Month: May 2021

Waitt, Berini power Orange’s 19-hit attack in 19-9 win over Cedar Ridge

David Waitt wasn’t sure what he had just done. Neither did his coach, Jason Knapp.

“I couldn’t believe what I was seeing,” Knapp said as he watched Waitt’s 1st inning fly ball to left field carry…and carry…and carry until it nearly hit Orange trainer Emily Gaddy’s car parked near the football field house beyond the left field wall.

Waitt, who has garnered an early reputation as a singles and doubles hitter, had his first varsity career home run. A three-run job, no less.

By the end of the night, Orange pounded out 19 hits against a weary Cedar Ridge pitching staff as the Panthers defeated the Red Wolves 19-9 in six innings at a windy Orange High Field on Wednesday night. Orange (3-0) is tied with Northern Durham for first place in the Big 8 Conference.

Obviously, it was a night of offense. Orange’s win couldn’t overshadow the most impressive performance in the career of Cedar Ridge leadoff batter Aidan McAllister, who launched two home runs, each to dead centerfield, in the opening two innings. McAllister scored three times and finished with three RBIs.

Waitt, a sophomore in his first year at the varsity level, finished 4-for-5 with 4 RBIs and three runs scored. His classmate, shortstop Jackson Berini, went 3-for-6 with an RBI and three runs scored. Conner Funk went 2-for-6 with two doubles and three RBIs.

“1-through-9, we’re solid,” Knapp said. “It’s as solid as a hitting lineup as I’ve ever had. We have the potential to get the ball over the fence and bust one open.”

Cedar Ridge (1-2), coming off a narrow loss to Chapel Hill on Friday, has drawn the short straw in terms of Big 8 Conference scheduling. Among the six teams in the league that are fielding teams week in and week out (Orange, Cedar, Northern Durham, Northwood, East Chapel Hill and Chapel Hill), the Red Wolves are the only one that haven’t had a forfeit win yet (Southern Durham and Vance County have forfeited all of its games thus far due to a lack of players). After a season-opening triumph at Northwood on April 27, Cedar Ridge has played three games in eight days, the most strenuous stretch for any Big 8 team. Coach Bryson Massey has used pitchers Will Berger and Cristian Macias in all three games.

Not that he wants to hear that.

“We don’t make excuses,” Massey said. “I tell our guys we don’t make excuses. Whether its the rain, the forfeits, whether we face everybody’s ace every time we roll out. We don’t make excuses for ourselves. We’re going to walk out and expect to compete every pitch of every game. We want to be the team that competes the hardest every night.

McAllister opened the night of offense with a solo blast to centerfield on the second pitch thrown by Orange starter Pierson Kenney (who improved to 2-0). After Bryce Clark walked and Garrett Ray was hit by a pitch, Macias reached on a bunt single down the third base line to load the bases. Catcher Tucker Cothran grounded a ball back to Kenney, who threw to catcher Davis Horton at the plate to retire Clark. Third baseman Marco Velazquez knocked in Ray with a sacrifice fly to centerfield to put Cedar Ridge ahead 2-0.

Orange responded with four runs in the 1st inning. Before Waitt’s three-run homer Berini reached on an error and scored off a single by Horton. That lead was short-lived, as well.

After B.J. Thornton reached on a one-out infield single in the top of the second, McAllister belted a 1-1 fastball over the centerfield wall to tie the game.

Orange sent 12 batters to plate in an 8-run 2nd inning. Berini led off with a single to right field, followed by Funk getting aboard on an infield error. Senior Will Walker lined a double down the left field line to bring in Berini. After Horton was intentionally walked, Waitt went opposite way with a soft liner to right field. Walked scored, and Horton slid in safely after the ball popped out of the glove of the catcher in a close play at the plate.

Jaren Sikes lined a RBI single to bring in Waitt. Tyler Lloyd walked, Berini singled and Funk reached on an error, which led to Lloyd and Berini coming in.

The only semblance of consistent defense came when Orange sophomore Joey Pounds entered the game to relieve Kenney in the fourth inning. At one point, Pounds retired seven consecutive Red Wolves, including striking out the side in the fifth inning. It was Pounds’ first varsity save as he riddled Cedar Ridge batters with his unique fastball that looks like a curve but really isn’t.

“It’s all over the place,” Knapp said. “It cuts, it tails. He’s got great movement. I’m awfully proud of him. I put him in a tough spot. He battled through some adversity with a few balks that were called. He pulled himself together and absolutely started dealing for a few innings.”

In the sixth, Clark doubled to left field. Centerfielder Garrett Ray knocked him in with a single.

