Month: May 2021

Once again, we go back into the time machine for this week’s Retro Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week. This time, we journey back to the week beginning January 17 for Cedar Ridge women’s basketball guard Phoenix Smith. This year, Cedar Ridge was hit hard by COVID-19 and injuries. Quite often, Cedar Ridge only had five players for games. Despite having no reserves, Phoenix started at point guard and didn’t back down. A junior, Smith was in her this season on the varsity level. Now, Smith is bringing her strong work ethic to the Cedar Ridge women’s track and field team. Smith has finished 2nd in the pole vault during a meet at Southern Durham last week. She also ran in the 100-meter dash, where she finished fourth. On Thursday at Cedar Ridge, Smith competed against East Chapel Hill and Chapel Hill. She managed to establish a new personal best in the 100 meter dash. Now, Smith has a goal of reaching the regional championships next month, whether its for the pole vault or the 100-meter dash. Next week Cedar Ridge will compete against Northwood and Orange during a tri-meet at Northwood High in Pittsboro. Congratulations to a tribute in perseverance, this week’s Retro Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week, Phoenix Smith.

A combination of youth and experienced has helped the Orange women’s tennis team get off to a 4-3 start this season. On Thursday, the Lady Panthers defeated Cedar Ridge 8-1 at Red Wolves Tennis Courts. It was Orange’s third dual team win this week. Freshman Finley White won her match at #3 singles 6-1, 6-1. Later in the day, White teamed with fellow freshman Grace Pell to win at #1 doubles by default. Senior Halle Boroski won her fourth match of the season. Boroski won at #6 singles 6-1, 6-2. On Tuesday, Boroski won her match at #5 singles against Northern Durham 8-0. Usually, women’s tennis is a fall sport, but it’s being played in the late spring this year because of the pandemic. Last year, Orange finished with a winning record at 11-8, its best mark under head coach Justin Webb since he took over the women’s team. Despite the losses of some key players, the Orange women is aiming for another winning season. Next week, Orange will host Cedar Ridge again, this time at Orange Tennis Courts.

On March 17, the Orange lacrosse team had its biggest win in program history. Just nine days after Northwood hammered the Panthers 17-6 in Pittsboro, Orange came back and defeated the Chargers 10-9 in the second round of the 3A/2A/1A State Playoffs. Seniors Ryan Merrill and Caleb Davis would score hat tricks for the Panthers. But underclassmen made major contributions. Sophomore Joe Cady had two goals and an assist. Freshman Connor Kruse would score the game-winning goal in the fourth period. Another sophomore, Jake Wimsatt, tied the game with a goal during a man-advantage in the fourth quarter. It was the first time ever that Orange advanced to the state quarterfinals in lacrosse. It also turned out to be the last week for a group of Orange seniors that excelled under head coach Chandler Zirkle. He’s a photo montage of that night with the play-by-play as heard on Hillsboroughsports.com. We thank Lynda Wileman for the photographs that bring this montage to life.

The electric atmosphere inside Orange High ballpark on Tuesday night wasn’t simply the standard vibe of a must-win game. It was the release of pent-up frustration by Northern Durham fans that had been withheld for years.

When the time is right, Northern baseball fans can created an electric atmosphere around its aging ballpark. It’s just been a long time since the time was right. About six years, to be exact.

The last time Northern Durham clinched a share of a conference championship in baseball, it was 2015. That was when Northern suited up a leadoff hitter named A.J. Bumpass, who would go on to play at the University of Cincinnati and eventually with the Cincinnati Reds organization. It was six years ago today that the Knights defeated D.H. Conley in Greenville to advance to the 4A State Quarterfinals.

It may be another six years before the throng of fans who gathered around the fences at Orange High Field on Tuesday see as brilliant a pitcher’s duel like the one they saw Tuesday.

In a game to decide the #1 seed from the Big 8 Conference, neither Northern Durham senior Matthew Lombard nor Orange sophomore Ryan Hench would give in. They each threw six scoreless innings. They each registered eleven strikeouts.

Ultimately, Hench was pulled after he logged 100 pitches after six innings (the North Carolina High School Athletic Association institutes a limit of 105 pitches for any pitcher). When Hench left the game at the beginning of the seventh inning, it was all the latitude the Northern batters needed. The Knights struck for four runs in the seventh inning to beat Orange 4-0.

