Cedar Ridge Softball

The Cedar Ridge softball team captured a share of the Big 8 softball championship on Tuesday night, beating Northern Durham 12-6. In her final regular season game at Cedar Ridge, catcher Kymberlie Thacker went 3-for-4 with a double and 3 RBIs. Thacker is hitting .425 this season. In January, she formally signed with Brevard College. Earlier this year, Thacker suffered a concussion against Cardinal Gibbons, forcing her to miss six games. Regardless, the senior returned behind the plate. In her ten games since her return, Cedar Ridge has scored in double figure runs eight times. Next week, the Red Wolves will start action in the state playoffs, where they hope to be the #1 seed from the Big 8 Conference. On Wednesday night, Orange hosts East Chapel Hill. If the Lady Panthers win, they will face Cedar Ridge in a one-game playoff for the Big 8’s top seed on Thursday.

For the 2nd year in a row, the Cedar Ridge Red Wolves have won a share of the Big 8 softball championship. On Wednesday night, they defeated Northern Durham 12-6 at Knights Softball Field in Durham to finish the regular season 18-2. Senior pitcher Taylor Barnes threw a complete game for her 15th win of the season. Barnes also went 2-for-4 with a double. On Monday night in Cedar Ridge’s 12-2 win over the Knights, Barnes went 3-for-3 and scored three runs. Barnes is hitting .462 this season. After playing twice in two days, Cedar Ridge will sit back and watch crosstown rival Orange on Wednesday night. The Panthers host East Chapel Hill. If Orange wins, they will Cedar Ridge on Thursday for the #1 seed in the Big 8 Conference in the upcoming 3A State Tournament.

This week’s Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week is softball junior right fielder Emma Roby. This season, Roby is hitting .438 and has 21 hits. Earlier this season, Roby was forced to play catcher for six games after starter Kymberlie Thacker suffered a concussion against Cardinal Gibbons. Cedar Ridge went 6-1 in those games, including a 11-1 victory over Orange at Red Wolves Territory. Roby has had four consecutive multi-hit games, including going 3-for-3 at East Chapel Hill on April 10. She went 4-for6 against Hillside last Tuesday. Cedar Ridge opened this week with a win over Vance County on Monday night in Hillsborough. 

The final week before spring break was an active one for the Cedar Ridge softball team. On March 28, they routed crosstown rival Orange 11-1 at Red Wolves Softball Territory. Freshman 3rd baseman Takia Nichols hit a two-run homer to deep center in the 4th inning. Junior 2nd baseman Tori Dalehite went 3-for-4 with two RBIs, including the walkoff single to score Taylor Ruhl and Tionna Carter in the 5th. The following night, Cedar Ridge scored a wild 11-10 win over Person where the lead changed four times. Dalehite had the game-winning hit in the 7th. Cedar Ridge is tied with Orange for 2nd place in the loss column of the Big 8 Conference. Next week, Cedar Ridge resumes its season with a two-game series against East Chapel Hill, a squad that made the 3A state playoffs last year.

This week’s Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week is freshman pitcher Olivia Aitkin. In Cedar Ridge’s 18-15 victory over Cardinal Gibbons on March 5, Aitkin came in at pitcher and earned her first varsity win. She threw five-and-one-third innings, allowing only two earned runs. She entered the game with Cedar Ridge trailing 10-4. The Red Wolves recovered to score ten runs in the final three innings to beat the Crusaders 18-15.In addition, Aitkin went 2-for-3 at the plate, with two doubles and scoring twice. Aitkin has become a steady second option in the pitching circle for head coach Allen Byrd behind starting pitcher Taylor Barnes. After Cedar Ridge defeated Orange 11-1 on Tuesday, they will host Person on Wednesday in Hillsborough. First pitch will be at 6.

The first Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week for the spring sports season is softball freshman 3rd baseman Takia Nichols. In her first game at the varsity level, Nichols had four RBIs as Cedar Ridge rallied from a 6-0 deficit to defeat Bartlett Yancey 19-7. In her first varsity at-bat, Nichols had a two-run double as Cedar Ridge scored 13 runs in the 2nd inning against the Lady Bucs. Later that inning, Nichols had a two-run single. On Tuesday, Nichols had her first varsity home run as she went 3-for-5 with 3 RBI and four runs scored in an 18-15 win over Cardinal Gibbons. Nichols played regularly during basketball season for Felton Page’s Red Wolves. Cedar Ridge is 3-0 as they prepare for Rockingham County on Monday night in Hillsborough.

After two rainouts in the opening week of the season, the Cedar Ridge softball team got two games in this week. On Tuesday, they defeated Cardinal Gibbons 18-15 in Raleigh. After trailing 12-8 at the end of four innings, Cedar Ridge scored ten runs in the final three innings. Taylor Ruhl went 3-for-5 with a double and a home run. On Thursday night, things were most less dramatic as the Red Wolves routed the Crusaders 13-2 in five innings in Hillsborough. On Thursday, Ruhl went 3-for-4 with two doubles. Cedar Ridge is 3-0 as they head into Monday’s home game against Rockingham County. Then they host Northwood in their first Big 8 Conference series of the year on Tuesday.

Takia Nichols 1st varsity softball game was Thursday. Ignite against Bartlett Yancey, and it was memorable. In her very first at-bat, she laced a two-Run double to left field to jumpstart a 13-run 2nd inning for the Red Wolves. Later that inning, she grooved a two-run single to centerfield. Even though she’s a freshman, Nichols got the start at 3rd base in Cedar Ridge’s season-opener as the defending Big 8 Conference champions defeated the Lady Bucs 19-7, even though they trailed 6-0 going into the bottom of the second inning. After getting rained out twice this week, Cedar Ridge will try to get back on the field next week against Cardinal Gibbons.