Cedar Ridge High School

Matthew Kahn has been a revelation for Cedar Ridge’s push to its best record in 12 years, and he showed why on Wednesday.

Kahn, a sophomore, delivered a two-run triple, which proved to be the knockout blow during a six-run sixth inning as Cedar Ridge defeated Southern Alamance 10-2 in the first round of the 3A State Playoffs in Hillsborough.

The Red Wolves are now 18-5. They will face Terry Sanford in Fayetteville on Saturday at noon in the 2nd round.

Junior pitcher Phil Berger earned the win, though he was limited to three-and-a-third innings. Berger improved to 6-2 by giving up two runs off three hits. Kahn came in during the fourth inning and took the save by throwing three-and-two-thirds shutout innings. He allowed one hit and two walks for his first varsity save.

It’s the 2nd straight year where Cedar Ridge has won a playoff game. Last year, the Red Wolves defeated Nash Central in the opening round before losing to Eastern Alamance 3-0 in the 2nd round.

As anticimatic as the game ended, it certainly didn’t start that way. Southern Alamance (17-10) scored its only runs in the first inning. Cole Greyson lined the game’s second pitch to centerfield. Junior Kaleb Potts got on board after a dropped pop-up. Amren Strigo loaded the bases after a line drive single to left. Junior catcher Austin Gilley grounded into a fielder’s choice to Jake DeFranco, bringing in Greyson. Potts scored off another RBI groundout by Scottie Thompson.

Cedar Ridge scored the game’s final ten runs, starting in the bottom of the first when Chris Cox doubled to the left field gap to plate Berger, who led off the frame with a single.

The Red Wolves took the lead with a pair in the 2nd. Erik Zehnder led off with a double to centerfield. Zehnder was thrown out at the plate trying to score off a grounder by Cooper Lamb. With two out, Adam Chnupa singled to right, sending Lamb to third. Jake DeFranco sent a grounder to Thompson, the pitcher, who threw it away, allowing Lamb and Chnupa to score.

In the fourth, Dante DeFranco sent a one-out single to left, and Cox followed with another single. Sailor Ramos got his team-leading 23rd RBI of the year with a liner to left, bringing in DeFranco and increasing Cedar Ridge’s lead to 4-2.

During Cedar Ridge’s sixth, Jake DeFranco walked, and Berger doubled. Dante DeFranco slammed another double to right to score Jake. Ramos added two more RBIs to his total with a line drive double to left. Lamb hit a sacrifice fly to left, allowing Kahn to tag up.

On Saturday, Cedar Ridge will play to get into the third round of the state playoffs for the first time since 2006.

Rivers Andrews was one out away from her second perfect game of the season.

With 26 up and 26 down and two out in the 7th inning, she walked Southern Wayne’s Mackenzie Bryan.

Instead of a perfect game, Andrews had to be content with her eighth no-hitter of the season. And Cedar Ridge softball’s first state playoff win since 2006, at least.

Cedar Ridge stormed past Southern Wayne 9-0 in Hillsborough on Wednesday night in Hillsborough in the first round of the 3A state playoffs. The Red Wolves advance to face West Carteret in Hillsborough on Friday or Saturday.

West Carteret, the champions of the Coastal Conference, held off Southeast Guilford 2-1 on Wednesday in Morehead City.

There was no such drama in Hillsborough on Wednesday as the Red Wolves won its 13th straight game to improve to 16-1. Andrews struck out 19 Saints, pushing her season total to 177, compared to 12 walks.

Cedar Ridge broke open a scoreless tie with four runs in the third. Taylor Ruhl and Tionna Carter started the inning with consecutive singles. Andrews knocked in the game’s first run, bringing in Ruhl on a sacrifice fly. Kymberlie Thacker had an RBI groundout to second, scoring Carter and giving Cedar Ridge a 2-0 lead. With two out, Emma Roby singled, and then Kara Wagoner drilled a two-run homer to left field. It was Wagoner’s first dinger of the year.

