Month: April 2022

ROXBORO: In possibly the most stacked softball conference in the state, the margin of error is small.

For two-thirds of this season, Orange has had that margin go against them in big games against Western Alamance and Person in the Central Carolina Conference.

On Wednesday night, fortune didn’t fall on the Panthers’ side as much as sophomore Caden Robinson earned it for them.

In her career-best game inside the circle, Robinson struck out 14 batters and threw a 4-hitter, leading to Orange upsetting Person 3-1 on the Rockets’ senior night.

Person, who came into the game ranked #2 in the 3A East Region by MaxPreps, suffered only its senior home loss of the season. Eastern Alamance, the #1 team in the East, defeated the Rockets 1-0 on Monday night in Roxboro.

Previously, Person defeated Western Alamance (currently #7), led by East Carolina commitment Taylor Apple, 4-3 on April 1 in Roxboro.

Orange, who went undefeated en route to the Big 8 Conference championship in 2021, has spent much of this season on the outside looking in at the Central Carolina Conference’s upper-echelon of Eastern Alamance, Person and Western Alamance. Behind Robinson, the Panthers finally got their breakthrough victory to remind the rest of the league that there was still a team, or two, in Hillsborough to be taken seriously for the stretch run.

“I think we’ve been overlooked this year,” said Orange coach Johnny Barefoot. “We’ve been only a play or two in some of these games from pulling off a win just like this one. It just hasn’t fallen our way. We could have beaten Western Alamance, but I’m proud of the way we played together. We were poised tonight.”

Last month in the first meeting between the two teams, Orange went into the sixth inning with a 3-2 lead, but the Rockets got three homers from Lillie Davis, Taryn Massey and Mariah McCowan to rally for a 8-4 win.

On Wednesday night, senior Kelsey Mangum was one of only two Rockets to touch third base all night. In the opening inning, Mangum took the first pitch she saw and ripped it down the first base line. Orange right fielder Alexis Latta-Harshaw chased it until it fell into a hole in foul ground, limiting Mangum to a double when she could have easily scored. After Robinson struck out McCowan and Davis, Mangum stole third and then scored as the throw went into left field.

From there, Robinson dominated. She struck out the side in the third inning and allowed just four baserunners the rest of the game.

“It was just confidence and heart,” Barefoot said of Robinson’s performance. “Confidence and heart.”

Orange also took advantage of several free bases the Rockets supplied them in the third inning. Latta-Harshaw led off with a fly ball that dropped in front of the left fielder, then rolled behind her, allowing Latta-Harshaw to move to second. Junior leadoff batter Serenity McPherson lined a double off the bottom of the left field fence to bring in Latta-Harshaw and tie the game. With no one out, shortstop Delaney Shaffer sent a grounder to the first baseman, who bobbled it. With the ball at her feet, the first baseman briefly paused, but McPherson did not, rounding third with zero hesitation and scoring to put Orange ahead without even a throw to the plate.

Robinson lined out to Davis, who doubled up Shaffer at first base for the inning’s second out. Senior catcher Lauren Jackson lined a single to left field. After courtesy runner Courtney Watkins replaced Jackson at first, senior Mary Moss Wirt took a 1-2 pitch and lined it to right field and past a diving Lindsey Melton. The ball rolled all the way to the makeshift fence and by the time Melton picked it up, Watkins had already crossed home plate.

That would be the final runs of the game. The closest Person came to scoring came in the fifth when Karter Hawkins, one of five seniors honored on Senior Night, opened the inning with a single that landed in front of McPherson in centerfield. After Hawkins stole second, Robinson struck out Kyle Gould for the second out. Mangum sent a bloop to centerfield, where McPherson made a diving catch to flat-out steal an RBI single and end the inning.

Person’s Delaney Glover reached third base after an error in the fourth inning. Robinson kept her there after inducing a groundout to the circle by Delanya Grimes, then striking out Massey.

By the time Moss squeezed the final out on a pop-up to third base, the Orange players gathered in a celebration huddle along the third base line in front of their dugout. While Eastern Alamance has put the race for the CCC Regular Season Championship to bed, Orange’s hopes for a strong run in the state playoffs are very much alive.

All year, the Orange softball team had waited to get its breakthrough win. They came close against Southern Alamance and Western Alamance in March, but fell just short. On Wednesday night, Orange defeated Person 3-1 on the Rockets’ senior night in Roxboro. Sophomore Caden Robinson had a career night, striking out 15 batters. She also went 2-for-3 at the plate. Orange scored all three of its runs in the third inning. Senior right fielder Alexis Latta-Harshaw started the rally with a single to left field, then took second base off an error. On the next at-bat, junior centerfielder Serenity McPherson doubled to left field, scoring Latta-Harshaw and tying the game. Delaney Shaffer reached on an error, and McPherson caught Person napping, rounding third and scoring to put Orange ahead for good. Later, Mary Moss Wirt drilled a triple that rolled all the way to the right field fence to bring in courtesy runner Courtney Watkins, who was in for Lauren Jackson, who reached on a single. Orange is now tied for second place in the loss column with Western Alamance and Person. The Panthers are 8-4, 6-3 in the Central Carolina Conference. Orange is scheduled to face Cedar Ridge at Red Wolves Softball Stadium on Thursday night at 6:30. 

