and 2019. This season, Quade played catcher and hit .462 and led the team with 32 runs scored. Rakouskas, who left field and hit .371, also won a Big 8 Championship as a starter for the volleyball team. Quade also was a member of the volleyball squad. Ruhl, whose older sister Taylor also was a member of the 2018 and 2019 teams, hit .340 with 17 RBIs. Matthews played first base and pitched. Sharp was a first baseman. This was the fourth straight season where Cedar Ridge had a winning season. Congratulations to all of these ladies on a run filled with championships and fun.