Cedar Ridge Baseball

Phillip Berger: The Elizabethton River Riders of the Appalachian League, now a summer, wooden-bat collegiate league, faced the Burlington Sock Puppets on Tuesday night at Burlington Athletic Stadium. It was a near-homecoming for former Cedar Ridge pitcher Phil Berger, who now pitches for Elizabethton, as well as with William Peace University in Raleigh. The Rivers Riders defeated the Sock Puppets 4-3 on Tuesday. The two teams will play again tonight. Elizabethton is 7-9 and Berger currently is 3-0. Last Tuesday, Berger picked up his team-leading third win of the year when the River Riders cruised past the Kingsport Axmen 6-1 at Hunter Wright Stadium in Kingsport, TN. Berger relieved starter Drew Gillespie and threw two innings. He gave up one run on three hits with two strikeouts and one walk. On Saturday, the Bristol State Liners defeated the River Riders 9-4. Once again, Berger relieved the starter, Andy Quintana, in the bottom of the second inning. In two-and-one-thirds-innings, Berger gave up two hits and one run with one walk and one strikeout. In five appearances this season, Berger has a 3.00 ERA in nine innings pitched. He has eight strikeouts and three walks. After leaving Burlington on Wednesday, the River Riders will continue its six-game road trip against the Pulaski River Turtles on Thursday.

Bryse Wilson: On Sunday, Wilson made his first start for the Atlanta Braves since May 22. He struggled in a 9-1 loss against the St. Louis Cardinals at Truist Park in Atlanta. In four inning, Wilson surrendered five runs on eight hits. He had four strikeouts. This season in Atlanta, Wilson is 2-3 with a 5.35 ERA. After the game, Wilson was reassigned back to Gwinnett of Triple-A East. On June 15, Wilson earned the win for Gwinnett in a 2-1 victory over the Nashville Sounds at Coolray Field in Gwinnett, GA. Wilson struck out nine batters in six innings. He gave up just one runs on five hits with one walk. Wilson threw 86 pitchers, with 57 of them strikes. This season with the Stripers, Wilson is 4-1 with a 4.36 ERA with 29 strikeouts and ten walks. Wilson could return to action this weekend for Gwinnett’s road trip to Norfolk.

Joey Berini: After East Carolina’s season ended in the Super Regionals of the NCAA Baseball Tournament against #4 Vanderbilt, Berini ventured into the Coastal Plain League, another summer collegiate, wooden-bat league. Berini will spend the summer with the Asheboro Copperheads, which call McCrary Park home. Ironically, McCrary Park is where Berini’s high school team, the Orange Panthers, has its season end against the Asheboro Blue Comets last week. Berini has come out of the gates strong for the Copperheads with hits in each of his first four games. He’s hitting .615. On Tuesday, Asheboro defeated the High Point-Thomasville HiToms 4-2. Berini had an RBI single in the second inning. Berini opened the season in a doubleheader against the Martinsville Mustangs at Hooker Field in Martinsville, VA. In the opening 4-2 loss, Berini went 2-for-3 with a stolen base. In the nightcap, the Copperheads won 6-5. Berini started at second base and went 3-for-4 with a double. On Monday, Asheboro defeated Martinsville 16-7. Berini went 3-for-6 with a double and four RBIs. After hitting 9th against the Mustangs on Sunday in the closing game of the doubleheader, Berini led off on Monday. Asheboro will return home to face the Forest City Owls at McCrary Park Thursday night.

Grace Andrews: The Catawba Valley Community College softball team announced its year-end awards after the completion of its first full season. Andrews, a freshman who played second base for Orange, was presented with the Silver Slugger Award. This season, Andrews finished with a .442 batting average, a .750 slugging percentage, 53 hits and 41 RBIs.

The power of Cedar Ridge’s baseball lineup have been named to the All-Big 8 Conference first-team.

Junior first baseman Aidan McAllister and senior shortstop Bryce Clark were honored as All-Conference selections on Friday. The official year-end honors were released after Northern Durham, the only Big 8 team to win a game in the 3A State Playoffs, was eliminated by D.H. Conley.

McAllister, in his first year as a varsity starter, looked like an All-Conference player from his very first at-bat of the season when he roped a double against Northwood in Pittsboro. He would eventually score off a single by Christian Macias as Cedar Ridge won 8-2. It was the Red Wolves first win in Pittsboro since 2014. A week later against Orange at Panther Field, McAllister led off the game with a solo homer, then followed with a two-run homer in the second inning to bring in B.J. Thornton.