With the win, Northern (7-1, 7-1 in the Big 8 Conference) ensured they would share the Big 8 Championship with Orange. The Knights, who lost to Northwood last Wednesday, will be the #1 seed from the Big 8 in the state playoffs, which starts next month.

Orange (7-2, 7-1 in the Big 8) will still make the state playoffs and will claim a share of a conference title for the first time since 2016, Bryse Wilson’s senior year. But the Panthers will almost certainly travel for the opening round of the playoffs.

It was the Knights’ first win over Orange since March 8, 2017, ending the Panthers’ four-game winning streak in the series. Northern also clinched its first winning season since 2016.

“That’s as fine a high school pitching matchup as you’ll see at this level,” said Orange Coach Jason Knapp. “I was just talking about this with (assistant coach Matt) Roberts.”

Hench was at 100 pitches by the time the seventh inning rolled around, but Knapp elected to pull him in lieu of throwing to one more batter. In six innings, Hench (2-0) conceded only two hits and four walks.

After Northern got to Orange’s bullpen, the Knights scored four runs off four hits in the seventh inning alone. Corbyn Poe opened with a leadoff walk, then stole second base. Seth Lumpkin hit a dribbler to left field for a base hit to move Poe to third. With Orange’s infield drawn in, Charles McDowell drilled a 1-0 fastball to left field to break the stalemate. After Knights’ leadoff batter Caleb Greene was intentionally walked, catcher Riley Adams lofted a soft pop-up to second base that would have been caught if the infield was at normal depth. This time, it went over Connor Funk’s head and allowed Lumpin to score.

Lombard, in his final at-bat, hit a sacrifice fly to right field to bring in McDowell. Scoggins lined a single to right field to bring in Greene.

Orange had its chances early. They loaded the bases with one out in the first inning after sophomore Jackson Berini led off with a single. Funk reached off an error. Each man moved up 90 feet following a wild pitch with Davis Horton at the plate. But the story of the game was Lombard’s power, most prominently a fastball that reached 88-miles-per-hour. Lombard struck out Horton, Orange’s most consistent hitter, with one out. After Will Walker walked to load the bases, Lombard struck out Hench, then forced David Waitt into a groundout back to the mound to escape the frame.

Orange loaded the bases again in the third inning. Berini led off with another single. Horton lined a fastball off the leg of Scoggins at 3rd base. That would be the final Orange hit of the game. After Hench walked to load the bases with two out, Waitt popped out to Lombard.

Lombard started against Chapel Hill on Friday, a game that Chapel Hill led 3-0 going into the bottom of the sixth inning. Despite having just four days rest, fatigue was not a factor for Lombard, who only conceded three walks in his final three-and-two-thirds innings of work. After Lombard eclipsed 105 pitches following a strikeout of Funk, Northern first baseman Jackson Bishop relieved Lombard and got the final out.

It was the first time Orange was shut out since losing to Wilson Fike 6-0 at Fleming Stadium on March 23, 2019.

None of which should overshadow the outstanding performance by Hench. In only his third career start for Orange, Hench allowed just one Northern batter to reach third base through six innings.

In 17 innings this season, Hench still hasn’t given up a run. He’s thrown 29 strikeouts, just five walks and conceded four hits.

With the second half of its season starting Friday afternoon at East Chapel Hill, Knapp knows his postseason fate with six games (possibly more) still remaining in the regular season. He knows he will go to the state playoffs, regardless of what his team’s final record is. Now, he’ll focus on trying to revive an offense that scored 15, 19 and ten runs in its opening three games, but has been limited to only five in its last two Big 8 games.

“We’re going to come up with some team goals tomorrow that I’ve already been thinking about,” Knapp said. “It’s going to be good because the majority of our games during the last half of the season are on the road. So that’s going to be good to prepare us for the playoffs.”

The Cedar Ridge wrestling team’s dual matches continue to be tight. And their top three grapplers continue to hold undefeated records.

For senior night at Red Wolves Gymnasium on Tuesday night, Cedar Ridge defeated Southern Alamance 48-30. In its Big 8 Conference match, the Red Wolves narrowly lost to defending league champion Chapel Hill 45-33.

The loss ended Cedar Ridge’s five-match winning streak. The Red Wolves are now 7-5.

Two Cedar Ridge seniors improved to 12-0 for the season. At 145 pounds, Daina Pritchard pinned Stanley Eno of Southern Alamance in 2:48. Later, Pritchard rode out a 6-2 decision over Chapel Hill’s Bar Dinh 6-2. Pritchard is now 62-33 for his Red Wolves career. He also finished 4-0 lifetime against Chapel Hill.

