Cedar Ridge Softball

As the sun started to set on a remarkable day in Hillsborough, it appeared for just a moment that Ava Lowry would make it a celebration unlike any other for Cedar Ridge.

In any other ballpark across the Big 8 Conference, it would have been. Lowry had worked the count as only she could, and sent Orange pitcher Caden Robinson’s payoff pitch towards right centerfield. As Orange’s Serenity McPherson gave chase, the only drawback for Cedar Ridge was that Lowry had hit it to the deepest part of a big ballpark.

It landed two feet shy of the wall.

Lowry would wind up with a triple in the eighth inning, but she would go no further. The most remarkable comeback win in Cedar Ridge softball history, and possibly every other sport as well, would fall just short.

Orange scored three runs in the ninth inning to escape from Cedar Ridge with a 12-9 win in extra innings. Freshman 2nd baseman Delaney Shaffer, in just her second start, went 4-for-5 with two RBIs, including the game-winning hit when she drove in junior Mary Moss Wirt with a drive to left field. Wirt led off the ninth with a liner up the middle on an 0-2 pitch.

Not that anyone in attendance, bundled up on a chilly night wearing orange or burgundy and gray, thought it would remotely reach that point to begin with. Cedar Ridge trailed 9-2 going into the bottom of the seventh inning against an undefeated Orange team that had already clinched the Big 8 Championship on Tuesday with a victory over Vance County.

Besides, some Cedar Ridge fans felt that they had already sewed up a moral victory. They were the first team this year to extend Orange past the fifth inning. The Lady Panthers (8-0, 6-0 in the Big 8) had won all of its games via the run-rule, i.e. 10 runs after five innings, or 15 runs after three. On March 23, Orange beat Cedar Ridge 20-0. Their closest game had come against Vance County on Tuesday, an 11-1 win that was stopped in the fifth after Carson Bradsher drove home Delaney Shaffer.

With Cedar Ridge trailing 9-2 going into the seventh, it appeared another Orange win would be a mere formality.

Then funny things started happening.

“I’ve never seen anything like it,” said Cedar Ridge Coach Allen Byrd. “We come out of this game with our heads held high. What amazed me is that they never gave up. We were down seven runs, and they knew that wasn’t the time to give up. It was time to fight.”

Pinch hitter Tori Carden, in her second plate appearance of the year, drew a walk. Alex Matthews singled to centerfield. Takia Nichols walked to load the bases, which led Orange coach Johnny Barefoot to put in freshman right fielder Caden Robinson to pitch. Robinson struck out Emma-Rae Sharp, but Carden scored off a wild pitch. Senior catcher ShiLi Quade laid down a bunt to third and reached safely to load the bases again. Olivia Aitkin lined a single to centerfield to bring in Nichols and Matthews to make it 9-5.

Suddenly extending Orange to seven innings didn’t feel like the top priority anymore.

With Lowry at bat, Quade scored off a wild pitch. Then Lowry reached on a dropped ball in the outfield, which allowed Aitkin to come in. Second baseman Reagan Ruhl grounded a ball to Shaffer, who flipped to second base, but no one was covering. Senior Marleee Rakouskas got an infield hit on a slow roller to shortstop to load the bases again.

Carden, the tenth batter for Cedar Ridge in the 7th, came up. On a 1-1 pitch, Lowry scored off a wild pitch and moved Ruhl to third. After Carden drew another walk, Matthews grounded out to Carson Bradsher at short, which allows Ruhl to tie the game. Rakouskas, incredibly representing the game-winning run, moved to third.

After Nichols was intentionally walked, Sharp grounded to Wirt at third base, who came up with the ball and chucked it to catcher Lauren Jackson to retire Rakouskas at the plate on a force out. A game that appeared to be a breeze for Orange was now going to extra innings.

After Lowry’s near miss in the 8th, Wirt led off the ninth inning with a single. Following the RBI by Shaffer, centerfielder Serenity McPherson laced a 2-1 liner to left field to score Shaffer. Bradsher drilled a fastball to left field, which brought in Gracie Colley for insurance, but McPherson was tagged out at the plate.

Shaffer, in just her second varsity start at second base, made the game’s biggest defensive play in the bottom of the ninth inning. After Rakouskas and Carden hit consecutive singles to lead off the frame, Matthews lofted a soft liner to second. With the ball fading quickly, Shaffer dove under it to make the catch, then doubled up Carden at first. After Nichols was intentionally walked to a chorus of boos from the Cedar Ridge fans, Wirt fittingly got the final out on a grounder hit by Sharp.

