The Orange baseball team will end this week the same way they started it.
In a tie for first place in the Central Conference. And they have their versatile centerfielder/leadoff man/bullpen closer to thank for it.
Cameron Guentensberger earned his third save in four games and laced two doubles, both of which led to crooked number innings that overwhelmed Southern Alamance in a 10-6 Orange victory at Panther Field on Friday night. The Panthers tied the Patriots for first place in the Central with two games remaining in the regular season.
Orange (15-5, 7-3 in the Central) needs to sweep a two-game series against Eastern Alamance next week in order to gain a share of its fourth straight conference championship.
Josiah Gibbs earned his 16th career win and improved to 6-0 on the season, receiving plenty of help from his batters as the Panthers jumped out to a 7-1 lead at the end of the third inning.
If you thought the Panthers would cruise to victory from there, then you don’t know Southern Alamance baseball. The Patriots engaged in a furious rally where they scored four unanswered runs, deepening the jubilation of the sizeable Southern Alamance contingent who filled the visitors grandstand for its first conference game at Orange in decades.
With the Patriots playing for a conference championship, tensions reached a fever pitch after Cooper Partin slammed a double off the left field fence to score Janden Evans and cut Orange’s lead to 7-5 in the top of the sixth. After reliever Garrett Sawyer walked Ethan Mann to load the bases, putting the tying run at second, Orange coach Jason Knapp called in Guentensberger from centerfield for a four-out save. Southern’s Noah Madren laid down a cue shot 20 feet from the plate, Guentensberger bolted from the mound, gloved the ball and softly underhanded it to catcher Ryan Horton, getting the force out as courtesy runner Carson Bolton slid into home plate a second late, resulting in a cacophony of cheers and boos from opposite side of the stands.
Immediately after making the defensive play of the game, Guentensberger led off the sixth inning with a double that slammed off the bottom of the left field wall. A line drive by Kayden Bradsher landed safely in left field for a hit, moving Guentensberger to third. Ryan Horton added a crucial insurance run with a sacrifice fly to right field. captured by Madren, but deep enough to plate Guentensberger. Freshman Oliver Van Tiem brought in Bradsher with a screamer to centerfield. After Wyatt Hedrick was hit on the foot by a pitch from reliver Eli Gilley, Sawyer lined another RBI single up the middle to increase the Panther lead to 10-5, scoring Van Tiem.
Southern wasn’t done keeping Orange fans worried, loading the bases in the seventh inning with no outs. Mark King got his first base hit of the series with a single to right field. Designated hitter Braxton Cain spaced an infield single to the left of the infield, then Bradley Capps walked. Guentensberger struck out Johnny Rojas. Evans sent a high liner to right field, where Elijah Santos made a jumping grab that was deep enough to score King. Eli Holland, who had reached in six of seven plate appearances in the two-game series, flew out to Sawyer, who had moved to centerfield to the game. It was the first time that Holland had been retired all night.
Knapp, who has known Patriots coach Jason Smith for 19 years, understood that a 7-1 lead with a conference championship on the line wasn’t safe.
“We’ve had many, many battles,” Knapp said. “The one thing I know about Southern Alamance is they do not quit. When we got up like we did, I told the guys “You’re going to have to finish this game. You’re going to have to continue to find runs.’ Great game. I feel fortunate to come out on top.”
Unlike Tuesday’s loss in Graham, Orange hit the ball against the Patriots on Friday. On Tuesday, the Panthers were 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position. On Friday, they were 7-for-17.
Orange senior Wyatt Hedrick grounded a single up the middle to lead off the second. After stealing second, Santos sent a nubber to third base, which was thrown away by Evans. Hedrick rushed around third to score the opening run.
The Patriots immediately tied things up when Capps reached on an infield single, then moved to second after a sacrifice bunt by Johnny Rojas. Evans sent a grounder that rolled into left field, plating Capps. Holland singled to left to move Evans to second with one out, but Gibbs struck out Partin and Mann to end the inning.
The Panthers’ offensive runneth over in the third inning, scoring six runs against Patriots starter Cayden Barnard. Ryan Honeycutt opened with a walk, while Horton lined a single to left field. With one out, Hedrick loaded the bases with an opposite field base hit. Sawyer scored Honeycutt with a bases-loaded walk. After Cross Clayton struck out, Santos banged a single over second base to score Hedrick and Henry Hoffman, who was running for Horton. That led to Guentensberger’s first double, a liner to Scoreboard Alley in right centerfield, the deepest part of Orange’s park that scored Sawyer and Santos to put the Panthers ahead 6-1. Bradsher skied a perfectly placed opposite field floater down the right field line for a double, bringing in Guentensberger.
Orange will host Eastern Alamance in its final regular season home game on Tuesday. The return trip to Mebane is slated for Thursday.