McAllister led Cedar Ridge in multi-hit games. He went 2-for-3 against East Chapel Hill on June 4, 2-for-4 at Chapel Hill on May 25, 2-for-4 with 2 RBIs against Northern Durham on May 7 in Hillsborough. In the first game against Chapel Hill, McAllister scored three runs as the Red Wolves rallied from a 9-2 deficit to get within two runs at 9-7 before falling short.

On May 18, in a 7-6 loss to Bethany Community School in Summerfield, McAllister went 1-for-3 and scored after a single by Thornton in the top of the sixth inning to put the Red Wolves ahead 5-4.

This was McAllister’s first year as a varsity player. During Cedar Ridge’s three games in 2020, he was on the junior varsity team.

Clark was the Red Wolves’ starting shortstop after transferring from Orange last summer. Earlier this month, he signed with Lenoir Community College in Kinston to continue his baseball career.

Against Orange on June 8 (the game officially started on May 4 but was suspended after two innings because of rain), Clark became the first player to hit a home run off Orange’s top starter, Ryan Hench, this season. Clark reached base in every plate appearance against the Panthers and scored three runs. In the fifth inning, he came in off a balk to put the Red Wolves ahead 6-2.

In the first game against Orange on May 4, Clark went 3-for-3 with two doubles and 2 RBIs. That included a two-out double in the sixth inning, which led to Garrett Ray driving him in with a single. In the fourth inning, Clark knocked in Braedyn Jacobson with an infield single.

Three nights later against Northern Durham, Clark had an RBI double to plate Jacobson to start a Red Wolves comeback after Northern jumped out to an 8-1 lead. Later in the inning, Ray scored Clark with a single to centerfield.

In Cedar Ridge’s 6-1 win over Northwood on May 21, Clark opened the game with an infield single and scored off a double by Ray as the Red Wolves bolted out to a 3-0 lead. In the third inning against the Chargers, Clark had a two-run single to scored Thornton.

Clark had a sacrifice fly against Northwood on April 27, which scored Thornton and put the Red Wolves ahead 4-0 and well on track for a win in its season opener.

In 2020, Clark was the starting second baseman for Orange. In four games, Clark hit .625, going 5-for-9 with three runs scored before the season abruptly ended because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Against East Chapel Hill on May 11, Clark went 2-for-5 with an RBI double.

It was a season of near-misses for Cedar Ridge, who officially ended the year 6-9 (including four forfeit wins, two each against Southern Durham and Vance County). In six of its losses, Cedar Ridge either had the lead going into the seventh inning or trailed with the game-tying run on base when the final out was recorded.

Three very different paths to playing college baseball all culminated at the same place.

Just three days before Grady Ray, Bryce Clark and Matt Hughes graduated together inside Cedar Ridge Red Wolves Stadium, they gathered at the new J-Wing to sign their respective letters of intent. Ray will play at Division III Methodist University in Fayetteville. Clark will be at Lenoir Community College in Kinston. Hughes signed with Brunswick Community College in Bolivia, NC.

Both Clark and Hughes will be in Region X of the National Junior College Athletic Association.

The ceremony was held on Wednesday afternoon. Presiding over the event was Red Wolves Athletic Director Andy Simmons along with Principal Dr. Carlos Ramirez.

By the end of the day, Ray, Clark and Hughes played their final game together at Cedar Ridge High against Kernersville Glenn. When Ray took off his uniform for the final time on Wednesday night, it ended four years of service to Cedar Ridge athletics that spanned three sports. He played football as a freshman, but basketball and baseball were his loves. He’s played basketball since he was four years old, and was a member of the varsity Red Wolves for four years. Ray joined the varsity for baseball when Mitchell Frazier was the head coach of Cedar Ridge in 2019, and helped current coach Bryson Massey establish his presence in the program despite an interminable interruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic last year.

Ray, the son of Jennifer and Warren Ray, played for the Sweponsville Sweepers of the Old North State League, a summer collegiate league. He’s also a member of Cedar Ridge’s International Baccalaureate Program and plans to major in, naturally, Exercise Science.

“I really like the school,” Ray said. “I’m really excited to play under Coach (Tom) Austin. Coach Massey was a huge part of this decision. I would talk to him after going to some camps. I looked at some different schools. He really helped me.”

Ray will now be conference rivals with the most successful pitcher in Cedar Ridge history. Phillip Berger, who won a school-record 21 games with the Red Wolves, just ended his sophomore season with William Peace University in Raleigh. Peace and Methodist are both in the USA South Athletic Conference.