It remained 4-0 until the bottom of the sixth, when Cedar Ridge poured in five more runs. Taylor Barnes, Amy Stutzer and Tori Dalehite each had infield singles. Stutzer was thrown out at second. Ruhl grounded into a fielder’s choice with the bases loaded as Cailyn Thornton, running for Barnes, was thrown out at home trying to score. Carter lined a single to center to bring in Dalehite. Ruhl scored off an RBI single from Andrews, pushing Cedar Ridge’s lead to 6-0. As Thacker was at bat, Carter scored off a wild pitch. Thacker doubled on a liner to left field which reached the wall, plating Shili Quade, who was running for Andrews. Reagan Ruhl, running for Thacker, scored the final run off Roby’s infield single.

Roby finished 3-for-4 with an RBI. Wagoner went 2-for-4 following the homer. Dalehite, batting leadoff, finished 2-for-4, pushing her team-best average to .583. She also leads the team with 28 hits, five triples and 28 RBI.

Cedar Ridge’s win ended a mixed night for the Big 8 in the opening round of the state playoffs. Conference runner-up East Chapel Hill defeated Gray’s Creek 8-5 in Hope Mills. The Wildcats advance to face Western Alamance in the 2nd round.

However, the other two teams from the Big 8 were decisively eliminated. 11th-seeded Topsail pulled away from defending 3A state champion Orange 16-7 in Hampstead. Cape Fear remained undefeated, improving to 25-0 after shutting out Northern Durham 7-0 in Fayetteville.

This was one trip away from Morehead City that P.J. Michaelson could enjoy.

As a player at South Central High in Winterville, Michaelson was 0-8 against Coastal Conference rival West Carteret.

He also managed the girls team for four years. They never defeated the Patriots, either.

“I used to dread going there,” said Michaelson.

So when the NCHSAA announced the girls soccer playoff brackets on Monday morning, Michaelson had a case of deja vu. Cedar Ridge, the team he has coached for the past five years, would travel to face, you guessed it, West Carteret.

But Michaelson didn’t feel dread. He got a jolt of optimism.

“I told the girls we were prepared,” said Michaelson. “Their 11-seed was just a number. It doesn’t matter what their rank is. We’re ready to go.”

On Wednesday night, his players proved him right.

Freshmen Emerson Talley and Ivy Garner each scored goals in the first half, while Geri Messinger scored in the 2nd to finally give Michaelson his long-awaited win at West Carteret 3-0 in the first round of the 3A State Playoffs.

Not only did the Red Wolves advance to the 2nd round to face D.H. Conley on Saturday, they also became the first team to shut out the Patriots this season. West Carteret, the 11th seed, finished runner-up in the Coastal Conference behind Jacksonville.

It was Cedar Ridge’s first win in the state playoffs since 2005, when the Red Wolves defeated Durham School of the Arts 3-1 in the 2A/1A state championship tournament (the NCHSAA crowned three state champions in women’s soccer in those days).

Senior Taylin Jean and junior Grace Davies shared goalkeeping duties. Jean played in the first half, then moved to right cornerback in the second half as Michaelson shifted formations. Starting in a 4-4-2, Michaelson adjusted to a 3-5-2 and finished with a 4-5-1.

“I was shocked because I didn’t think it would work so well,” said Michaelson. “The backline kept them in front of them so they couldn’t use their speed. We played perfectly.”

Talley and Garner assisted on each other’s goals. Garner, who was All-Big 8 in women’s tennis, leads the team with 18 goals. Talley has 15 goals and 14 assists.

Messinger notched her third goal as Cedar Ridge improved to 11-3-5.

The win was gratifying for Jean, a senior who had been to the state playoffs the past two years only to come away with first-round losses. Last year, Cedar Ridge lost a 2-1 heart breaker to West Brunswick with the game-winning goal coming in the last ten minutes. It made for a long four-and-a-half hour bus ride back from Shallotte.