Lowry, who finished 2-for-4 with a triple and a double, was responsible for ten outs (four putouts and six assists) at shortstop. Rakouskas went 3-for-4.

Bradsher finished 3-for-5 with three runs scored. McPherson went 3-for-5 with an RBI.

Orange opened with three runs in the first inning. McPherson hit a leadoff single to centerfield, and Bradsher followed with an RBI triple to left field. Robinson wound up at third a dropped ball in left field to score Bradsher. With Jackson at bat, Robinson scored off a wild pitch.

McPherson scored again in the second inning after she got onboard off a single to shallow centerfield. Bradsher reached on an error, then got caught in a rundown after McPherson went to third. As Bradsher baited a throw, McPherson raced across the plate safely

It was one of seven unearned runs scored by Orange.

Cedar Ridge scored in the second inning after Lowry doubled to left field. After going to third on a groundout by Ruhl, Lowry touched the plate after a wild pitch to cut Orange’s lead to 4-1.

Jackson reached on an error to start the third inning. With Brianne Foster running for Jackson, Wirt singled up the middle. Pitcher Gracie Walker knocked in Foster with an groundout to Lowry. Shaffer singled in Wirt with a base hit to right field.

In the 80s, a walk followed by two stolen bases was known as the “Ricky Henderson triple.” Well, Bradsher increased Orange’s lead in the fourth with a Carson Bradsher home run to increase Orange’s lead to 6-1 during a sequence where she reached on a single, stole second and wound up at home after two throwing errors.

In the sixth, Brasher notched her third run of the game following another error. After Robinson moved her to second base on a groundout, Jackson lined a fastball to left field for a RBI double. At the time, it felt like an extraneous run, but it proved to be vital a short time later after Cedar Ridge scored seven runs in a 7th inning no one will soon forget.

The Cedar Ridge softball team nearly pulled off what would have been the greatest comeback victory in school history against crosstown rival Orange. On Friday night, the Red Wolves trailed 9-2 in the bottom of the seventh inning, but roared back with seven runs to send the game into extra innings. Sophomore pitcher Hayley King set the Lady Panthers down in order in the top of the eighth to give the Red Wolves a chance to beat the Lady Panthers. King threw 126 pitches against Orange. She also played with inspiration. In January, King’s grandmother passed away. On Friday night, her grandfather gave King a piece of her grandmother’s shirt that she wore to many of King’s games. King kept that in her back pocket and rubbed it whenever she felt she needed inspiration. This season, King has three wins for the Red Wolves. Cedar Ridge will travel to Northern Durham next Tuesday.

Hours after a disappointing loss to Vance County, the Cedar Ridge softball team rediscovered its defensive touch against Northwood.

After they surrendered three unearned runs against the Vipers on Thursday, either Hayley King threw a two-hitter over five innings as the Red Wolves defeated the Chargers 14-2 on Friday night at Cedar Ridge Softball Field. Three weeks earlier, the Chargers scored 17 runs against the Red Wolves in the season opener.

King, who improved to 3-3, threw the first complete game of her varsity career.

Northwood didn’t even bother pitching to Cedar Ridge’s Takia Nichols, even though she was the leadoff patter. Nichols, who already has four home runs in six games this season, was intentionally walked in all three of her plate appearances. With the bat out of Nichols’ hands, shortstop Ava Lowry hit an inside-the-park home run on a line drive to left field, bringing in ShiLi Quade and Olivia Aitkin to end the game. Lowry, who hit two conventional home runs against East Chapel Hill on March 29, finished 2-for-3 with four RBIs and three runs scored. She is now hitting .500 in 20 at-bats. She’s tied for the team lead with 14 RBIs.

Quade went 2-for-3 with three runs scored. Senior left fielder Marlee Rakouskas finished 3-for-3 with three RBIs and a triple.

Nichols scored on a sacrifice fly hit by Aitkin in the top of the first. After Northwood tied the game off a run scored by Carlee Harris in the third inning, Cedar Ridge took the lead again after Nichols scored on another sacrifice fly by Aitkin. Quade, who reached on a bunt single earlier in the inning, was driven home by an infield single hit by Lowry. Rakouskas lined a triple to centerfield to score Lowry and Reagan Rhul and increase the Red Wolves’ lead to 5-1. Sophomore Caira Peach hit a grounder to left field for her first varsity RBI, sending Rokouskas home to conclude a six-run frame. A

After Nichols was issued her obligatory leadoff walk to start the fourth, Quade singled on a line drive to left field. Aitkin followed through with a double to centerfield to score Nichols. It was Aitkin’s third RBI of the day.