Orange will host Northwood on Friday night. Cedar Ridge will return home to host Northern Durham on Friday.

“These guys compete,” Knapp said. “They work hard in practice. They’re always pushing each other and I was really proud of these guys tonight. They rang the bell and they answered some questions. People in the back were asking some questions about these guys, and they really came out and showed some things.”

Orange sophomores David Waitt and Jackson Berini talk win over Cedar Ridge

An offensive barrage carried the Orange baseball team to a 19-9 win in six innings over crosstown rival Cedar Ridge on Wednesday night at Panther Field. Sophomore David Waitt lit the spark with a 3-run homer in the first inning, the first home run of his varsity career. Waitt went 4-for-5, including another RBI single in the second. Shortstop Jackson Berini went 3-for-6 with an RBI with three runs scored. All nine Panthers who started registered base hits and Orange finished with 19 hits against the Red Wolves. Waitt and Berini have been teammates for years on summer travel teams, as well as at Stanford Middle School, where they captured the 2019 Orange-Person Athletic Conference Northern Division Championship. Orange is 3-0 and will look to remain undefeated when they host Northwood on Friday night in Hillsborough. You can hear that game on Hillsboroughsports.com starting at 5:55.

Brooks, Woods, Hodges among six Orange football players named All-Big 8 Conference

Just weeks after ending the season with a classic game against Chapel Hill at Culton-Peerman Stadium, six Orange Panthers have been named to the All-Big 8 Conference squad for the 2021 season.

Linebacker/wingback Elliott Woods, wingback/cornerback Eric Brooks, offensive tackle Hayden Horne, linebacker/quarterback Jayce Hodges and cornerback/wingback J.J. Torres were all named to the first team. Also making the first team as punter was Darius Satterfield.

During a six-game regular season shortened by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Panthers finished 3-3. The record can’t begin to tell the tale of a team that had to reinvent itself offensively after the opening week of the season and was competitive with the Big 8’s best teams. It’s possible that Orange was two kicks away from making the state playoffs.

Woods led Orange with 65 tackles. Linebacker Jackson Wood was second on the team with 36 tackles. Against Northern Durham and Northwood, Woods scored Orange’s only touchdowns. He was also second on the team with 280 rushing yards.

The Panthers opened the year with a 20-0 loss to Southern Durham at Auman Stadium. In the ensuing week, quarterback Nigel Slanker left the team and transferred to Cedar Ridge, where he practiced but never played. Hodges became Orange’s starting quarterback and engineered a team that relied almost exclusively on the run for the remainder of the season.

After a crash course in the double wing the following week in practice, Hodges led Orange’s offense in a 7-6 upset of Northern Durham at Durham County Stadium. Woods scored the Panthers’ only touchdown early in the second quarter. He finished with 43 yards from scrimmage and five tackles. In addition to playing quarterback, Hodges started at linebacker, where he had six tackles, including two for a loss.

For the season, Hodges had 19 tackles and four tackles for loss. He also had an interception late in the first half against Vance County that set up a touchdown as the Panthers came from behind to beat the Vipers 22-8 on March 20.

Brooks, a senior, got better as the year went on in the new offense. In his final game at Orange, Brooks ran for a career-best 128 yards, his first-ever 100 yard games at the varsity level. Brooks scored a 2-point conversion with 24 seconds remaining to put the Panthers ahead of the Tigers 22-21. He led the Panthers with 309 rushing yards and five touchdowns. Against Vance County, Brooks scored three touchdowns. He also started at cornerback after starters Zahmir Watkins and Daniel Champion suffered injuries against Southern Durham.

With the greater reliance on an old-fashioned running game, Horne anchored the offensive line from his right tackle position. After a fumble-prone Orange offense was held to a measly 50 yards against Southern Durham, the Panthers had 151 yards the following week against a solid Northern Durham defense. Orange’s offense largely improved from that point forward. Horne and co-horts Brendon Worsham, Jaylen Partin, Jose Guzman and Dari’us Matkins helped the offense register 250 yards against Vance County, 270 yards against Cedar Ridge and a season-best 373 yards against Chapel Hill.

Torres started on offense and defense in several games. He rushed for 218 yards and scored one rushing touchdown against Cedar Ridge (his first came in the 2019 season opener against R.J. Reynolds). Torres had an interception against Northwood on the Chargers’ opening drive in their matchup on March 26 in Pittsboro.

In his first year as starting punter, Satterfield averaged 27.4 yard per punt. His longest punt was 53 yards and two of his kicks were downed inside the 20-yard line. Satterfield showed so much promise in his first season that, last week, he was invited to the Kicking World Kicking Camps National Showcase in Austin, Texas on December 4-5.