“Without that loss, we wouldn’t have won tonight,” said Jean. “It really helped us. It motivated us. We really wanted to win tonight. It definitely feels good to win this one. Not winning in the playoffs had definitely been bugging me the last couple of years.”

The bus ride home for Cedar Ridge on Wednesday night was four hours. Michaelson started the day at 6:30 AM and didn’t get home until midnight. He had another day of school ahead Thursday, but he was too happy to care.

“I’m going to stay up all night just like I did in college,” said Michaelson.

When the NCHSAA released its pairings on Monday, many around Cedar Ridge softball anticipated getting a high seed.

But when the Red Wolves received an 8-seed, despite finishing 15-1 overall, it left a sour taste in the mouths of Red Wolves coaches.

The 8-seed means Cedar Ridge could face the #1 seeded West Brunswick Trojans in the third round in Shallotte next week, if the Red Wolves advance that far. First, they have to get past Southern Wayne (9-11) on Wednesday in Hillsborough. In the second round, Cedar Ridge could face Coastal Conference Champions West Carteret, who went 10-0 in league play.

So why did Cedar Ridge get such a low seed? Why did teams with more losses like #2 seed Western Alamance (20-3), #4 Southern Alamance (20-4) and #6 C.B. Aycock (16-6) get a better seed?

First, understand teams are seeded based on their MaxPreps rankings. Since Cedar Ridge won their conference, the lowest they could be seeded was #9. Cedar Ridge’s MaxPrep ranking was #66. West Brunswick, the top overall seed in the East, had a #3 ranking. Western Alamance was #23. Southern Alamance was #36.

Why?

If you’re thinking about going to the FAQ section on MaxPreps seeding on the NCHSAA website, here’s a word of advice: don’t.

Based on help from Raleigh News and Observer High School Sports Editor J. Mike Blake, we got help in understanding what happened.

There are several factors:

The weather: It was a rainy and snowy spring across Orange County. Cedar Ridge had two nonconference games canceled because of weather. Both of them were against teams that won their respective conferences. In the first week of March, Cedar Ridge was scheduled to travel to Western Alamance, but there was enough snow that week to cancel the game. Western Alamance captured the Mid-State Conference Championship with a 11-3 league record. Roxboro Community, who is the only team to beat Cedar Ridge this season, won the 1A North Central Championship last week, taking a tiebreaker from Vance Charter School. According to Blake, if Cedar Ridge had played those games (not win them, simply play them) against the Warriors and Bulldogs, their MaxPreps rankings would have increased, perhaps substantially.

Not Enough Games: Cedar Ridge only played 16 games, the least of any team in the entire 3A State Tournament. Again, the weather was a factor. The Red Wolves missed opportunities to play good teams and boost their MaxPreps ranking.

The Schedule: As Blake points out, Cedar Ridge played one team with less than five losses. That was Roxboro Community School, who beat CRHS. Cedar Ridge couldn’t overcome the damage to its schedule done by the bottom feeders of the Big 8 Conference. Of Cedar Ridge’s 16 wins, six came against Hillside, Southern Durham and Chapel Hill. East Chapel Hill, Orange, Northwood, and Northern Durham all had less wins this season than in 2017.

Cedar Ridge outscored opposition 145-9 this season and won the first softball conference championship in school history. They have the talent to win a state championship against a loaded field. They’ll just have a tougher climb to get there than anticipated.

Bryse Wilson: Five starts with the Florida Fire Frogs was enough for the brass in the Atlanta Braves organization to see Bryse Wilson should be promoted. On Saturday, Wilson was called up to the Mississippi Braves of the AA Southern League. The transaction came after Wilson threw six-and-two-thirds shutout innings for the Fire Frogs against the Bradenton Marauders on Wednesday. Wilson departs Kissimmee, Florida with a 2-0 record and a 0.34 ERA. In four of Wilson’s five starts, he didn’t give up an earned run. He struck out 26 and walked seven. He’s expected to make his Southern League debut next week.