The previous day against Vance County, Takia Nichols hit two home runs. It was the 16th and 17th home runs of her career, a school record. Nichols is a junior who played only four games in her sophomore year after it was stopped because of the pandemic.

On Thursday, Vance County defeated Cedar Ridge 7-4 behind a solid pitching performance by Blake Vick, who scattered only four hits in seven innings. Quade scored the game’s first run off a double by Nichols that one-hopped the wall in left field. But Cedar Ridge didn’t have another batter touch third base again until Nichols’ solo homer in the fifth inning.

The Vipers scored four runs in the third inning. Kennedy Keel started things with a one-out triple to right field, and scored on a wild pitch while catcher Malia Simmons was at bat. After a Cedar Ridge error with two out kept the inning alive, Madison Ayscue reached on an infield single on a liner that popped off the webbing of Nichols’ glove at third base. Myasia Coles then tripled down the left field line to score Richardson and Ayscue.

In the seventh, Keel hit another triple, which was followed by Simmons sending a triple to centerfield.

Quade reached on a bunt single to lead off the seventh inning, then rounded the bases and scored off a throwing error that sent the ball to left field.

Cedar Ridge travels to Chapel Hill tonight. The Red Wolves are 3-3.

ORANGE: Orange has a chance to wrap up the Big 8 Conference Championship tonight when they face Vance County in Hillsborough. The Lady Panthers are 6-0, 5-0 in the Big 8 Conference. With each team only playing seven conference games, Vance County comes in with a 1-2 mark.

It would be Orange’s first outright Big 8 Championship since 2017, when they won the 3A State Championship. The Lady Panthers tied Cedar Ridge for the Big 8 title in 2019, but Cedar Ridge defeated Orange in a special tiebreaker game to determine the top seed from the Big 8 for the state playoffs.

Last Thursday, Orange rolled past East Chapel Hill 17-0 at Wildcat Softball Stadium. Freshman Caden Robinson hit her second career varsity home run. Junior catcher Lauren Jackson added her first home run of the season, her sixth career dinger.

Robinson also took the win in the circle. She threw only the first inning, striking out two.

The Lady Panthers piled up 17 hits. Sophomore Carson Bradsher finished 3-for-4 with a triple. Sophomore Serenity McPherson went 3-for-4 with a double. Jackson and Gracie Walker went 2-for-2. Junior Mary Moss Wirt finished 1-for-1, but scored three runs off two walks.

Orange and Cedar Ridge will meet at Cedar Ridge Stadium on Friday night.

Ever since pitcher Rivers Andrews’ graduated from Cedar Ridge in 2018, the softball’s team best defense has been a strong offense.

After a lapse against Orange, the vintage Red Wolves offense was back in living burgundy and grey at East Chapel Hill Monday afternoon.

The Red Wolves piled up a whopping 22 hits, keyed by two home runs from senior shortstop Ava Lowry, in an 18-5 win over the Wildcats at East Chapel Hill Softball Stadium. It was Cedar Ridge’s five straight victory over the Wildcats and its third consecutive win at East Chapel Hill.

Lowry, junior Takia Nichols and senior catcher ShiLi Quade each had four hits for the Red Wolves, who are 2-2 in the Big 8 Conference. Cedar Ridge had ten extra base hits. Nichols and Alexandria Matthews each had two doubles.

Sophomore Hayley King earned her second win of the season inside the circle for the Red Wolves. King threw two shutout innings. She surrendered one hit with one strikeout before Matthews threw the final three innings.

Cedar Ridge is the two-time defending Big 8 Champions, but they started 1-2 after a wild 17-16 loss to Northwood in eight innings in Pittsboro on March 17. In that game, the Red Wolves trailed 11-4 going into the fifth inning, only to tie the game with seven runs in the fifth inning. Cedar Ridge scored five in the top of the seventh to take a 14-12 lead, and actually had the Chargers down to its last out before Zoe Hatsidakis doubled home Carlee Harris for the game-tying run.

With only the first seven games being counted in the Big 8 Conference standings, it’s fair to say Cedar Ridge’s playoff fortunes were on the line against East Chapel Hill on Monday.

“I think it was hard for us at first today,” Lowry said. “Just trying to adjust to the slower pitching and just trying to get our confidence back from the Orange game. But for the most part, we came out strong.”

