Cedar Ridge Softball

In the film “Rounders,” Martin Landau’s character Abe Petrovsky tells Matt Damon “We can’t run from what we are. Our destiny chooses us.”

Whether that’s a corny line depends on your perspective, but what may be deemed schmaltzy doesn’t make it false.

Tori Dalehite’s father, Danny, was a sprawling, dirt-eating right fielder for a PAC-6 Conference Championship team for Orange High in 1992, and later for a modified-pitch recreation softball team in White Cross. Her mother, the former Beth Simmons, graduated the year after Danny and played softball at Orange when the North Carolina High School Athletic Association mandated slow-pitch only.

In fact, Beth still plays co-ed games on summer nights at Oak Grove Church, just on the edge of Mebane.

So maybe it was destiny that chose Tori Dalehite to walk into a gym packed with friends, family and coaches on Friday night at Cedar Ridge High School. 12 years after her softball career started at the age of 6, Tori signed with UNC Greensboro to continue playing at the college level.

As a three-sport athlete at Cedar Ridge, Tori has dished out many assists in her career, whether it was on the diamond, in volleyball or basketball. On Friday, Tori was the one receiving an assist from her mother, who consoled her daughter at the podium as the emotion of the moment caught up to her.

“I am so grateful for to all of my current and former coaches for supporting me on this special day,” Dalehite said as tears streamed down her face. “You’re the ones who helped me become a better player and a better teammate.”

Dalehite committed to UNC Greensboro last winter. She’s played on two Big 8 Conference Championship teams at Cedar Ridge in 2018 and 2019, the first two in school history. In 2018, Dalehite was named the Big 8 Hitter of the Year after she posted a .582 batting average. She led the team with 29 runs, 32 hits, 32 RBIs, and five triples. She added six home runs as the Red Wolves went 17-2 overall, including 14-0 in the Big 8 Conference.

In the state playoffs, Cedar Ridge reached the third round for the first time in school history. In a 10-0 win over West Carteret in the second round, Dalehite went 1-for-3 with an RBI single.

In the third round, Cedar Ridge traveled to West Brunswick, where Dalehite’s power and toughness were on full display. She cracked a three-run homer over the centerfield fence in the third inning. The Trojans came back to tie and forced extra innings.

In the fifth, Dalehite was hit by a pitch that broke her hand. She continued to play 2nd base, but the Trojans won 4-3 in eight innings to end the career of storied Red Wolves pitcher Rivers Andrews. As her teammates gathered for a four-hour bus ride back home, Dalehite stayed behind in Shallotte to have her hand examined at a nearby hospital.

Last spring, the Red Wolves reached the third round of the state playoffs before losing to eventual 3A State Champion Eastern Alamance in Mebane. Cedar Ridge finished 21-3 and again claimed the Big 8 Championship after beating Orange in a one-game tiebreaker to determine the #1 seed for the state playoffs.

In 2019, Dalehite also earned All-Big 8 honors.

Among those on hand on Friday night was Cedar Ridge softball coach Allen Byrd, former women’s basketball coach Felton Page, Athletic Director Andy Simmons and assistant principal Heather Witherspoon.

“Tori is awesome, period,” said Witherspoon. “She is one of the first people I met when I started here at Cedar Ridge. Tori is a hustler. She gave it all she got in volleyball, she gave it all she got in basketball and she gave it all she got in softball. She also does it in the classroom.”

Also on hand was Dalehite’s friend, Jaden Hurdle, an Orange High softball player that Tori competes with twice a year, at least. It’s a tradition that Jaden and Tori gather for a photo following every game they compete against each other.

Dalehite has a 3.8 grade point average. At UNCG, Dalehite plans to major in kinesiology and then master in physical therapy.

Last winter, Cedar Ridge 2nd baseman Tori Dalehite announced her commitment to UNC Greensboro. On Friday night, she officially signed with the Spartans in front of a packed auxiliary gymnasium at Cedar Ridge Gymnasium with family and friends. In 2018, Dalehite was the Big 8 Conference Hitter of the Year. Playing 2nd base, Dalehite hit .582 and led the team with 32 hits, 29 runs scored, 32 hits and five triples. In 2019, Dalehite hit .544 with 43 hits. She was tied for the team lead with 41 RBIs. Tori was joined in Friday night’s ceremony by her father Danny and her mother, Beth. Along the way, Dalehite has maintained a 3.9 GPA and continues to excel in three sports at Cedar Ridge. She is a member of a Cedar Ridge softball team that has claimed back-to-back Big 8 Championships. This fall, she helped the Cedar Ridge volleyball team reach the state playoffs for the first time since 2015. Also in attendance at the ceremony was Dalehite’s former basketball coach, Felton Page. 