Mia Davidson: In Sunday’s 6-1 loss to #7 Tennessee, former Orange High catcher Mia Davidson set the Mississippi State softball record for most home runs in a season by a freshman. She launched her 18th home run in the 3rd inning. On Saturday in Mississippi State’s 10-3 win over the Volunteers, Davidson tied the record with her 17th homer. Mississippi State, ranked #24 in the country, concluded the regular season 35-20 overall, 7-17 in the SEC. Davidson concluded the regular season leading the team in batting average (.385), hits (66), doubles (13), home runs (18), RBI (46), total bases (133), slugging percentage (.733), and on-base percentage.

Mackenzie Cates: The Efland native was named the Lenoir-Rhyne Female Athlete of the Year on Wednesday during the first-ever Bears Choice Awards. Cates was named to the 2019 All-South Atlantic Conference First Team last week. She leads the Lenoir-Rhyne softball team in home runs (12) and RBI (42). Lenoir-Rhyne was upset by Carson-Newman in the first round of the SAC Softball Quarterfinals 6-0 on April 27. Nonetheless, the Bears are expected to receive a high-seed when the NCAA Division II Softball Tournament brackets are unveiled this week.

Brandon Andrews: The former Cedar Ridge pitcher earned his first college win as Nicholls defeated Stephen F. Austin 22-10 on Saturday in Nacogdoches, Texas. Andrews, a freshman with the Colonels, threw three shutout innings, giving up one hit, striking out one. He retired ten of the eleven batters he faced. Andrews also pitched on May 2 in Nicholls 17-8 win over Prairie View in Prairie View, TX. Against the Panthers, Andrews threw two shutout innings, striking out two. Nicholls is 21-27, 10-13 in the Southland Conference going into Sunday’s series-finale against Stephen F. Austin.

Jordan Toney: The former Orange pitcher started for UNC Pembroke against Georgia Southwestern on April 28. He gave up 12 hits and seven runs in four-and-two-thirds innings as the Braves defeated the Hurricanes 13-7. Toney also started against Flagler on April 21st, also getting a no-decision. Toney threw six-and-a-third innings, giving up six hits, three runs, striking out three. This season, Toney is 3-0 with a 6.04 ERA in eight starts. He’s made 13 appearances on the mound.

Brad Debo: Debo made pinch-hitting appearances on Friday and Saturday against William & Mary. Debo got a base hit in the Wolfpack’s 4-0 win over the Tribe on Friday. In a 5-4 loss to Campbell on Wednesday, Debo had a pinch-hit RBI single. Debo is hitting .276 and has started 22 of the Wolfpack’s 46 games. N.C. State is 33-12.

Bowen Collins: The former Orange midfielder played in Lenoir-Rhyne’s win over Queens in the South Atlantic Conference men’s lacrosse tournament. The Bears lost the championship game to Wingate 12-9 on April 29.

The Cedar Ridge softball team’s coronation came with 81-degree temperatures, the warmest day so far this year.

That’s not only summer weather. It’s championship weather.

The high school sports season ends on June 2. If 2017 is any indication, it will be well into the high-80s. On the field, it will be in the 90s.

When Orange won the 3A state softball championship at Dail Field at N.C. State last season, pitcher Christina Givens got lightheaded in the dugout. Trainer Emily Gaddy had to give her cold towels, carbonated beverages and breath mints to finish the game.

There’s no other place Cedar Ridge would rather be.

From the time that Cedar Ridge started the season with a 4-1 win at Eastern Alamance on February 28, it was clear that the 6-12 season in 2017 was a distant memory.

As well as it should have been. Pitcher Rivers Andrews missed her entire junior season with a hip injury. 1st baseman Tori Dalehite’s freshman season was lost after she tore her ACL in her first basketball game.

In other words, Cedar Ridge competed in 2017 without its top two players and anyone around the Red Wolves team will tell you pitchers like Andrews don’t grow on trees.