Hughes, the son of Greg and Amy Hughes, started on the mound for Cedar Ridge in his final high school game. Like many members of the Class of 2021, Hughes had to deal with losing a substantial amount of time due to COVID-19. His junior season was limited to only two pitching performances. He opened 2021 with arm problems, which hurt Cedar Ridge’s pitching depth. However, he recovered to throw four scoreless innings against East Chapel Hill on June 4 in the most impressive stint of his Red Wolf career. Hughes struck out eight and scattered only one hit. Of 59 pitches he threw, 40 were strikes.

The Brunswick Dolphins, coached by Robbie Allen, was ranked #7 in the final NJCAA Division II Baseball Rankings on May 17. They finished the regular season 35-13.

“They have a winning tradition,” Hughes said. “I look forward to being a great pitcher for them.”

Hughes, who had other offers from various Division II and Division III schools, started playing baseball with the Hillsborough Youth Athletic Association when he was 5. He went on to Stanford Middle School before joining the Red Wolves. He plans to major in Arts.

“I’m going to remember all the great memories and the great teammates I had,” Hughes said.

In his freshman year, Hughes was on a team that went 18-6 and finished second in the Big 8 Conference with a 11-3 record. Cedar Ridge defeated Southern Alamance in the opening round of the 3A State Playoffs in Hillsborough.

Clark, the son of Brian and Stephanie Clark, is a study in perseverance. At the age of 14, his baseball career was at a crossroads when he underwent Tommy John Surgery. It cost him his entire freshman year and a large portion of his sophomore season.

“The doctors asked me if I wanted to quit baseball,” Clark said. “I decided to get the surgery and continue with it.”

Clark, a shortstop, says he didn’t get full strength back in his right arm until this season. He spent three years at Orange, including the 2020 season as the starting second baseman for all of four games before the pandemic. In those four games, he hit .429.

He transferred to Cedar Ridge last summer. Against Orange last month, he became the first player to hit a home run off Ryan Hench, the Panthers’ ace starting pitcher. It was the first run that Hench conceded in four starts.

With the Lenoir Lancers, Clark will play at historic Grainger Stadium, the longtime home of Kinston’s franchise in the Carolina League. He plans to major in Health Science.

Joey Berini: Berini saw action for #12 East Carolina during its Super Regional series against #4 Vanderbilt at Hawkins Field in Nashville, TN. The Commodores swept the best-of-three series to advance to the College World Series in Omaha, NE. On Saturday, Berini entered the game as a pinch-hitter replacing Bryson Morrell. He flew out to right field. Berini played the 9th inning at shortstop. Berini also played in Friday’s game, a 2-0 Vanderbilt win, pinch-hitting for Ryder Giles. He grounded out to second base. The Pirates struggled against Vanderbilt pitching all weekend. ECU managed just three hits on Friday and two on Saturday. East Carolina ends the year 44-17. In his freshman year, Berini played 15 games for the Pirates. He hit .250, including an RBI single against Charlotte in the Greenville Regional on June 5. On May 13 against Cincinnati, Berini had a putout and three assists at shortstop. Berini will play summer baseball with the Asheboro Copperheads of the Coastal Plain League, who played its home games at McCrary Park. 

Bryse Wilson: Wilson won his third game of the season for the Gwinnett Stripers of Triple-A East on Wednesday. The Stripers defeated the Memphis Redbirds 5-4 in a seven-inning game at AutoZone Park in Memphis. In five innings, Wilson gave up four runs off seven hits. He had one strikeout with one walk. In 79 pitches, Wilson threw 51 strikes. Wilson is 3-1 this season for the Stripers. Gwinnett entered Sunday’s game against Memphis with an 18-17 record. 

Phillip Berger: The Elizabethton River Riders of the Appalachian League started its second full week of the season. On Wednesday, the Kingsport Axmen defeated the River Riders 4-3. Berger faced five batters. He threw one-and-one-thirds shutout innings with two strikeouts and one walk. On Saturday, Elizabethton defeated the Bluefield Ridge Runners 6-2 at Northeast Community Credit Union Ballpark to end a four-game losing streak. Elizabethton is 3-5. The River Riders will travel to Burlington to face the Sock Puppets on June 22 and June 23 at Burlington Athletic Stadium. 

Jaden Hurdle: Hurdle was named to the Region X All-Academic team for the Patrick Henry Community College softball team. In her freshman season with the Patriots, Hurdle played 40 games. She hit .328 with ten home runs and 32 RBIs. She also made 17 pitching appearances with two starts. In the circle, Hurdle went 4-3 with a 4.61 ERA with 40 strikeouts and 17 walks. The Patriots finished 2nd in the Region X Western Division with a 13-7 record, one game behind Caldwell Community College and Technical Institute. Patrick Henry was 22-20 overall. Hurdle was a member of two Big 8 Softball Championship teams at Orange and started at first base as a freshman on the 2017 3A State Championship team. 

