Cedar Ridge High School

Now this was a 16th birthday celebration.

Beating Orange for the first time since 2012 would have been enough for Phil Berger on his birthday. The fact that he threw a one-hit shutout and held the Panthers to only three baserunners just made the birthday cake waiting for him at home taste a little sweeter.

Perhaps it was fate or karma, but Cedar Ridge’s 6-0 win over Orange was also its 16th win this season, the most by the school this decade. They finish the regular season 16-6, 7-5 in the Big 8 Conference.

Berger has won his last five starts, improving to 7-2 with a 1.83 ERA. Even the lone hit he yielded was debatable, a two-out high chopper by Orange’s Dalton Brown to 2nd baseman Jake DeFranco, who knocked it down with his glove hand and had no chance to make a throw to first.

Aside from that, all Orange could muster offensively was Caige Clayton and Jason Slaughter reaching after getting hit by pitches. The Panthers, who had scored 28 runs in its last four games, didn’t have two runners on base all day.

The six Red Wolves players who commemorated senior night waited their whole careers to beat Orange, and their time finally came on Wednesday. It came one night after Orange pounded the Red Wolves 9-1 to end Cedar Ridge’s nine-game winning streak.

In the 2nd inning, Senior Brandon Andrews started the scoring with a single over second base that scored Sailor Ramos, who finished 2-for-2 with 2 runs scored and an RBI.

Cedar Ridge added two more in the fourth, again getting production from the bottom of the order. Freshman Jake DiFranco, who finished 2-for-2 with an RBI, singled. After Andrews walked, designated hitter Adam Chnupa lined a fastball off the glove of Orange shortstop Joey Berini into centerfield, scoring Andrew and DiFranco to increase the Cedar Ridge lead to 3-0.

Ramos, who led off the fourth with a walk, scored off a sacrifice fly from Jake DiFranco.

More insurance arrived for the Red Wolves in the 6th when Dante DiFranco, a sophomore who leads the team in hits, scored on a squeeze play following a perfect bunt by Berger. Two batters later, Ramos laced a single to the gap in right field, bringing in Chris Cox.

Orange finished the regular season 12-12, 8-4 in the Big 8. The Panthers will likely make the playoffs and may finish in sole possession of 2nd place in the Big 8 if Chapel Hill loses to Northwood on Thursday.

When the 3A/2A/1A playoff brackets are announced for state lacrosse on Monday morning, the road to the Eastern Regional Championship will run through Red Wolves Stadium.

For Cedar Ridge, it’s a chance to resolve unfinished business. On Friday night, they took a big first step.

The Red Wolves captured the Big 8 Championship by beating Chapel Hill 16-14 at Culton-Peerman Stadium. Senior Carter Danku set the tone early, scoring a hat trick in the first quarter. He finished with seven points.

Senior Jack Widman also tallied three goals and six goals for the Red Wolves (9-4, 8-0 in the Big 8). Attacker Sean Tobin led CRHS with four goals.

Danku scored three goals in a span of 7:28 of the first quarter to spur the Red Wolves ahead 6-3. He also assisted on a marker from Nick Bachelder with :16 remaining in the frame.

Danku assisted on second quarter goals from Tobin and Noah Upchurch.

Kelsey Acome scored twice for Cedar Ridge, while long-stick midfielder Cole Bullard added a goal.

CRHS goalkeeper Noah Berry made ten saves for the victory.

The 24-team field will be announced on Monday. It’s expected that Cedar Ridge will get a bye through to the 2nd round, which means they will play Friday. We’ll have broadcast coverage of Orange and Cedar Ridge throughout the playoffs here on HillsboroughSports.com.

It’s been six years since Cedar Ridge hosted a baseball game in the state playoffs.

After winning its eighth straight game, that drought may end soon.

Adam Chnupa had four hits, including a double and a triple, as the Red Wolves (14-5, 6-4) completed a season sweep by routing Carrboro 14-6 at Jaguars Field Friday afternoon.

Chnupa went 4-for-5 with six RBIs and four runs scored, pushing his average up to .422. Chnupa, a junior, leads the team with 28 runs.

Cedar Ridge belted 13 hits to increase its team average to .356. Sophomore Dante DeFranco and junior Chris Cox each had three hits. Cox also drove in four runs and now lead the club with 19 RBIs.