On Thursday, the Red Wolves completed a coronation to its first softball championship in school history, shutting out Southern Durham 19-0. Naturally, Andrews was perfect in her final regular season game, throwing three innings and striking out nine. Dalehite hit her fifth home run, while Kymberlie Thacker belted her seventh.

Anyone can measure a team’s dominance by the slaughter rule, I.e. beating an opponent by over ten runs in five innings. Half of Cedar Ridge’s 14 wins came that way, but the ones that grabbed the attention of many around the Big 8 came on March 14 when they romped past Northwood 11-0, and did it again two days later 12-0 against the Chargers.

On March 28, Andrews tossed her masterpiece against Orange, a perfect game where she struck out 20 of the 21 Panthers she faced. Overall, Cedar Ridge outscored opposition 140-6 in Big 8 play this season.

Andrews threw six no-hitters this season, finishing 12-1 with a 0.64 ERA. She struck out 158 while walking eleven.

Dalehite, in her first varsity season, led the team with a .614 batting average. She had team-highs in hits (27), RBIs (28), runs (26), and triples (5)

There’s also the power of Thacker, who hit seven home runs and added 20 RBIs.

The rain and snow of a strange spring robbed Cedar Ridge of some potentially interesting non-conference games. On Monday, the Red Wolves were supposed to face Roxboro Community School, the only team to beat the Red Wolves this season. It was canceled.

In early March, CRHS was set to face Western Alamance, a game that fell victim to a late snowfall. The Warriors are 20-3. Perhaps that canceled regular season date was only a rain check for sometime in May.

Regardless, Cedar Ridge softball withered the spring snow and rain to take its first conference championship in a race they controlled from day one.

Now, they want to be playing on June 2nd.

Just three days removed from competing in the oldest Track & Field event in the United States, Orange’s Jamar Davis began to get healthy.

The back heel that plagued him during the Penn Relays on Saturday began to get better by the time the Big 8 Track and Field Championships started on Tuesday.

And. It showed.

Davis captured the Big 8 Long Jump and Triple Jump Championships for the second consecutive year at Southern Durham High School. Davis won the Long Jump championship with a leap of 22-feet-four inches, two inches longer than runner-up Terry Green of Chapel Hill.

In the triple jump, Davis beat the field by a full six feet with a jump of 49-feet, six inches. Jordan Purvis was the next closet at 43-feet, four inches.

Last season, Davis also won the long jump and triple jump championships, along with being a member of the 4×400 meter relay team that won a conference championship.

Davis advanced to the 3A Mideast Regionals on May 12th at Southern Guilford in Greensboro in three events. Davis finished 2nd in the 300 meter hurdles, just behind Dominick Green of Southern Durham.

Davis was the only conference champion from the Hillsborough schools,  but several others qualified for regionals. In the 400 meter dash, Cameron Michalski of Orange finished 3rd with a time of 52.06. Cedar Ridge junior Eli Tilley came in fourth with a time of 52.64.

Cedar Ridge senior Brian Finch qualified for two events. He finished 4th in the 800 meters at 2:04.03. In the 1,600 meters, Finch finished 5th at 4:48.28.

Keyshawn Crisp of Cedar Ridge qualified for the regionals in the 110 meter hurdles with a time of 16.40 seconds.

The Cedar Ridge boys team had three relay teams qualify for regionals. The 4×100 team had a photo finish, finishing 2nd to Hillside by .06 of a second.

Cedar Ridge’s sophomore finished 2nd in the boys pole vault at 12-feet.

Orange freshman Cory McKoy finished 5th in the discus with a distance of 102-feet, 11 inches.

In the 3,200 meters, Orange’s Kyle Van Tubbergh came in fifth with a time of 10:26.81.

In the women’s events, Orange freshman Sasha Godfrey came in 2nd  in the 800 meters, running at 2:25.60, coming in just three-tenths-of-a-second behind Chapel Hill senior Anna Stouffer for 1st place. Cedar Ridge sophomore Allison Musty finished sixth.

Godfrey also qualified for regionals in the 1,600 meters by finishing 3rd at 5:25.94.

