In a year where Duke and North Carolina finally met in the Final Four of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament, it was only fitting that Orange and Cedar Ridge would square off in the state playoffs in some sport.
It could have been volleyball. There were three teams from the Central Carolina Conference in the state quarterfinals, with Cedar Ridge ultimately taking it all.
It could have been lacrosse, and it still very much could.
The fact that it will happen in baseball, still one of the most widely participated youth sports from one end of Orange County to the other, makes the matchup juicier than a 5-pound sirloin steak.
The field of 64 in the 3A State Baseball Playoffs was unveiled on Monday morning by the North Carolina High School Athletic Association. Orange, the regular season champions of the Central Carolina Conference, received a #8 seed. Cedar Ridge got a #25 seed, and the two teams will square off head-to-head tonight at Orange High Field. First pitch will be at 6:30.
“I had a pretty good idea it was going to be Cedar Ridge,” said Orang coach Jason Knapp, who was mowing his outfield grass well into Monday night in preparation for the game. “We were prepared for it. It’s going to be a lot of excitement in the community and a great atmosphere.”
The winner will meet the winner of Terry Sanford and Union Pines in the second round later this week.
“This is a great opportunity for our guys,” said Cedar Ridge coach Bryson Massey. “I don’t want to make it any bigger than it is. That’s my way of thinking about it. It’s just another game and it’s great to play in the state playoffs. That was one of our goals at the beginning of the year was to play in the playoffs.”
Going into last week, an Orange-Cedar Ridge matchup in the opening round of the state playoffs looked highly unlikely. As Orange finished first in the CCC, Cedar Ridge came in second. Yet both teams had disappointing results in the CCC Tournament, which is the main reason why they’re playing tonight.
Last Monday, 7th-place Walter Williams upset Cedar Ridge 6-2 in the first postseason game at Red Wolves Territory since 2018.
“We didn’t play our best baseball,” Massey said. “For the guys, it was their first taste of postseason baseball. They got that underneath their belt and realizing how it is. I think it was a good experience for them before the state playoffs. Realizing how it is. It was a learning lesson for them that every out is big. That’s postseason baseball for you.”
Orange, the tournament’s #1 seed, was stunned by Person 4-0 on Tuesday. The Rockets went on to win the tournament championship at Northwood on Thursday night.
“I think we learned you can’t take anything for granted,” Knapp said. “You can get beat any given day at any given time. I think it was an eye-opener for us. We had a great couple of practices in the days after the Person game and had a really good practice today. I think we’re ready to go.”
It will be Cedar Ridge’s first state baseball playoff game since 2018, when they lost to Terry Sanford 7-4 in the 2nd round.
Meanwhile, Knapp is going for his first postseason win in Hillsborough. The Panthers’ last win in the state playoffs came in 2018 when they prevailed at Jacksonville. Four nights later, Chapel Hill dominated the Panthers in what was Dean Dease’s final game as Orange’s head coach after 31 years.
In 2019, J.H. Rose pounded Orange 15-3 in the opening round in Hillsborough. Last June, Asheboro edged the Panthers 5-4 at McCrary Park in a thrilling game that ended with a walkoff double by Tanner Marsh.
The two crosstown rivals met in a two-game series only three weeks ago with plenty on the line. Orange wound up sweeping the series to officially wrap up the CCC regular season championship. On April 21, the Panthers got a 5-inning perfect game from sophomore Cross Clayton in a 16-0 win. The Panthers had a season-high 17 hits.
On April 18, Orange pulled away from Cedar Ridge at Red Wolves Territory 13-5. Leading 4-2 going into the top of the sixth inning, the Panthers scored nine runs in the final two frames. Right fielder David Waitt went 2-for-3 with four runs scored, while sophomore Connor Nordan went 4-for-4 with 4 RBIs.
Nordan went 8-for-9 with seven RBIs in the two-game series against the Red Wolves.
In order to advance to the second round of the state playoffs, Cedar Ridge will also have to battle history. The Red Wolves haven’t won at Orange since April 18, 2012.