At 152 pounds, Red Wolf senior James Rosati-Brown earned a forfeit win over Southern Alamance. Against Chapel Hill, Rosati-Brown pinned Leo Davenport in 2:58. Of Rosati-Brown’s 12 wins this year, seven have been via pinfal. His fastest came against East Chapel Hill’s William Weis in only 20 seconds last Thursday.

Also maintaining an unblemished record was Cedar Ridge sophomore Fernando Martinez, who added two more pins to his quickly growing career total Tuesday night. Competing at 120 pounds, Martinez pinned Southern Alamance’s Walker East in :58 seconds. Against Chapel Hill, Martinez disposed of Jack Krueger in 1:05. Midway through his sophomore season, Martinez has a 46-13 career record. Of those 46 wins, exactly half have been via pinfall.

Cedar Ridge senior and co-Captain Kady Watkins earned her seventh win of the season. Against Southern Alamance, Watkins pinned Lucas Perry in 2:35. It was her fourth pin of the season. Watkins has also pinned Southeast Guilford’s Colon Krall in 2:33 during a tri-meet at Orange on May 6. She pinned Eastern Alamance’s Mason Tanner in 2:49. Last week, Watkins defeated East Chapel Hill’s Cuong Tran in 1:57.

Against Southern Alamance, Thomas Bradley scored a pin at 182 pounds over Nicholas Reid in 40 seconds to secure the dual match win. Cedar Ridge’s Wyatt Robinson pinned Nate Ayers in 50 seconds at 195 pounds.

Cedar Ridge’s Gavin Mintz (160), Kaden Tatro (170) earns forfeit wins to complete the win over the Patriots.

The Red Wolves will face Carrboro and Orange in a special tri-meet on Thursday. It will be the second time this year the Red Wolves have taken on the Jaguars and the Panthers.

Cedar Ridge baseball to hold vs. Cancer benefit against Orange

The Cedar Ridge baseball team will start the second half of its season on Friday night against Northwood. However, Red Wolves baseball coach Bryson Emerson is quickly putting together a benefit to fight cancer for the game against Orange on May 28.

The Vs. Cancer game will have a first pitch scheduled for 6PM, immediately after the junior varsity contest between the Panthers and the Red Wolves.

“We’ll be raffling off lots of stuff,” Emerson said. “There will be many items from local restaurants and businesses.”

All proceeds will go to fight childhood cancer.

There will also be a proceed night at Jersey Mike’s on Oakdale Drive, a short drive from Cedar Ridge. There will also be items donated from several Major League Baseball players.

After forfeit wins over Vance County and Southern Durham over the past week, Cedar Ridge will start the second half of its Big 8 Conference slate against Northwood on Friday night in Hillsborough. First pitch will be at 6 o’clock at Red Wolves Territory. You can hear the game with Curran Campbell and Jmari Graham on Hillsboroughsports.com.

On Tuesday, Bethany Community School defeated the Red Wolves 7-6 in Summerfield. Trailing 6-4 going into the bottom of the seventh inning, Bethany scored three runs to win the game, ending with a walkoff single.

Senior Trent Kirby hit a two-run homer for the Red Wolves in the top of the second inning. Kirby scored Bryan Flores, who singled to leadoff the inning. Cedar Ridge’s B.J. Thornton went 2-for-4 with two RBIs.

For this week’s retro Orange Panther of the Week, we journey back to the week starting January 10 and Orange senior basketball forward Jason Franklin. On January 11, Franklin led Orange with 20 points and ten rebounds at Cedar Ridge. Two nights later, Franklin led the Panthers once again with 20 points as Orange played Northwood tight in Pittsboro. The Chargers, who would go on to play in the 3A State Championship game, escaped with a 60-54 win. Franklin was one of Orange’s most dependable scorers over the past four years. This season, he averaged 16.6 points per game. He had a season high 24 points in a February 4 game against Southern Durham. Two days later, Franklin scored 23 points in Orange’s first win of the season, a 65-62 victory at Vance County. Franklin also scored four goals in his junior season for the Orange soccer team. After he graduates from Orange next month, Franklin will attend N.C. State with a focus on computer science. For Orange basketball fans, not seeing #4 on the floor will take some getting used to. After four years as a varsity player, Jason has made his mark in Orange basketball.