Softball: Cedar Ridge 8, Northwood 4

Through a difficult season where Cedar Ridge has faced some of the most powerful teams in the state, the Red Wolves have fallen just short in close games.

On Tuesday night, the greatest Cedar Ridge power hitter in history provided a spark when they needed it most.

Senior Takia Nichols cleared the bases with a three-run triple in the sixth inning to break at 4-4 tie, paving the way for the Red Wolves to beat Northwood 8-4 in Hillsborough. Nichols knocked in Tori Carden, Caira Peach and Anaya Carter as Cedar Ridge improved to 7-8 overall, 2-6 in the Central Carolina Conference.

Freshman Charlotte Lowry, the younger sister of Cedar Ridge shortstop Ava Lowry, earned the win in relief of starter Hayley King. Lowry allowed only one run in the final four innings. She conceded just three hits and had three strikeouts.

Nichols was walked twice, including in the first inning, when the Red Wolves scored three runs. Carter reached on a leadoff bunt single, and would score the Red Wolves’ opening run off a double steal where Nichols was thrown out at second. Following a walk of Olivia Aitkin, Reagan Simmons reached on an infield single. Ava Lowry hit a grounder up the middle to bring in Aitkin and courtesy runner Mackenzie Rogers, who was in for Simmons.

Northwood fought back to even the game. After Nichols’s triple, Aitkin singled to centerfield to bring in Nichols for the game’s final run.

Cedar Ridge is scheduled to host Orange tonight at Red Wolves Softball Field.

Men’s Lacrosse: Cedar Ridge 9, Eastern Alamance 3

Roman Oguntoyinbo, James Clayton and Mason Lynde each scored two goals to send the Red Wolves on to victory in Mebane on Tuesday night. Oguntoyinbo now has 39 goals on the season. Clayton, after scoring two goals against Orange last Friday, has scored 12 goals.

Senior goalkeeper Josh Taylor earned the win in net for Cedar Ridge after making two saves in the first half. Freshman Leo Oguntoyinbo replaced Taylor in the second half and finished with six saves. Cedar Ridge’s Jackson Kralic won seven face-offs.

The Red Wolves are 9-4 overall, 6-4 in the Mid-Carolina Conference. They will host Western Alamance at Red Wolves Stadium on Thursday night.

Women’s Soccer: Eastern Alamance 4, Orange 3 OT

The Orange women’s soccer team was one minute away from maintaining its share of first place in the Central Carolina Conference, but the Eastern Alamance Eagles scored with under a minute remaining to tie the game and send it to overtime on Tuesday night in Hillsborough.

Orange junior Isabel Jones evened the game in the second overtime off an assist from Bella Brown, sending the game into the second overtime session tied 3-3. The Eagles scored the game-winning goal off a corner kick with 3:01 remaining.

Jones scored two goals for Orange. Caroline Cathey, a freshman, scored the opening goal for the Lady Panthers off an assist from Elliana Sullivan Gaddy. Orange is 5-5-1 overall, 4-2 in the Central Carolina Conference.

Track & Field:

For the third time in her Cedar Ridge career, senior Caroline Fowlkes has qualified for the 3A Mideast Regional championships in the pole vault.

Fowlkes, who qualified for the state championships as a freshman, earned a spot in regionals during the Orange County Track & Field Championships at Culton-Peerman Stadium on the campus of Chapel Hill High School last Saturday. Fowlkes earned first place after clearing 10-feet, six-inches. On Wednesday, Fowlkes achieved a new personal best by clearing 11-feet.

At the Orange County Championships, Orange’s 4×200 men’s relay team of Ethan Horton, Spencer Hampton, Gabriel Schmid and Nick Peel broke the school record with a time of 1:34:00. The quartet qualified for regionals. Hampton, who finished runner-up in the 3A State Championships in the 3,200 meters last year, has also qualified for regionals in the 1,600 and 3,200 meters.

Cedar Ridge junior Roman Morrell qualified for the 800 meters in regionals. On Wednesday, during a tri-meet against Northwood and Walter Williams in Pittsboro, Morrell finished first at 1:59.54.

Perhaps its fate. Maybe it karma. Possibly it’s a lot of residue stemming from design, hard work and plenty of heart.

Regardless, the close games that Cedar Ridge baseball lost last year have largely swung the opposite direction in 2022. On Wednesday night, the Red Wolves completed its fifth come-from-behind victory of the season.

After trailing Grimsley 5-2 going into the sixth inning in Greensboro on Wednesday night, the Red Wolves came back with five runs in the sixth inning, followed by four in the seventh to cruise to an 11-5 victory. Cedar Ridge has won five in a row, its longest winning streak since 2018, which was also the last time the Red Wolves reached the 3A State Playoffs.

Oddly enough, all five victories during the winning streak have been on the road. Technically, Cedar Ridge’s win over Eastern Alamance in the second game of a doubleheader on Friday was a home game, but it was played in Mebane after the original meeting was rained out in Hillsborough last week.