After graduation ceremonies over the weekend, there will be some Cedar Ridge Red Wolves and Orange Panthers who will make their debut for Alumni Update this August. Congratulations to all of these graduates. Among them will be:

Emerson Talley-Lenoir-Rhyne women’s soccer team

Kessel Summers-Bluefield College Wrestling 

Grady Ray-Methodist baseball

Will Walker-Pitt Community College

Bryce Clark-Lenoir Community College

Matt Hughes-Brunswick Community College 

Ivy Gardner-N.C. State women’s soccer team

When Cedar Ridge senior Grady Ray took off his baseball uniform for the final time on Wednesday night, it ended years of service with Red Wolf athletics. Ray played baseball, basketball and football with Cedar Ridge. On the day of his final baseball game, Ray signed with Division III Methodist University, where he will play baseball with the Monarchs in Fayetteville. As fate would have it, Ray will compete in the USA South Athletic Conference against a former classmate, Phillip Berger, who is the winningest pitcher in Cedar Ridge history. Berger plays for William Peace University in Raleigh. This season, Ray started in left field. Among his senior highlights was going 1-for-3 against Northwood on opening night. He scored two runs as the Red Wolves won in Pittsboro for the first time since 2014. Ray was also a regular rotation player in basketball for Coach Jaison Brooks the past two seasons. Ray ended his stint on the hardwood with four straight wins over crosstown rival Orange.

A season of near-misses concluded for the Cedar Ridge baseball team on Wednesday night against Kernersville Glenn. It was the final Cedar Ridge game for seniors Grady Ray, Tucker Cothran, Bryce Clark, Marco Velazquez, Sam Garbee, Matt Hughes and Trent Kirby. The team managed to have fun despite ups and downs. They invented some dugout chants, including “Marco Polo” whenever Velazquez got on base. They also were in charge of rolling out the tarp, which led to some adventured whenever a snake would find its way underneath the plastic…which actually happened on Thursday. The team managed to kill the copperhead and actually kept it in the dugout. This team helped head coach Bryson Massey, in his second year, install his system and mentality about coaching after the 2020 season ended in only three games. Earlier on Wednesday, Ray signed with Methodist University, where he will play baseball for the Monarchs. Hughes signed with Brunswick Community College, where he will play baseball alongside current Northern Durham ace pitcher Matthew Lombard. Clark, who played at Cedar Ridge one season, signed to play at Lenoir Community College in Kinston.

Cedar Ridge shortstop Bryce Clark is going to an area very familiar with baseball to start his college career. On Thursday during a ceremony at Cedar Ridge High School, Clark signed to play with Lenoir Community College in Kinston. This season was Clark’s first with the Red Wolves. Clark had to overcome Tommy John Surgery when he was 14 and was asked by a doctor whether he wanted to continue his baseball career. He did. In his junior year, Clark started two games at Orange. After he transferred to Cedar Ridge, he was the Red Wolves regular shortstop under head coach Bryson Massey. This season, Clark went 3-for-3 with two doubles against Orange on May 5. On May 28, Clark became the first player to hit a home run off of Orange pitcher Ryan Hench. Against Northwood on May 21 in a 6-1 Red Wolves win. With the Lenoir Lancers, Clark will play at historic Grainger Stadium, the longtime home of Kinston’s franchise in the Carolina League.

During a formal signing ceremony at the J-Wing of Cedar Ridge High School on Wednesday afternoon, senior pitcher Matt Hughes formally signed with Brunswick Community College. It happened hours before Hughes played his final game in a Cedar Ridge uniform against Kernersville Glenn at Red Wolves Territory. Hughes has been a varsity player at Cedar Ridge since his freshman year. Last Friday, Hughes threw four shutout innings against East Chapel Hill, with eight strikeouts. Hughes had arm problems to being this season, which hampered his ability to start for the Red Wolves. However, he struck out the side against Northwood in the 7th inning of a 6-1 Cedar Ridge win on May 21. With Brunswick Community College, Hughes will be teammates with Northern Durham standout pitcher Matthew Lombard. In Region X of the National Junior College Athletic Association, Hughes will see some familiar faces, including his teammate Bryce Clark, who signed with Lenoir Community College on Wednesday during the same ceremony. Hughes will graduate from Cedar Ridge High on Friday night inside Red Wolves Football Stadium.