Cedar Ridge Softball

A year ago, the gap between Orange and Cedar Ridge softball seemed wider than ever.

Orange had the North Carolina Gatorade Player of the Year in catcher Mia Davidson, now starting for Mississippi State. The Lady Panthers swept the Red Wolves, including a game at OHS that ended 15-0 in just three innings. A month later, Orange would claim the 3A state championship, long after the Red Wolves had ended a 6-12 campaign.

When the crosstown rivals start a two-game series tonight at Orange, things figure to be considerably different. Of course, Orange lost Davidson, shortstop Abby Hamlett and pitcher Christina Givens to graduation. Those departures were a foregone conclusion.

What Orange parents and fans didn’t expec at the end of lose season would be to lose head coach Eddie Davidson just days before the season opener against Eastern Alamance on March 7th. Henry Horn, who left softball coaching after a stint at Northern Durham and didn’t have any intention to return until Mia Davidson persuaded him back into it, is now the interim head coach.

With all the changes, Orange is 3-3, already as many losses as they had in all of 2017. They’re 2-2 in the Big 8, two games behind conference leader East Chapel Hill.

On the other end of town, Cedar Ridge stormed out of the gates 3-0, including a resounding sweep of Northwood to open the Big 8 campaign. Despite losing to Roxboro Community School on Monday night to drop to 3-1, the Red Wolves will have confidence agains the Lady Panthers because of two players who didn’t play last season.

Senior pitcher Rivers Andrews is 3-1 with a 0.58 ERA. he has 50 strikeouts and four walks. A third-year varsity starter, Andrews has had past success against Orange. In her sophomore season, with Mia and Montana Davidson in the starting lineup, Andrews struck out 14 in an 8-2 Cedar Ridge win. Three nights later, she fanned 13 Panthers, but Orange won 3-1 behind a two-run single from Mia Davidson. Andrews went 14-6 her sophomore season with 243 strikeouts.

Just as Cedar Ridge struggled to find a replacement for Andrews last seaosn, Orange has been hard pressed to find a replacement for Davidson, which was hardly unpredictable since she was the most accomplished female athlete in school history. Yet both of the catchers on Orange’s roster played at Stanford Middle School last year. Originally, freshman Hunter Balog was penciled into Davidson’s spot, but she was hit in the head by a practice ball the night before the season opener against Eastern Alamance. Alaysia Sanford, who was supposed to play junior varsity, was rushed to the main roster as the emergency replacement.

Another factor for Cedar Ridge has been the emergence of sophomore Tori Dalehite, who missed last season after tearing her ACL in the first high school basketball game she ever played in. While going hitless on Monday against RCS, Dalehite is still hitting .615 with seven RBIs through her first four varsity games. In fact, she homered in her first high school game against Eastern Alamance.

Kymberlie Thacker is hitting .357 for Cedar Ridge, while junior Tionna Carter is hitting .287.

Orange has depth of its own. Alisha Pettiford hit two home runs during a doubleheader with East Chapel Hill. Freshman shortstop Emma Puckett went 3-for-4 in her first varsity game, also against Eastern Alamance.

The first game of the two-game series will be tonight at Orange starting at 6:30. Cedar Ridge will host Thursday night’s game also at 6:30.

The training that Cedar Ridge sophomore Tori Dalehite received playing in Oak Grove has come back to benefit her so far in her fledgling high school career. After missing her freshman season because of a torn ACL, Dalehite is 8-for-10 in her first three games of her sophomore season, including a home run in her varsity debut against Eastern Alamance. Dalehite also leads Cedar Ridge with seven RBIs as they prepare to face Western Alamance on Thursday night in Elon.

Cedar Ridge Sophomore Tori Dalehite Discusses the Red Wolves 3-0 Start to the Season

The training that Cedar Ridge sophomore Tori Dalehite received playing in Oak Grove has come back to benefit her so far in her fledgling high school career. After missing her freshman season because of a torn ACL, Dalehite is 8-for-10 in her first three games of her sophomore season, including a home run in her varsity debut against Eastern Alamance.

Our first Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week for the spring sports season is softball pitcher Rivers Andrews. This was an anticlimactic choice given Andrews’ start to the season. Andrews is 3-0 with one five-inning no-hitter. Last week against Northwood, Andrews threw two shutouts. Through 18 innings, Andrews has surrendered only four hits, one run, walked two and struck out 34. She’s also hitting .333, starting the season 3-of-9 with an RBI. Rivers is a senior who has big goals in the year ahead, including trying to take over the top of the Big 8 Conference.

Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week: Rivers Andrews

Our first Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week for the spring sports season is softball pitcher Rivers Andrews. This was an anticlimactic choice given Andrews’ start to the season. Andrews is 3-0 with one five-inning no-hitter. Last week against Northwood, Andrews threw two shutouts.

It’s too early to tell if the balance of power in Big 8 Conference softball has changed after the first week of league play, but it’s clear that Cedar Ridge will have a big role in determining who the top team  is.

For the second time in four days, Cedar Ridge whitewashed Northwood on Friday. Kara Wagoner went 3-for-4 with a double and two RBIs, while Tori Dalehite had a triple as the Red Wolves shutout the Chargers 12-0 at the Chargers Softball Complex in Pittsboro.

Rivers Andrews posted her 2nd consecutive shutout. She struck out ten while allowing just one hit. Through 18 innings so far this season, Andrews has alllowed four hits, one run, two walked and struck out 34.

