In mid-February, there were several first-year varsity players that Orange Baseball coach Jason Knapp thought could rise to the level of being an everyday starter.
Cross Clayton became that player. And more.
After a 13-0, 5 inning loss to eventual 1A Eastern Regional champion Perquimans in Wilson on March 19, Orange limped home with a 3-4 overall record. On the bus ride back, Knapp and his assistants decided to put Clayton into the starting rotation permanently.
From that point forward, Orange went 15-5. They finished with its first outright conference championship since 2016, when Bryse Wilson was a senior.
Clayton, a sophomore, has been named the Central Carolina Conference Pitcher of the Year. The awards are based on a vote of the seven head coaches in the CCC.
Clayton finished 8-3 with a 2.59 earned run average. It was the most wins by a first-year Orange varsity pitcher since Wilson’s freshman year, when he went 11-0 with a 1.05 ERA.
Clayton led the team in wins. He immediately set the pace with a victory in relief during the season opener against Northern Durham on February 28 in Hillsborough. He tossed a clean sixth inning with two strikeouts, while Jackson Berini drove in the game-winning run off a bases-loaded walk. The Panthers went on to win 4-1.
In Orange’s CCC opener against Western Alamance on March 15, Clayton came on in relief of Ryan Hench in the fifth inning of a scoreless game. Facing ten Warriors, he walked just one and struck out five. Berini would steal home in the top-of-the-seventh inning for the game’s lone run, while Clayton retired the Warriors in order in the other half of the frame to take the win.
That was the last time Clayton came on in relief in a conference game. From that point forward, he became the starter in Friday games while Hench remained the top man in the rotation. It was a combination that carried Orange to a conference title.
After the Hilltop Invitational, Clayton started a string of 23 consecutive shutout innings. It started April 8 when Clayton threw a one-hit shutout against Person. Clayton struck out ten Rockets over six innings.
The following week, Clayton had a huge night at the plate in a 3-2 win over Northwood in eight innings. He blasted a solo homer in the second inning. With the game tied 2-2 in the eighth, Clayton belted a walkoff double that hit the centerfield fence to score Neo Best. The following Friday, Orange traveled to the Ronald Horton Baseball Complex, a hitters park that can be a nightmare for fielders. This time, Clayton threw a two-hit, complete game shutout with six strikeouts as Orange came away with a 5-0 win.
Clayton’s biggest gem of the season came against Cedar Ridge on April 21. He delivered a five-inning perfect game, the first perfect game for Orange since Wilson defeated Eastern Wayne in the opening round of the 3A State Playoffs on May 10, 2016. Clayton struck out four Red Wolves as Orange ensured the CCC regular season championship.
Clayton nearly had another shutout in the regular season finale at Eastern Alamance. He went into the seventh inning with Orange leading 1-0. In the seventh inning, the Eagles’ Gage Parsons lined a single up the middle to score Cole McGinnis and even the game 1-1. Clayton would regroup to send the game into extra innings and eventually earn the win after Hench scored off a double play in the top-of-the-eighth inning.
In the 3A State Playoffs, Clayton started against Terry Sanford and had a no-decision. He shut the Bulldogs out through the first two innings on just nine pitches.
Next season, Clayton and Hench are expected to return for an Orange team that finished 18-9 overall, 11-1 in the Central Carolina Conference.