On Tuesday in Central Carolina Conference action, Cedar Ridge held off Western Alamance 4-1 in Elon. After the Warriors scored the initial run in the second inning, Red Wolf sophomore catcher Efrain Morales hit a grand slam to left field. It was Morales’ second home run of the season. Cedar Ridge loaded the bases after freshman pitcher Quinn Finnegan drew a leadoff walk, senior Aidan Mcallister was hit by a pitch by Western’s Owen Bynum, and Cristian Macias also walked.

“It was huge,” said Cedar Ridge head coach Bryson Massey about Morales. “Anytime you can get that guy up in a situation with the bases loaded, I have all the confidence in the world in that kid to get the job done. The at-bat right before that one where Cristian got the walk to load the bases, to give Efrain a chance to give Efrain a chance to do what we expect him to do.”

The Red Wolves (11-6, 6-3 in the Central Carolina Conference) are tied with Eastern Alamance for 2nd place in the conference at 6-3, but the Red Wolves control the head-to-head tiebreaker against the Eagles after sweeping the doubleheader in Mebane.

Against Western Alamance, Finnegan earned his fourth win of the season. Finnegan, starting for the second straight game, allowed only one run and five hits over four innings. Junior B.J. Thornton, who replaced Finnegan in the fifth, struck out seven of the ten batters he faced for his third save of the year. Over three innings, Thornton allowed just one hit.

After the Warriors’ Alex Nebrig drove in Ty Belles in the second inning, Western Alamance didn’t have a runner touch third base the rest of the game. Finnegan and Thornton, backed by a Cedar Ridge defense that played an errorless game, allowed four singles in the final five innings.

Thornton also went 2-for-4 at the plate. Brian Flores, starting at third base, went 1-for-3.

Wednesday night’s win over Grimsley was Cedar Ridge’s fifth non conference win of the season. Nick Atkin, who made his varsity debut in the second game of the Eastern Alamance doubleheader last Friday, earned his first varsity win. Senior Mason Cates threw two scoreless innings for his first save of the season. Cates allowed only two hits and two walks.

Cedar Ridge started the rally with a leadoff walk in the sixth inning from Nick Nolan. Thornton, starting at second base, lined a single to right field. Mcallister loaded the bases with a base hit to left field. Atkin, in his only official at-bat of the game, singled to centerfield to drive in Nolan. Grimsley inserted Stephen Adamczak as pitcher to replace Chase Gurney, but Thornton put Cedar Ridge within a run after he scored on a passed ball. Once again, Morales had the biggest plate appearance of the game as he lined a two-run double to left field to plate Mcallister and Atkin, putting the Red Wolves ahead to stay.

Cates leveled a 1-0 fastball to centerfield to bring in Morales.

The Red Wolves added four more runs in the seventh inning. Mcallister had an RBI double to score Nolan. Morales added another RBI single. Morales finished 3-for-5 with four RBIs, while Cates went 2-for-3 with two RBIs. Thornton and Mcallister were each 2-for-4. Mcallister scored three runs.

Cedar Ridge is scheduled to host Western Alamance on Friday night in Hillsborough. It will be the Red Wolves first home game since facing Holly Springs in the Hilltop Invitational two weeks ago.

The Cedar Ridge Red Wolves baseball team is still in the hunt for the Central Carolina Conference regular season championship with five league games remaining. Sophomore catcher Efrain Morales hit a grand slam in the third inning to push the Red Wolves past Western Alamance 4-1 in Elon on Tuesday night. Morales went 2-for-2 after his first career grand slam. Cedar Ridge’s Quinn Finnegan earned the win, throwing five innings. B.J. Thornton earned his second save of the season. Thornton faced ten batters, seven of whom he struck out over three innings. Thornton, who started the game in right field, also went 2-for-4. Cedar Ridge has now won four in a row and has five conference road wins this season. Cedar Ridge is 10-6, 6-3 in the CCC. They are two games behind Orange for first place. The Red Wolves already have their most wins in a season since the 2018 campaign, where they went 18-6 and reached the second round of the state playoffs. The Red Wolves will travel to Greensboro on Wednesday night to face Grimsley. They will conclude the two-game series against Western Alamance on Friday night in Hillsborough. 

There was drama at Orange Baseball Field on Tuesday night as the Panthers maintained first place in the Central Carolina Conference. Cross Clayton sent a single off the fence in centerfield in the 8th inning, allowing Neo Best to score from 1st base for the game-winning run as the Panthers defeated Northwood 3-2 in eight innings. Clayton was the hero of the game for Orange. In the second inning, Clayton hit his first career home run with a solo blast that landed in the bushes that overhang above the fence in left field. Designated hitter Connor Nordan went 2-for-4 with an RBI single in the first innings. Nordan hit his first career home run in Friday’s win over Person. Orange reliever Joey Pounds earned his first win of the season with a scoreless eighth inning, striking out two batters. Orange maintains a two-game lead in the Central Carolina Conference with a 6-1 record. The Panthers will travel to Carrboro on Wednesday, then complete the two-game series with a trip to Pittsboro on Friday.