The postseason honors continue to roll in for Cedar Ridge and Orange softball.

The North Carolina Softball Coaches Association have named Cedar Ridge centerfielder Taylor Ruhl, 2nd baseman Tori Dalehite and shortstop Tionna Carter to the 3A All-State Team. In addition, Orange junior shortstop Maddie Bartlett and freshman catcher Lauren Jackson were also named to the All-State squad.

It’s the first time that Carter, Ruhl, Bartlett and Jackson have made the All-State squad. Dalehite was named the 2018 Big 8 Conference Hitter of the Year.

Two weeks ago, Carter, Ruhl, Bartlett, Jackson, and Dalehite were named to the 3A All-District team.

Ruhl was the Big 8 Player of the Year and the District 3 Player of the Year. Cedar Ridge won a school record 21 games and tied with Orange for the Big 8 Conference Championship. The two teams played a tiebreaker game for the top-seed for the state playoffs, which the Red Wolves won 8-3 at Orange Softball Field on May 2.

Ruhl’s emergence as a hitter paved the way for the Red Wolves to have its most successful season in school history. From the opening game of the season against Bartlett Yancey on February 28, she went 2-for-2 and scored three runs with 2 RBIs. Ruhl hit safely in 22 of Cedar Ridge’s 24 games. The only exceptions came in the season-ending loss to eventual 3A state champion Eastern Alamance and, of all teams, Southern Durham.

Ruhl had 21 hits and 18 RBIs in 2018. This season, she had 53 hits and 36 RBIs.

Carter had the game-winning hit against West Johnston, which scored Ruhl, in the opening round of the 3A state playoffs. She hit a career-high .549 with 50 hits and 41 RBIS to conclude her four-year career.

Despite suffering a broken hand at the end of the 2018 season in a playoff loss to West Brunswick, Dalehite continued to play three sports at Cedar Ridge during the 2018-19 academic year. This season, Dalehite hit .544 with 43 hits and 41 RBIs. In Cedar Ridge’s 6-3 win over West Carteret in the 2nd round of the 3A state playoffs, Dalehite laced a two-run double in the 3rd inning. She went 2-for-4 against the Patriots.

After Orange struggled to find a replacement for the incomparable Mia Davidson in 2018, Jackson stepped behind the plate in 2019 and quickly established herself. Jackson led Orange with a 439 batting average and 21 RBIs. She was second on the squad with 25 hits.

Bartlett, the daughter of Jeff and Tonya Bartlett, led Orange with 27 hits. In Orange’s 4-1 win over Jacksonville in the opening round of the 3A state playoffs, Bartlett went 2-for-4 with a solo homer. Bartlett, whose uncle Eddy coached Orange to the 3A State Championship in 2017, was named to the Big 8 All-Conference team for the first time ever.

Hannah Weigle of Northwood was the only other player from the Big 8 Conference to make the 3A All-State team.

For the second year in a row, Grey’s Creek Jaden Pone was named the 3A All-State Player of the Year. Eastern Alamance freshman MaKenna Raye Dark was named the 3A Pitcher of the Year after leading the Eagles to its first state championship in softball.

After leading the Cedar Ridge softball team in hitting this spring, Red Wolves centerfielder Taylor Ruhl has been named the 3A District 3 Player of the Year by the North Carolina Softball Coaches Association.

Orange County is considered within district 3, along with Edgecombe, Franklin, Granville, Durham, Halifax, Johnston, Nash, Person, Northhampton, Vance, Warren, Wake and Wilson Counties.

Ruhl led Cedar Ridge with a .596 batting average as the Red Wolves tied Orange for the Big 8 Conference Championships. Cedar Ridge defeated the Lady Panthers in a special tiebreaker game to determine the #1 seed for the 3A State Playoffs on May 2. Cedar Ridge finished 21-3 overall, reaching the third round of the 3A State Playoffs for the second year in a row.

Ruhl also led the team with 53 hits and tied for the team lead with three triples.

Joining Ruhl on the All-District 3 squad were four Cedar Ridge Red Wolves and five Orange Lady Panthers.