Quade opened the scoring with a line drive to center, then stole second and took third base on a throwing error. Nichols’ earned her first RBI of the day with a groundout to pitcher Helena Harrison, which allowed Quade to score.

The Red Wolves broke the game open with five runs in the second inning. Marlee Rakouskas drew a leadoff walk, leading to Matthews doubling on a ground ball to left, leading to Rakouskas scoring from first. After Quade was hit by a pitch, Nichols double to left, bringing in Matthews. Lowry then launched a three-run homer over the white, plastic, four-foot wall at East Softballs stadium to put the Red Wolves ahead 6-0, and that was just the beginning.

In the third, Matthews, Anaya Carter and Quade loaded the bases with consecutive singles. Nichols doubled with a liner to center to clear the bases. Lowry took a 1-0 fastball over the centerfield plastic to extend Cedar Ridge’s lead to 11-0.

Nichols wound up 4-for-5 with six RBIs and four runs scored, including two doubles. Quade finished 4-for-4 with five runs scored, including a double and a triple. Matthews came away 3-for-4 with two runs scored with two doubles. Junior Olivia Aitkin was 2-for-5.

East Chapel Hill Sydney Lang was 1-for-2 with a two-run home run in the third inning.

Through four games, Nichols is hitting .750 with eleven RBIs. She has two home runs, even though she’s been walked in five of her 17 plate appearances.

Lowry increased her average to .538, which includes going 3-for-4 with 4 RBIs in the Northwood loss. Her two home runs on Monday were the first of her high school career.

The Red Wolves will be off for the rest of spring break. They will return to action against Southern Durham next Tuesday in Hillsborough, which may be tentative since the Spartans have already canceled a game against Orange this week.

While the first week of the season was disappointing, Cedar Ridge isn’t folding its hand regarding making the playoffs for a fourth straight season.

“I think we can still play Northwood again and win,” Lowry said. “I think our upcoming games are ones we can win.

Cedar Ridge shortstop Ava Lowry helped bring the power back for the Red Wolves softball team on Monday afternoon. Lowry hit two home runs, finished 4-for-5 at the plate and finished with six RBIs as Cedar Ridge defeated East Chapel Hill 18-5 at Wildcat Softball Stadium. The Red Wolves laced 22 hits against the Wildcats. Lowry has committed to play softball at North Carolina Wesleyan, where she is looking at a career in athletic training. While Lowry’s final year as a Cedar Ridge softball player will be cut short, she’s making the most of it so far. She’s hitting .538 with seven hits and ten RBIs. Against Northwood, Lowry went 3-for-4 with four RBIs and a double. Cedar Ridge will get the rest of the week off and prepare for Northern Durham next Tuesday in the first game after spring break. The Red Wolves are 2-2 in the Big 8 Conference.

The Cedar RIdge softball team breezed to its first win of the season on Monday. 3rd baseman Takia Nichols, who homered off the scoreboard in the Red Wolves’ home opener last year against West Johnston, drilled a deep drive to dead center for her second dinger off the year against Chapel Hill on Monday. It was Nichols’ 15th career home run, which is believed to be the school record. That’s despite the fact that Takia draws an incredible amount of walks. Cedar Ridge is 1-1 as they travel to Orange on Tuesday. It’s an important game for the Red Wolves, as it always is against its crosstown rival. Only the first meetings will count in the Big 8 Conference standings this year. Last week, Cedar Ridge lost to Northwood, so the matchup against the Lady Panthers takes on increased importance, particularly after Orange opened the season with a victory over East Chapel Hill last week. Nichols continues to add her name to the Cedar Ridge record book, even during a pandemic, which shortened her sophomore season to four games and will limit her junior season, as well Cedar Ridge hosts Northern Durham on Thursday.

Jaden Hurdle: The former Orange High first baseman had a big weekend as Patrick Henry Community College swept Cleveland Community College in a doubleheader on Sunday. Collectively, Hurdle went 6-for-7 with two doubles, a home run and four RBIs as the Patriots swept the doubleheader 5-3 and 23-3 in Shelby. In the opening game, Hurdle went 2-for-3 with two RBIs, and a run scored after a home run. According to records from the National Junior College Athletic Association, it was Hurdle’s second home run this season. In the second game, Hurdle went 4-for-4 with two double. She scored twice with two RBIs. Hurdle closed the second game as pitcher. She threw two-and-two thirds innings. She surrendered three hits, one run and one walk with two strikeouts.