Making honorable mention All-Big 8 Conference from Orange was fullback/linebacker Jackson Wood, Trey Grizzle and Elijah Danley. Wood scored Orange’s last touchdown on the season against Chapel Hill. He also led the team with ten tackles for loss. Danley, a junior, had three interceptions on the season. Grizzle caught a touchdown pass in his final game for Orange agains the Tigers. He registered 19 tackles and six tackles for loss.

Orange was also honored with the sportsmanship award from the Big 8 Conference.

On Thursday, we’ll review the All-Big 8 Conference selections for Cedar Ridge and the rest of the Big 8 Conference awards.

Green Eggs and Hamlin: Hillsborough softball was a nonstop thrill ride this spring

Savannah Wynne broke her nose in the first inning of Orange’s playoff game on Monday night. She wanted to stay in anyway.

A passing thunderstorm that cut through Hillsborough hours before the first pitch between the Lady Panthers and Southwestern Randolph had created a bumpy outfield, despite the best efforts of Orange softball’s coaching staff that worked on the field right up past game time. Randolph’s Alley Lowe lined a 3-2 fastball through to the outfield, which took a sudden, violent hop off the grass and into Wynne’s face.

Immediately, blood started coming out of her nose, which was covered with a towel by Orange trainer Emily Gaddy right away. It was only after lobbying from Gaddy that Wynne agreed to be replaced by freshman Delaney Shaffer. But she told Gaddy “I’m going back in.”

And she did. In the fifth inning, Wynne was back in left field. Most players who return from injury in the middle of the game aren’t effective. Wynne, however, lined a double to right field to drive in Emma Puckett to continue building an Orange rally after Southwestern Randolph jumped ahead 6-0. The Cougars would hold on to win 7-5.

Afterwards, Wynne’s mother drove her to UNC Primary Care, where she walked in still wearing her uniform. Doctors had to glue the top of her nasal cavity back together. But she had to go back in the game because, well, as her mother says, “softball is in her heart.”

Chances are several Cedar Ridge players would have done the same thing.

In its final year in the Big 8 Conference, Orange rolled to the league title. They scored at least eleven runs in every game. Only one team came within nine runs of beating the Lady Panthers during the regular season.

Naturally, that team was Cedar Ridge. On April 15, it appeared Orange won on its way to its eighth straight win in dominant fashion. They led 9-2 going into the bottom of the seventh behind three runs scored by Carson Bradsher and two more from Serenity McPherson.

Then Cedar Ridge came up with a rally for the ages. They scored seven runs in the bottom of the seventh inning. For context, Orange had not surrendered four runs in a game yet, and they still didn’t until this past Monday night.

Cedar Ridge would have won if it wasn’t for the defensive reliability of Mary Moss Wirt, normally a second baseman who played third against the Red Wolves because Puckett was out of the lineup. Forgotten in the avalanche of runs that Cedar Ridge scored in the seventh was Wirt making the final out on a short grounder hit by Emma-Rae Sharp. Wirt, two steps in front of third base, fired to catcher Lauren Jackson, who retired Marlee Rakouskas.

The talk after the game among Cedar Ridge coaches, among other subjects, was “What if we played in a smaller ballpark?” For a brief moment, Red Wolf shortstop Ava Lowry appeared to win the game for Cedar Ridge with a long fly ball to lead off the bottom of the eighth inning. The only problem was she hit it to right center, which extends to 227 feet–the longest part of the stadium. The ball landed two feet shy of the wall and Lowry settled for a triple. Carson Bradsher made the final out of the inning to extend the game into the ninth, which led to another reminder of how bright the future of Hillsborough softball truly is.

Shaffer, a freshman who made just her second start, had the game-winning hit when she drove in Wirt in the ninth inning. Shaffer finished 4-for-5 with 3 RBIs. After her heroics at the plate, Shaffer made the game’s biggest defensive play in the bottom of the ninth when she caught a sinking popup off the bat of Alexandria Matthews at second base, then threw to first for a double play.

Years ago, Cedar Ridge 2nd baseman Tori Dalehite and Orange 1st baseman Jaden Hurdle started a tradition where they would pose together for a picture after every game they played against each other, regardless of who won. In 2017, Orange dominated the Red Wolves en route to the 3A State Title. In 2018, Cedar Ridge swept Orange on its way to the first softball conference championship in school history. Each time, the following morning, Dalehite and Hurdle would be on their mother’s Facebook feed, smiling with softballs in their hands and their arms around each other.

Last month, Cedar Ridge pitcher Hayley King and Orange’s Carson Bradsher continued the tradition.

