The resumption of the Hilltop Baseball Tournament coincided with Senior Night for the Orange baseball team on Tuesday. The Panthers defeated Riverside 12-2 in five innings at Orange High Field. Seniors Davis Horton, Connor Funk, Cesar Lozano, Codey Snipes Jared Weaver, and Garrett Compton were all honored before the game. Fittingly, Funk hit the first home run of his career in the last at-bat of the game, a 3-run blast to left field, to ensure the Panthers’ first run rule win of the season. Horton, the 2021 Big 8 Conference Player of the Year, has been Orange’s most reliable catcher since Brad Debo, who graduated in 2016. Against Riverside, Horton hit 1-for-3 with a double to left field. Lozano has become Orange’s everyday third baseman and scored a run in the third inning against the Pirates. Snipes has taken over at first base and laced a double to centerfield in the fourth inning. Weaver, the starting quarterback for the Orange football team last fall, scored a run as Orange’s courtesy runner when Horton reached base against the Pirates. Compton, in his second year on the varsity, entered the game as a pinch-hitter in the fourth inning. Orange will face New Hanover on Wednesday night at 6 PM in the second game of the Hilltop Invitational. You can audio stream the game on Hillsboroughsports.com.