Photo by Abigail Pfeiffenberger
Orange baseball has spent the first three weeks of this season trying to rebuild its pitching staff, which lost its top two starters, its top middle relievers and closer from 2024.
On Friday night, Coach Jason Knapp’s rebuilding project got strong results when three pitchers combined for a no-hitter against the defending DC6 Conference champions.
Oliver Van Tiem earned his second win by striking out a career-high 12 batters while Mason Grooms earned his first career save as Orange defeated Jordan 6-2 at Panther Field. Van Tiem also drove in two runs as the Panthers won its final nonconfernece game before its Central Conference opener against Western Alamance on Tuesday night in Hillsborough.
Jordan scored two runs off seven walks and two Panther errors. Of Van Tiem’s 83 pitches, 47 were strikes. Grooms inherited the bases-loaded in the seventh inning as he replaced Garrett Sawyer with Orange leading 6-1. Grooms struck out C.J. Carrow. All the Falcons could muster was an RBI groundout from Bode Hickey that brought in Harris Mangum. Peyton Jones flew out to Sawyer in centerfield for the final out.
Orange put runners in motion to break open a scoreless game in the third. Sophomore Kayden Bradsher, who has hit safely in seven of Orange’s eight games, stole third after drawing a walk. Henry Hoffman, hitting cleanup, blooped a fly ball into centerfield to score the opening run. With Van Tiem at the plate, Hoffman stole second, then advanced to third after an errant throw from Hickey, the catcher. Van Tiem sent a 1-2 pitch into left field to score Hoffman and put Orange ahead 2-0.
Orange’s Cam Brown reached on a bunt single in the fourth and also swiped second base, then took third on a wild pitch. Brown eventually scored off a throwing error by Hickey to increase the Panther lead to three runs.
Bradsher led off the fifth inning with a triple to Scoreboard Alley in right centerfield. Hoffman drove in his second run with a line drive to center, bringing in Bradsher. Van Tiem would drive in Garrett Sawyer and Hoffman with a grounder up the middle to put the Panthers ahead 6-0.
Softball:
Game 1: Orange 15, Walter Williams 0
Game 2: Orange 15, Walter Williams 0
The Orange softball team remains atop the Central Conference following a doubleheader sweep of Walter Williams on Friday night in Hillsborough.
Freshman Lexi Bowes earned her first wins at the varsity level, needing just three innings of work in each outing. In the opening game, she struck out five and allowed just one hit.
In the opening game, Orange scored nine runs in the first inning. Senior Sadie Cecil notch the first run off a passed ball. Rhiley Crabtree sent an RBI single to centerfield to score courtesy runner Evelyn George, who just finished her senior season in women’s basketball. Junior Hayleigh Hammond scored twice in the opening inning. She touched the plate off a wild pitch for the second Orange run. Later, she lifted a single to left field to bring in Molly Kate Ollis. Freshman Kylee Allen drilled a triple to left field to score Cecil and Hammond.
Hammond would hit an inside the park home run in the third and final inning. George delivered an RBI single to score Allie Carden. George closed out the game when she came home on a passed ball.
In the second game, Allen delivered a two-run homer in the third inning. Allen finished with 3-for-3 with four RBIs. Ollis went 2-for-2 with two RBIs. George started in centerfield and finished 2-for-2 with two runs scored.
Allie Carden finished 2-for-3 with two runs scored.
Orange will travel to Cedar Ridge on Tuesday in what will be a key matchup in the Central Conference. The Red Wolves haven’t defeated Orange since 2019 in a special game to determine the #1 seed for the then-Big 8 Conference.