Mia Davidson: #5 Florida swept the Mississippi State softball team over the weekend at Nusz Park in Starkville, MS. In Friday’s 1-0 loss to the Gators, Davidson hit a double.

Montana Davidson: Montana started all three games against Florida at third base. The Bulldogs are 15-11 overall, 0-6 in the Southeastern Conference.

Tori Dalehite: Dalehite scored in the opening game of the UNC Greensboro softball team’s doubleheader against Elon on Friday. In the Spartans’ 11-3 win over the Phoenix, Dalehite replaced Kayleigh Willis as a pinch runner. Dalehite scored off a wild pitch in the 4th inning to increase the Spartans lead to 6-1. UNCG split the Friday doubleheader, but swept Elon in another doubleheader on Saturday. UNCG is 13-6.

Kaylen Campbell: A member of Orange’s 2016-17 Big 8 Women’s Basketball Conference Championship team, forward Kaylen Campbell was honored on Senior Night for the Division III Trinity College over the weekend. Campbell’s senior year was canceled because of the pandemic, but the Bantams played two exhibition games against Connecticut College on Saturday and Sunday. Campbell was named a Captain for this year’s team. Last year, Campbell played in 20 games for the Bantams and averaged 2.6 points and 2.1 rebounds. She is majoring in music at Trinity and is the co-founder of Trinity’s Athletes of Color Coalition. At Orange, Campbell was the Captain of a team that won a school-record 21 consecutive games to open the season, swept the Big 8 regular season and postseason tournaments and reached the third round of the 3A state playoffs.

Bryse Wilson: Wilson had a strong spring training start for the Atlanta Braves on Saturday. He allowed one run over 4 and two-thirds innings as the Braves defeated Boston 8-2. Wilson is 2-0 this spring. He surrendered five hits and three walks with three strikeouts. In the first at-bat of the game, Wilson had a comebacker go off his calf, but remained in the game until the fifth inning.

Landon Riley: The Liberty Flames closer didn’t get a save this weekend. He got his first win instead. On Saturday, Riley threw the ninth inning in Liberty’s 3-2 win over VCU. He entered with the game tied 2-2 and threw another shutout inning. He surrendered two walks and struck out one batter. The Flames got the win in the bottom of the ninth when Aaron Anderson hit a walkoff double to left field. Liberty has won eleven in a row, including a two-game sweep of UCF and two midweek wins over North Carolina.

Joey Berini: #9 East Carolina fell to UNC Wilmington 10-2 at Brooks Field in Wilmington last Wednesday. Joey Berini entered the game in the eighth inning as a pinch hitter and grounded out to third base. East Carolina rebounded to sweep a weekend series against Illinois State. Berini has played in three games this season for the Pirates.

Phil Berger: The former Cedar Ridge pitcher started the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader against Brevard College. Brevard swept the doubleheader, taking the nightcap 9-7. Berger earned a no-decision. He completed four innings and surrendered four hits, two runs and one walk. Berger struck out six. Through six games, Berger is 2-1 with a 2.14 ERA for the Pacers. He has ten walks and 16 strikeouts.

Dylan Boyer: The Lenoir-Rhyne men’s lacrosse team, ranked #5 in Division II, defeated # 12 Queen’s University 15-7 on Saturday night at Dickson Field in Charlotte. Former Orange High midfielder Dylan Boyer actually helped the Royals build a 3-1 lead. He scored two goals, including an unassisted marker in the first quarter. Boyer added a man-up goal in the fourth quarter. It was his first goals at the college level. Queen’s is 3-3 overall, 3-1 in the South Atlantic Conference.

Jaylin Jones: The Division III Pfeiffer men’s lacrosse team defeated William Peace 21-9 at WakeMed Soccer Park in Raleigh on Wednesday night. Jones scooped up a ground ball for the Falcons. On Sunday, Pfeiffer defeated Methodist 18-8 at Lefko Field in Misenheimer. Jones also played for the Falcons and had another ground ball.

Luke Hernandez: Hernandez, a member of Cedar Ridge’s 2017 Eastern Regional Championship team, entered the game as a defenseman for the Falcons in the victory over Peace. Hernandez has played in two games this season. Pfeiffer is 5-1, and sits atop the USA South Athletic Conference at 3-0.

Adam Chnupa: The Elon Phoenix football team fell to William & Mary 31-10 at Zable Stadium in Williamsburg, VA on Saturday. Chnupa, the former All-Conference selection in football at Cedar Ridge, got some snaps on offense for the Phoenix.