His players will tell you it was a win for Allen Byrd.
But Byrd will tell you his 100th victory as Cedar Ridge softball coach was about his players. Not just the ones in uniform who won at Orange for the first time since 2019 on Thursday night, but the ones who put their trust in him when he became head coach in 2016.
Charlotte Lowry understands this as well as anyone. Byrd trusted her to win Thursday’s game during white knuckle time against the Lady Panthers in the seventh inning.
Trailing 5-2 going into the final frame, Orange nailed down two runs after Mary Kate Ollis scored off a sacrifice fly hit by Allie Carden, cutting the Red Wolf lead to 5-4. The bases were empty when Addison Guentensberger stepped up to the plate. Guentensberger didn’t keep fans watching at Orange Softball Field up the entire night, but she sure did try.
Guentensberger fouled off seven pitches during an eleven-pitch at-bat before Lowry finally struck her out. It clinched Cedar Ridge’s 5-4 win over its crosstown rival and Byrd’s 100th win as head coach.
It was the first time that Cedar Ridge swept the season series from Orange since 2018.
“Charlotte never gives up,” Byrd said. “She works really hard at her craft. We’re here because of her. When you have a pretty big strike zone, you have to adjust to it. And we did.”
Cedar Ridge (12-5 overall, 8-2 in the Central Conference) has won seven in a row.
Byrd joined Cedar Ridge as an assistant coach in 2012. He’s been the head coach for nine seasons, leading the Red Wolves to two conference championships and the third round of the 3A State Playoffs in 2018 and 2019.
“It’s been a pleasure to work with each one of those kids since I started here,” Byrd said. “We’ve had players who have played in college and are still going to college. I’ve enjoyed the process and I’m excited right now.”
Cedar Ridge senior Kimber Shambley, whose father Kevin played centerfield for the 1992 Orange baseball team the won the PAC-6 Conference championship, drilled a two-run home run under the scoreboard in left field to open the game.
“We’re hitting the ball really well,” Byrd said. “Charlotte is throwing the ball really well. We’re minimizing our errors. We still have some stuff to clean up. We still have some things we want to accomplish. We have three big games next week. We’re taking it one game at a time.”
Orange freshman pitcher Malynne Roemmich kept Cedar Ridge scoreless in the second and third innings. The Lady Panthers cut into Cedar Ridge’s lead after Sadie Cecil reached on an infield single. Cecil moved around the bases off an error and scored off a groundout by sophomore Katie Carden.
Cedar Ridge immediately got the run back in the fourth when Rylee Capps led off with a double to left field. After Laci Sykes flew out to Hayleigh Hammond in centerfield, courtesy runner Parker Kennedy moved to third. Lowry drove a single to left field to bring in Kennedy.
Orange appeared to have a threat going in the bottom of the fourth when Guentensberger and Hammond each singled. Cedar Ridge third baseman Mia Best turned a crucial double play on a ground ball she sent to Shambley at first.
Best turned right back around and hit a leadoff homer to left field to start the fifth inning. Later in the inning, Capps extended Cedar Ridge’s lead to 5-1 when she sent an RBI single to the outfield to score Raegan Remaly.
Katie Carden started an Orange comeback when she scored Kylee Allen on a base hit to right field in the bottom of the fifth.
In the seventh, Cecil led off with a basest. Ollis drilled a triple off the right field wall to cut the Red Wolf lead to 5-3.
Lowry threw 116 pitches to earn the win.