Cedar Ridge (3-0, 2-0 in the Big 8) pounded out 16 hits against the Chargers. Sophomore Tori Dalehite went 4-for-4 with a triple and 4 RBI. Dalehite has made up for lost time after she sat out her freshman season because of a torn ACL suffered during the 2016-17 basketball campaign. Through three games, Dalehite is 8-for-10 with seven RBI, two triples and a home run in the season opener against Eastern Alamance.

Junior Kara Wagoner went 3-for-4 on Friday with a double and two RBI. Tionna Carter had her multi-hit game of the season, finishing 2-for-4 with a run scored.

Cedar Ridge is slated to host Chapel Hill on Tuesday, then travel to CHHS on Friday. CRHS will play at Western Alamance on Wednesday. The Warriors are 3-2 after splitting its opening four Mid-State Conference games,  defeating McMichael and Rockingham County, but losing to Person and Morehead.

On Friday, East Chapel Hill swept Orange in a doubleheader at Panther Softball Field on scores of 6-5 and 9-7. The Wildcats had a huge day from senior pitcher Katie Agatucci, who went 1-for-3 in the opener. In the nightcap, Agatucci went 2–for-3 with 5 RBI, including a home run in the second innng as part of a six-run 2nd inning. Sophomore Ella Pedersen went 2-for-2 with a triple in the 2nd game.

Orange designated hitter Alisha Pettiford hit a home run in each game, but the Lady Panthers fell to 1-3, 0-2 in the Big 8. Orange will travel to Hillside on Tuesday,  then will have consecutive home games against Roxboro Community School on Thursday and Hillside again on Friday.

In case Cedar Ridge’s season-opening win over Eastern Alamance didn’t grab the attention of the rest of the Big 8 conference, consider what the Red Wolves did on Wednesday against Northwood.

The Chargers have four starters returning from a team that 18-6 last season and finished 3rd in the Big 8, including pitcher Hannah Weigle.

And the Red Wolves finished them in five innings.

Senior Rivers Andrews struck out nine while throwing a one-hitter as the Red Wolves polished off the Chargers 11-0 on Wednesday night in Hillsborough in the Big 8 opener. Cedar Ridge (2-0, 1-0 in the Big 8) will travel to Pittsboro to complete the two-game series on Friday night.

In just her second varsity game, Tori Dalehite went 2-for-3 with a RBI triple, scoring twice. Junior Tionna Carter had a two-run single, while sophomore Emma Roby went 1-for-3 with two RBIs.

Dalehite is off to a 4-for-6 start with three RBIs, a triple and a double.

With only one senior in the starting lineup, the Red Wolves pounded out ten hits in winning its second game of the season. Junior Amy Stutzer went 1-for-3 with an RBI, while Andrews finished 2-for-2. Freshman Shill Quade stole two bases.

Andrews faced 17 batters, but only two got on base. Kaylie Lane was hit by a pitch and Taylor Brown singled.

Mia Davidson: The freshman Mississippi State catcher currently leads the Bulldogs in batting average, hits, home runs, RBIs, total bases, slugging percentage (.803, over 150 points better than Morgan Bell, who is in 2nd place), and on-base percentage. And she has a stolen base. On Saturday during the Bulldog Slamboree, Davidson hit a two-run homer to center in the first inning. The Bulldogs swept the Bulldog Slamboree with wins over Lamar, Mercer and a doubleheader sweep against Sam Houston State. Mississippi State is now 16-3 and ranked #25 in the country.  

Mackenzie Cates: The senior shortstop for the Lenoir-Rhyne Bears softball team, Cates has helped the Bears win 5 straight games, reaching a 15-4 record overall and a #15 ranking in NCAA Division II. On Saturday.in the opener of a doubleheader against Francis Marion, Cates went 2-for-4 with an RBI as the Bears won 5-1. Later that day, Lenior-Rhyne completed the sweep as Cates with 2-for-3 with a double and an RBI as the Bears prevailed 8-2. Last Tuesday, Lenior-Rhyne swept another doubleheader against Belmont Abbey in Hickory. The Bears took the opener 8-0, where Cates went 2-for-3 with 2 RBIs. Through 19 games, Cates, a native of Efland, has hit .309 with one home run and 7 RBIs. She also has three doubles and is 2-for-2 on stolen bases.

Brandon Andrews: The first Ceda Ridge centerfielder/pitcher played in two games over the weekend for Nicholls in the Cox Diamond Invitational. Andrew threw two-thirds of an inning, striking out one, in a 6-3 loss to Ohio State. Andrews also pitched in an 11-5 loss to Eastern Michigan. Nicholls is 1-9.

Brad Debo: The N.C. State baseball team is off to a 10-2 start. Catcher Brad Debo, who graduated from Orange in 2016, has started ten games as a catcher, hitting .333 with two doubles and eight RBIs. On Friday, when the Wolfpack defeated Bowling Green, Debo went 1-for-3 with a double and an RBI as Wolfpack Coach Elliott Avent won his 800th career game. On Saturday in a 21-4 victory over Campbell, Debo went 3-for-4 with a double and 2 RBI.

Stephen Tanner: A former goalkeeper for the Cedar Ridge lacrosse team, Tanner earned the win in net for Greensboro College in a 10-7 victory over Hampton on Saturday. Tanner made five saves in playing 75 minutes. On Friday, Greensboro edged Alma 10-9, where Tanner earned another win by making eight saves. So far this season, Tanner has started eight games. He is 5-3 with a .478 save percentage and a 9.05 goals against average. The Pride is 5-3 overall in the NCAA Division III South Athletic Conference.