For King, it’s been a tough 2021. In January, she lost her grandmother to COVID-19. Sherry Carter never missed any of Haley’s games. Not during the sweltering heat of summer travel ball, which usually included a new town every weekend. Not during the early games of a regular, non-pandemic season when the spectators are often bundled up amidst blustery weather like they’re at Lambeau Field, except it’s a softball diamond.

Against Orange, Haley’s grandfather brought along a t-shirt that Sherry wore to many of Haley’s games. Hayley kept that in her back pocket during games for the rest of the season. She rubbed it whenever she needed inspiration.

As the Cedar Ridge seniors gathered together on Friday night after its doubleheader sweep of Southern Durham, ShiLi Quade, Rakouskas, Matthews, Sharp, Reagan Ruhl, and Lajoan Stuart hoped that wouldn’t be the end. The Red Wolves ended the season with four straight wins, but the following day their hopes of a state playoff spot was dashed.

Cedar Ridge Coach Allen Byrd didn’t want to talk like it was the end on Friday night, but started to reflect on a group that help bring two Big 8 Conference championships and a 50-11 record since 2017 to the program.

“Those six kids devoted their lives to this program,” Byrd said. “They helped build this program. We played a little down this year. We’ve lost a lot over the last few years but they never gave up. It’s said it ended for them.”

The future is bright for both programs. Next season, Cedar Ridge third baseman Takia Nichols will be a senior, but her name is firmly embedded in the Red Wolf record books for generations to come. She’s already the all-time home run hitter, softball or baseball, in school history with 26 dingers after 42 career games. Her teammate, shortstop Ava Lowry, has already committed to play at North Carolina Wesleyan and will also return.

Orange only loses two seniors in first baseman Gracie Colley and third baseman Emma Puckett. Of Orange’s ten starters on Monday night, half of them were either freshmen or sophomores.

Combined with the fact that Orange, Cedar Ridge and Northwood will join a new league that includes defending 3A State Champion Eastern Alamance, powerful Western Alamance and longtime contender Person, 2022 may make this spring’s thrill ride look like a merry-go-round.

SW Randolph ends Orange softball’s season 7-5 in state playoffs

When you’re used to winning, the end of the season feels sudden.

For Orange softball, losing in the first round of the 3A State Playoffs was one thing. How it happened was another.

For a fleeting moment in the 7th inning, it appeared Panther designated player Kelsey Tackett would bring the tying run to bat with a sharply hit line drive to right field. It would have been her second hit of the game.

Southwestern Randolph second baseman Carleigh Whitson, with the reflexes of a cat, stood in the way.

Well, dove in the way.

With her body parallel to the ground, Whitson lunged on a diving catch for the final out. In an instant, Orange’s 12-game winning streak was over. So was its season.

Whitson’s defensive gem was an appropriate finale. The Lady Panthers romped through the Big 8 Conference by forcing opposing defenses into mistakes and racked up one unearned run after another until they captured the league championship.

The message that Orange sent to opposing teams was “prove you can play defense on us.” It worked until Monday night, when Southwestern Randolph showed it was the best defensive team the Lady Panthers had faced.

The Cougars (9-4) defeated Orange 7-5 at Orange Softball Field in the opening round of the 3A State Playoffs. Southwestern Randolph, who tied Southern Alamance for the Mid-Piedmont Conference championship, will travel to Clayton for the second round on Wednesday night.

Orange ends the season 12-1 after winning the Big 8 Championship outright. It was the first time all year that the Lady Panthers were held below eleven runs in a game.

Orange pitcher Gracie Walker, who injured her quad while running to first on a single in the 6th inning against Northern Durham last Thursday, was pulled in the second inning after she surrendered four runs on three hits and two walks. Freshman Caden Robinson pitched the rest of the way. In five-and-two-thirds innings, she conceded five hits and three runs, with six strikeouts.

“I don’t know if we were tight to begin the game,” Orange Coach Johnny Barefoot said. “We knew what we had to do. We might have thought it was do or die early. But they settled down and I’m very proud of them.”

Southwestern Randolph struck for two runs in the first inning. Leadoff batter Alex Coleman, who came into the game hitting .733, walked. After Haley Epps moved her over on a sacrifice bunt, Walker struck out Molly Strider. Cougar catcher Gracie Ward stroked a single to centerfield to bring in Coleman.

Right fielder Ally Lowe lined a single to left that took a sharp bounce off the ground and struck left fielder Savannah Wynne in the face. The hit scored courtesy runner Lileigh Payne. Wynne suffered a broken nose and left the game–for two innings. She was taken to the hospital later, but remarkably finished the game.