In the 3,200 meters, Cedar Ridge freshman Anne Morrell crossed the finish line 3rd at 12:10.75 to advance to Greensboro.

In the 300 meter hurdles, Orange’s Kate Burgess came in third at 48.89 seconds.

Orange’s 4×200 meter relay team finished 3rd with a time of 1:49.06.

In the high jump, Orange freshman Erin Mink had a runner-up finish with a leap of 5-feet, actually tying her with Hillside’s Gabrielle Ryan.

Cedar Ridge captured its first conference softball championship in school history on Tuesday with a 22-0 win over Southern Durham. Left fielder Amy Stutzer scored two runs after walking twice. Going into the regular season finale on Thursday, Stutzer is hitting .250. On top of winning the conference championship on Tuesday, Stutzer celebrated her birthday on Wednesday. Her mother made sure the occasion was equipped with the right refreshments.

Cedar Ridge LF Amy Stutzer Discusses Winning a Conference Championship on her Birthday

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There wasn’t a sense of finality for the Cedar Ridge Baseball team on its senior night. They will likely be playing at home again next week in the state playoffs.

But Adam Chnupa picked a poetic time for his first grand slam.

The senior, who attended Elon University’s spring football game on Saturday, drove in five runs as Cedar Ridge routed Southern Durham 23-1 on Tuesday night at Red Wolves Stadium. Chnupa blasted the grand slam during a nine-run 3rd inning.  He also tripled in the fourth.

Cedar Ridge is guaranteed to finish no lower than second place in the Big 8. They can still tie for the Big 8 Championship if they beat Southern Durham on Thursday and if East Chapel Hill wins at Chapel Hill. On Tuesday night, Chapel Hill clinched a share of the Big 8 regular season championship by edging East Chapel Hill 2-1.

If Cedar Ridge clinches a share of the Big 8 Championship, they will receive the top seed from the Big 8 for the 3A State Tournament, which begins Tuesday.

Chnupa was one of six Cedar Ridge seniors playing their final regular season home game at Red Wolves Stadium. Centerfielder Sailor Ramos, 1st baseman Chris Cox, right fielder Erik Zehnder, designated hitter Landon Badger and 3rd baseman Nicholas Starr were the other seniors honored before the game. All six started.

Ramos hit two doubles and finished 4-for-4, improving his batting average to .417, which leads the team. Ramos also leads the team with 25 hits and 18 RBI. He has hit safely in five consecutive games, which is tied with Dante DeFranco for the longest streak on the team.

Cox went 2-for-2 with a double and scored three runs, driving in two. Erik Zehnder went 2-for-3 with 4 RBI and three runs scored. Badger went 2-for-3 with an RBI. Cedar Ridge finished with a season-high 19 hits.

Cedar Ridge has now won 11 straight games, the longest winning streak of any team from the Big 8 Conference this year.

Mattthew Kahn earned the win, striking out ten in four innings. Starr came on in the final inning for mop-up duty.

Kahn is now 6-2  with a 3.26 ERA. He has struck out 37 while walking 17.

Cedar Ridge (16-5, 10-3 in the Big 8) will conclude the regular season on Thursday when they face Southern Durham at Pete Shankle Field in the Bull City.

In a battle for 3rd place in the Big 8 on Tuesday night, the Cedar Ridge Women’s soccer team tied Northern Durham 1-1 at Red Wolves Stadium. Cedar Ridge nearly got the game-winner with 5:42 remaining in the 2nd overtime after Emerson Talley’s diagonal pass on a counter found freshman Ivy Garner, who was ruled offside on a borderline call. Junior Grace Davies was in net for the Red Wolves. It was her eighth game of the season. Davies has four shutouts this season for a Cedar Ridge team that has clinched a spot in the state playoffs for the third straight season. After the game, she discussed sharing time in net with senior Taylin Jean, and producing music that you can find on Spotify. 

Cedar Ridge GK Grace Davies Discusses 1-1 Tie with Northern Durham and Making Music

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