Since winning the final Big 8 Conference championship in the pandemic-shortened year of 2021, the Orange softball team has been lurking in the pack of the Central Conference as Eastern Alamance won two state championships and Western Alamance won the Eastern Regional championship last year.
On Tuesday night, the Lady Panthers put on a display so dominant, it may has served as a wake-up call to the rest of the Central Conference that they won’t be content with being merely a formidable team this year.
Junior Allie Carden hit the first grand slam of her career and finished 4-for-4 with seven RBIs as the Lady Panthers defeated Western Alamance 16-6 in six innings in Hillsborough. It was the first time that Orange defeated the Warriors since the two teams became conference rivals since 2022.
Orange senior pitcher Caden Robinson smashed a two-run homer run in the bottom of the third inning as the Lady Panthers set a new season-high with 16 runs and 15 hits.
Western Alamance (3-5, 2-1 in the Central Conference) lost 2023 Central Conference Pitcher of the Year Taylor Apple to graduation last summer. Apple is already pitching regularly for East Carolina as a freshman.
The Warriors still struck for three runs in the opening inning with its first four batters all getting aboard. Ryan Justice drew a leadoff walk, while Bayleigh Burris, Addison Beal and Kara Alday all walked to score the opening run. Senior Lela Kate Bakter sent a line drive to right field for a base it to score Burris. Then courtesy runner Andrea Bryant scored off a bases-loaded walk from Kyndal Wilborn. Robinson recovered to strike out the next three batters.
Robinson doubled to centerfield to send Katie Carden to third in the Orange side of the first. That’s when Allie Carden had her first big hit of the night, a double on a liner to center to score Carden and Robinson.
Orange took the lead in the third when leadoff batter Sadie Cecil reached on an error by Burris at shortstop. Katie Carden drew a walk, which led to Robinson’s three-run blast to put the Lady Panthers ahead 5-3.
The Warriors tied the game with a pair of runs in the fourth. Kayde Moore drew a walk. Justice sent a liner to left field, advancing Moore to second. Beal lined to left to score Moore and Justice and even things up at 5-5.
Allie Carden’s grand slam turned the tide of the game for good. Addison Guentensberger reached on an error by Moore at second base. Sophomore Payton Borland replied Guentensberger as a pinch-runner. Cecil walked. Katie Carden backed up left fielder Lela Kate Baker to left field before she hauled in the ball just shy of the fence. Western actually intentionally walked Robinson to get to Carden, which proved to be a mistake.
With the wind blowing towards left field, Carden fouled off a 2-2 pitch before taking a changeup low. Carden turned the payoff pitch to a laser into right field that buzzed over the fence. Carden got pats on her black helmet as she crossed home plate for the first grand slam of her career.
Alday hit a solo homer to left field to start the fifth to cut the Orange lead to 9-6, but the Lady Panthers would turn it into a rout in the bottom of the fifth. Borland singled to centerfield, followed by another hit from Cecil. Katie Carden grounded to second, where Cecil was thrown out at second. Robinson sent a double down the left field line to score Carden and Borland.
Freshman Anna Klein came in as the new Warrior pitcher. Allie Carden lined to centerfield to bring in Robinson. Delanie Shaffer singled, Hayleigh Hammond walked and Mia Leathers scored Carden on a groundout to second base to increase the Orange lead to 13-6.
Orange has won five in a row after dropping its season opener to Wakefield. They will travel to Southeast Alamance tonight (Thursday) in Graham. The Lady Panthers will face Walter Williams on Friday night in Hillsborough in its final game before spring break.