Tori Dalehite: The 2018 Big 8 Hitter of the Year made the All-Big 8 Conference team for the second year in a row. Dalehite led Cedar Ridge with 41 RBIs in 2019 with a .544 batting average and a team-high 17 doubles. She committed to UNC Greensboro last winter.

Tionna Carter: A fourth-year varsity shortstop, Carter had the game-winning hit in the opening round of the 3A state playoff victory over West Johnston on May 7. Carter hit a career-high. 549 (149 points above her previous high) with 50 hits and and 41 RBIs. She played in all 24 of the Red Wolves games.

Takia Nichols: One of three freshmen from Hillsborough to make the All-District team. Nichols led Cedar Ridge with eight home runs, including a monster blast to left field in the 2nd round of the state playoffs against West Carteret on May 10. Nichols started at 3rd base from the season-opener against Bartlett Yancey. She hit .509 with 36 RBIs.

Kara Wagoner: A senior 1st baseman, Wagoner hit .408 with 31 hits, 31 RBIs and 13 doubles. Wagoner committed to play at Montreat last winter. She had a career-hight 35 runs scored. Leaves Cedar Ridge with a career .406 batting average and 23 career doubles. A honor role student and president of the Cedar Ridge Future Farmers of America.

The five players from Orange High included two freshmen, as well as two players who won a state championship in 2017.

Olivia Ruff: Ruff, the only senior from Orange to make the All-District team, hit .389 this season. She had career-highs in hits (21) and RBIs (16). Ruff went 3-for-3 against East Chapel Hill on May 1, which ensured the Lady Panthers a share of the Big 8 Championship for the third time in four years.

Jayden Hurdle: A starter at first base since her freshman season, Hurdle overcame a torn ACL last summer to hit .385 in 2019. Hurdle led Orange with 22 RBIs. Went 4-for 4 with two home runs against East Chapel Hill on March 12 in a 12-0 victory, the Lady Panthers first win of the year. Also earned two pitching wins this season.

Maddie Bartlett: A junior shortstop, Bartlett hit .409. She led the team with 27 hits and eight doubles. Went 2-for-4 with two runs scored in Orange’s win over Jacksonville in the opening round of the 3A state playoffs in Hillsborough. Had ten multi-hit games this season. Daughter of former Orange player Tonya Bartlett.

Lauren Jackson: Led the team with a .439 batting average in her freshman season. Provided the most dramatic moment of the season for Orange with a game-winning single in the 8th inning to drive in Bartlett and defeat Northwood 7-6. The Panthers were down to its last out, trailing 6-5 in the 7th inning before Emma Puckett drove in Ruff. Also led the team with five home runs.

Gracie Walker: The other end of Orange’s all-freshman battery, Walker became the established pitcher as the season stretched on. Walker finished 8-5 with 82 strikeouts and a 2.90 ERA. Her biggest win of the season came against Cedar Ridge, where he gave up five hits and four runs in a complete game win, which led Orange to tie the Red Wolves for 1st place in the Big 8.

A long trip down east paid off for the Cedar Ridge softball team on Friday night. The Red Wolves defeated West Carteret 6-3 to advance to the 3rd round of the 3A State Playoffs. Tori Dalehite blasted a two-run homer in the 3rd inning. Takia Nichols drilled her team-high eighth home run of the season in the 4th. Tionna Carter laced a two-run double in the sixth with two out. Senior Kara Wagoner lined a RBI single in the 1st inning to score Taylor Ruhl. Kymberlie Thacker made several big plays at the plate and didn’t conceded a wild pitch. Pitcher Taylor Barnes earned her 18th win of the season, the most by any Cedar Ridge pitcher in school history. The Red Wolves won’t have to travel nearly as far for its next state playoff game. They will take a 10-minute drive to Mebane on Tuesday night for a showdown against Eastern Alamance, the Mid State Conference Champions. You can hear that game on Hillsboroughsports.com at 6:25.

In the longest playoff game in Cedar Ridge softball history, senior shortstop Tionna Carter laced a single to centerfield to score Taylor Ruhl in the bottom of the 11th inning to push the Red Wolves past West Johnston 4-3 on Tuesday night at Red Wolves Territory in the opening round of the 3A State Softball Playoffs. Carter’s single ended a long defensive stalemate where neither team scored for eight consecutive innings. The Red Wolves advance to Friday, where they will face West Carteret in Morehead City. Last season, the Red Wolves defeated West Carteret 10-0 in the 2nd round of the 3A State Playoffs in Hillsborough.