It wasn’t Orange baseball.
Basically, that was the message that Panther coach Jason Knapp conveyed to his team during a locker room meeting following an error-filled trip to Wilson, where the Perquimans Pirates manhandled Orange 13-0 in a run-rule win at historic Fleming Stadium on March 19. On a breezy day where gusts peaked at 25-miles per hour, the Panther infield had no less than two dropped infield pop-ups. Perquimans’ Trenton Sawyer threw a no-hitter and allowed only five Panther baserunners–three on walks and two on errors.
So as Knapp prepared for a two-game set against Walter Williams, where he was head coach for eleven years, it wouldn’t be unfair to say the series would be a litmus test to determine how the rest of the season would go.
Would Orange be a shark in a Central Carolina Conference that lacks a clear frontrunner? Or would they be an also-ran?
Knapp got his answer with three consecutive wins last week, triggered by the torrent hitting of junior Ryan Hench and reliable pitching from a cast of new faces.
Hench went 3-for-3 with two triples in Orange’s 7-2 win over Williams on March 22 in Hillsborough. Hench also earned his first win of the season on the mound, registering eight strikeouts over five innings. He yielded only three hits and two walks.
Of Orange’s seven base hits in the opener, five were for extra-bases. in the first inning, Jackson Berini poked a fastball to right field. After catcher Davis Horton was hit by a pitch and Davis Waitt walked, Hench last an 0-1 fastball to the right field power alley, the deepest part of Panther field. Berini, Neo Best (running for Horton as a courtesy runner) and Waitt all scored as Hench stood up for a triple. Designated hitter Connor Nordan knocked Hench in with a groundout to second base.
After Hench connected to the deepest part of Panther Field in the first, he reached the most shallow part in the 3rd. With two out, Hench parked a fastball over the left field wall, a porch that is a constant source of frustration for right-handed pitchers. Orange led 5-0.
After Cross Clayton drew a one-out walk in the fifth inning, Cameron Guentensberger reached on an infield single. Senior Connor Funk found the right field power alley again to bring in Clayton. Guentensberger scored off a sacrifice fly by Berini.
Joey Pounds threw an inning of scoreless relief for Orange in the sixth. Funk finished the game with mop-up duty in the seventh.
The following night going into a non-conference game against Southwestern Randolph, Orange may have stumbled into a potential new starting pitcher by accident. Sophomore Josiah Gibbs was supposed to start the junior varsity contest against the Cougars, but the game was canceled due to a lack of umpires. So Knapp opted to have him make his varsity debut instead.
It went beyond Knapp’s expectations.
Gibbs threw five shutout innings, winning his varsity debut while allowing only five hits. Hench had another big night, connecting on a two-run triple to right field in the 2nd inning and slamming a solo homer to lead off the fourth as Orange cruised 9-2.
“As I was going through the pitching rotation, Josiah was already going to come with us for the Hilltop,” Knapp said. “So I thought we’d run him up there tonight. Maybe he could give us two or three (innings). Instead, he gave us five strong.”
Nordan went 2-for-4 against the Cougars with a two-run double in the first inning.
On Friday, Knapp returned to Burlington and completed the two-game sweep against the Bulldogs with a 7-5 win. Orange built a 6-0 lead. They scored five runs in the third inning, all with two out. Berini opened with an infield single, then stole second. After Hench was walked, Horton was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Funk drove a 2-2 fastball to right field to bring in Berini and Hench. Nordan tagged a fastball to centerfield to score Neo Best (running for Horton). Senior third baseman Cesar Lozano got aboard on an infield single to plate Funk, while Nordan scored off an error by the Williams’ first baseman.
Orange added another run in the fourth inning when Guentensberer drew a leadoff walk. Guentensberger stole second, advanced to third on a wild pitch and scored on a groundout by David Waitt.
The Bulldogs fought back to make it a 7-5 game with two runs in the seventh inning. The Bulldogs had the tying run at second base, but reliever Connor Funk forced Angel Mora into a groundout to Lozano at third base. Cross Clayton earned his second career win on the mound.
Going into spring break, Orange is tied with Eastern Alamance for first place in the Central Carolina Conference with a 3-1 record. The Panthers are 6-4 overall.
Orange will start play in the Hilltop Invitational on Tuesday night (March 29) against Riverside, coached by former Orange pitcher Jordan Toney. Game time will be 7:30. This game will be Orange’s senior night. Festivities will start at 7:15.