In its first at-bat, Orange put Southwest Randolph to the test right away. Serenity McPherson lined the first pitch she saw off the leg of freshman Cougar pitcher Lindsey Beck, who remained in the game. Shortstop Carson Bradsher reached on an infield hit. Normally, McPherson and Bradsher each getting on board to start an inning is a recipe for disaster against opposing teams. Instead, the Cougars emerged unscathed when catcher Lauren Jackson grounded out to Strider at third base, then first baseman Lindsi Brown threw to Ward to tag out McPherson at the plate for the final out.

Centerfielder Caressa King walked to lead off the 2nd inning. After Beck delivered another sacrifice bunt, Brown lined a hard single off Emma Puckett’s leg at third base to score King. Robinson replaced Walker as pitcher, but Coleman drilled a double to the right field gap to plate Brown and increase Southwestern Randolph’s lead to 4-0.

Orange freshman Delaney Shaffer led off the third inning with a solid bunt to third. Against most teams in the Big 8 Conference, it would have been a much-needed leadoff hit. Against the Cougars, it was bare-handed by Strider, who fired to first for an out.

As the Lady Panthers’ offense struggled to get on track, the Cougars relied on the longball to pad its lead. King led off the fourth inning with a solo blast to centerfield. In the fifth, Strider stroked a first-pitch fastball over the centerfield wall to push the SWRHS advantage to 6-0.

Jackson put a long-awaited jolt into the Orange offense with a double to the right-centerfield wall to lead off the sixth inning Mary Moss Wirt lined a two-run homer over the left field wall, nearly hitting the scoreboard, for Orange’s first runs. But it wasn’t over.

Puckett sent a squibber off the end of her bat barely five feet from the plate for a single. Wynne, with a yet-to-be diagnosed broken nose, reentered the game and stroked a double to right field which scored Puckett. Walker, who moved to right field after being replaced as pitcher, lined a fastball to right field that was nearly caught by Ally Lowe. Puckett scored to cut the Cougar lead to 6-4.

This was the dream scenario for an Orange comeback. Walker at second with one out and the tying run at the plate. But Beck struck out McPherson, then Bradsher flew out to left field when Coleman made the catch despite the wind nearly blowing it over her head.

Coleman scored Southwestern Randolph’s final run. She reached off a perfect bunt right that inched down the third base line. She stole second and went to third after Epps reached on an error. Strider grounded out to Bradsher, which brought Coleman in.

Trailing 7-4, Orange got hope from Jackson, who lined a solo homer to left field. Jackson ended the year with four home runs in her final four games.

As Orange’s season ended, its stint in the Big 8 Conference is also over. They will move into a whole new world in a yet-to-be-named league that’s so full of softball powerhouses, the NCHSAA should just call it the Southeastern Conference Northern Division and be done with it.

There’s defending 3A State Champion Eastern Alamance. Perennial power Western Alamance. And familiar face Person, who hasn’t been a conference rival to Orange in over 20 years. That will change in August.

Monday’s battle featured teams that were mirror images of each other. Orange loses two seniors, Emma Puckett and Gracie Colley. The Cougars will lose just three. Both teams had freshman pitchers the vast majority of the game.

As Orange ventures into a new conference with stiffer competition, Barefoot isn’t about to forget his memorable first year at Orange that made history, even if the end came too soon.

“They battled,” Barefoot said. “Most teams when they were down 6-0 would have just hung their head. I told them the only difference between winning and losing is those that give up. They come to life and they played hard. I’m proud of them.”

Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week: Cristian Macias

This week’s Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week is pitcher/designated hitter Cristian Macias. Last Tuesday, Macias went 1-for-4 with 2 RBIs at the plate as the Red Wolves defeated Northwood 8-3. It was Cedar Ridge’s first win at Northwood since 2014. In addition to knocking in two runs, Macias earned the save on the mound. He threw three-and-one-third innings and surrendered just one run on three hits. He struck out three and walked just one to win the game for starter Will Berger. Macias drove in the first run of the night with a single to score Aiden McAllister. He knocked in Cedar Ridge’s final run with an RBI groundout to bring in Grady Ray. On Friday night, Macias was inserted as a pitcher with runners at second and third with no one out in the fifth inning. After loading the bases with a walk, Macias pitched the Red Wolves out of the inning without giving up a run. At the plate, Macias started as a designated hitter and went 1-for-2. Cristian is a big Los Angeles Dodgers fan and is pleased with how the defending World Champions have started its season. Tonight, Cedar Ridge travels to Orange, then will host Northern Durham on Friday. You can hear both games on Hillsboroughsports.com.