Month: March 2023

Photo by Missy Shambley

Cedar Ridge 11, Cardinal Gibbons 5: Coming off a difficult conference opener against one of the most established pitchers in the state, Cedar Ridge ventured to Raleigh and rediscovered its offensive touch in a win over Cardinal Gibbons.

Sophomore catcher Reagan Simmons led off the game with a home run while first baseman Kimber Shambley went 2-for- 4 with two RBIs as the Red Wolves improved to 2-1. Cedar Ridge led 8-1 at the end of two innings. After Simmons led off the game with the solo blast to left field, three straight Red Wolves reached. Lacy Sykes walked. Senior Anaya Carter reached on an infield single. Pitcher Charlotte Lowry lined to center to score Sykes and Carter.

Lowry, a sophomore, earned her second win of the season. She threw the first complete game of the season, striking out four over seven innings. She conceded five runs off six hits.

Cedar Ridge did its heaviest damage in the second inning with five runs, all of which were scored after two outs were recorded. Freshman Mia Best singled to right field, while Simmons and Sykes walked. With the bases loaded, Carter reached on an infield single to score Best. Lowry lined to centerfield to bring in Hayley King (running for Simmons) and Sykes. Shambley lined an infield single to shortstop, which allowed Carter and Sydnee Tapper (running for Lowry) to score and increase the Red Wolves lead to 8-0.

In the third, Grace Young drew a leadoff walks and scored on a sacrifice fly when Sykes popped out to left field.

Lowry finished 3-for-5 with four RBIs. Best was 2-for-4, while Shamlbey went 2-for-4 with two RBIs. Carter was 2-for-5 with one RBI.

Cedar Ridge will continue the home-and-home series with a meeting against the Crusaders this afternoon at Red Wolves Stadium at 6 PM.

Orange 9, Roxboro Community 1 

Caden Robinson struck out eleven as the Orange softball team improved to 2-0 with a decisive win over Roxboro Community School in Hillsborough on Friday night.

The Bulldogs entered the game off back-to-back run rule wins over Bartlett Yancey and Granville Central, scored eleven and 17 runs, respectively. Robinson held the Bulldogs bats in check for her second win of the season.

Orange jumped out with two runs in the first inning. Carson Bradsher, a senior who has committed to South Carolina-Upstate, reached on an infield single. Bradsher stole second and Robinson followed with a double to deep centerfield to bring in Bradsher for the opening run. With two out, freshman Katie Carden, the cousin of former Orange first baseman Jaden Hurdle, lined a double to the fence in left field. Robinson scored to make it 2-0.

Orange added another run in the second. Rhiley Crabtree drew a leadoff walk. Savannah Wynn laid down a bunt to move Crabtree to second. Robinson walked to load the bases. Hayleigh Hammond reached on a bases-loaded walk to score Crabtree. Wynn, Serenity McPherson and Bradsher all singled to start the fourth inning, which Orange built its lead further.

The Panthers are under the direction of new head coach Rachel Peel, who played at Meredith College. Peel replaced Johnny Barefoot in December.

The Lady Panthers will travel to Roxboro to face Roxboro Community on Wednesday night. Orange’s Central Carolina Conference opener against Western Alamance was postponed due to rain last week.

The term “staff game” is a relative term for Orange baseball this year.

Most seasons, a “staff game” features two or more inexperienced pitchers trying to piece together a win against a non-conference opponent. The regular starters wait their turn in the rotation for the next conference game. It usually winds up with a lot of runs on the board, upwards of seven pitchers during a game that lasts over two-and-a-half hours.

That’s sort of how Monday night’s game against Jordan started. Orange’s top two starters, Cross Clayton and Ryan Hench, were position players but didn’t pitch. Yet it ended in a surprising pitcher’s dual that included a staff that may be even deeper than Panthers coach Jason Knapp anticipated and a few free bases that made all the difference in the world.

Orange’s Mark Pounds, Colin Hedrick and Josiah Gibbs combined on a four-hitter as Orange held off the Falcons 2-1 at Panther Field. Pounds, a senior who committed to Barton College in Wilson earlier this winter, earned his first win of the season. The revelation of the night was Hedrick, who threw four innings and allowed just one run in only his second varsity appearance.

“We know we have a lot of good arms on this team,” Knapp said. “We’re confident in who we have out there and I wanted to see how much our younger players could handle themselves in a tough situation. I’m happy to get the win because Jordan’s a really good team. I’m also happy how we grew tonight.”

Orange (3-0) scored all of its runs in the first inning. Senior shortstop Jackson Berini opened with an infield hit. With Ryan Hench at bat, Berini advanced to second on a wild pitch, then moved to third after an errant throw to second wound up in centerfield. After Hench walked, Connor Nordan grounded a single though the 5-6 hole to drive in Berini. With the bases loaded after Cameron Guentensberger walked, junior designated hitter Ryan Honeycutt sent a fly ball that dropped in right field to plate Hench.

The bases were still loaded with one out, but Jordan centerfielder Andrew Davis caught a fly ball from Ryan Horton that kept Nordan from scoring. Davis ended the inning with a flyout by Cross Clayton.

For the rest of the night, Jordan’s combination of Alex Mooring (who started) and Elijah Crowley ruled the roost, retiring the final ten Panthers that came to the plate. Orange only mustered one hit and two baserunners in the final six innings. Crowley, who replaced Mooring to start the fourth, threw three perfect innings.

Through the opening three games, Orange’s defense has singled itself out as the strength of the team. It thwarted one attempt after another by Jordan to push across the tying runs.

On two occasions, Berini made key plays at shortstop. In the first, the Falcons loaded the bases with two outs against Pounds. Left fielder Carter Liverman grounded a ball towards the hole, but Berini raced under it and threw out Miller Young at third base to shut down the threat.

Jordan’s Logan Lowe and Ian Bailey reached with one out in the third, but Berini positioned himself perfectly on top of second base and waited for the ball to turn an easy 6-3 double play.

Davis led off the fourth inning with a double down the third base line, but was stranded at third after Hedrick induced three straight pop-ups, the final one caught by Berini.

Jordan finally pushed across a run in the fifth when catcher Nick Reed reached on an error. Miles Newsome laid down a bunt down the third base line for another single. Ian Bailey lined a fastball to left field to score courtesy runner Kai Hale, who beat out a throw by Hench. It appeared the Falcons were set to add more when Bailey advanced to second on the throw and Newsome at third base with one out, but Young popped out to Best and Hedrick struck out Davis.

Knapp left Hedrick in to throw the sixth, his fourth inning of relief. Hedrick set down the Falcons in order, including two strikeouts. It was the first time that the Falcons went down in order all night.

Junior Josiah Gibbs earned his first career save with another 1-2-3 inning, ending when right fielder David Waitt caught a fly ball from Logan Lowe for the final out.