DeFranco, a sophomore, has 27 hits this season.

Senior Brandon Andrews reached base in all four of his plate appearances, scoring each time and stealing three bases.

Sophomore Phillip Berger earned his sixth win by going four-and-two-thirds innings, striking out four, yielding six hits and five runs.

CRHS jumped out to a 3-0 lead the top of the 3rd and never trailed against the Jaguars (7-13). The Red Wolves pushed across three more in the 4th and five in the sixth.

Now, Cedar Ridge prepares for rivalry week against Orange, the crosstown rival they haven’t defeated since 2012. But first, they host Oxford Preparatory on Monday night. The Red Wolves travel to Orange on Tuesday, then host the Panthers for senior night on Friday. We’ll have coverage of the Tuesday and Friday night games here on HillsboroughSports.com.

Discretely, Cedar Ridge baseball accomplished more than just a requisite 12-2 blowout of Southern Durham on Wednesday night.

They guaranteed themselves its first winning season since 2012, when they finished 13-11 under then-coach Jackson Lowe.

More importantly, the Red Wolves (13-5) are 6-4 in the Big 8, percentage points ahead of Orange for third place. Cedar Ridge will play Orange twice next week. The top three teams in the Big 8 qualify for the state playoffs, which has a 64-team field. Cedar Ridge’s sweep of J.F. Webb last week greatly helped its chances of making the playoffs as a wildcard.

As for Wednesday night, CRHS scored six runs in the first inning and never looked back, securing its second 5-inning victory over the Spartans in seven days.

First baseman Chris Cox went 1-for-1 with a double, two runs scored and an RBI.

Junior left fielder Sailor Ramos drove in three runs on two singles. Sophomore Dante DeFranco increased his hitting streak to 12 games by going 1-for-4 with 2 RBIs. DeFranco leads the team with a .381 batting average.

Senior Brandon Andrews earned the win despite pitching only two innings. He struck out five of the seven batters he faced. Andrews is now 5-1 on the season.

Before the critical series against Orange, Cedar Ridge plays two non-conference games. They travel to Carrboro on Friday. On Monday, they host Oxford Prep in a game rescheduled from Tuesday.

On Wednesday morning, it was unclear whether the Big 8 Boys Golf Championships would even take place at Occoneechee Golf Club.

Over five inches of rain had fallen in Hillsborough since Sunday night. The coaches of the five participating schools weren’t even sure if the event would go on until Orange’s Pat Moser received confirmation from Occnoeechee Course Director Scott Ray.

Cedar Ridge, under head coach Chris Casey, finished third overall for the season. Matthew Durham and Devin Kehoe qualified for Sunday’s 3A Mideast Regionals. Durham finished 4th, shooting a 77. Kehoe carded an 84.

Northwood finished conference champion. The Chargers’ Ben Ramos captured the individual championship after shooting a 72, one stroke ahead of Cooper Patterson. Ramos also earned Big 8 Player of the Year honors.

Orange’s Toby Ivey shot 89 for the Panthers, also qualifying for Sunday’s regionals.

Durham, Kehoe, Ramos and Patterson made the all-conference team. Joining them were J.F. Webb’s Noah Williams, Scott Loftis and Caleb Marin, Chapel Hill’s Ryan Rosamond (who finished 3rd on Wednesday) and Jackson Paul; and Northwood’s Gordon Braun and Alex Snively.

Very quietly, Wednesday marked the final event in the career of Orange Golf Coach Pat Moser, who will retire next month. Moser coached Orange to its first undefeated season in football last fall, winning the Big 8 Conference Championship outright for the 2nd straight year.

Not only is Cedar Ridge baseball firmly in the race for one of the three Big 8 state playoff spots, but the Red Wolves pitching is finding its groove at the right time.

Sophomore Phillip Berger threw a one-hit shutout, striking out ten as Cedar Ridge defeated J.F. Webb 4-0 on Thursday in Oxford. The Red Wolves (12-5, 5-4 in the Big 8) have won six in a row and head into the final two weeks of the regular season in fourth place in the Big 8, one game in the loss column behind Orange and Chapel Hill for 2nd.

Sophomore Dante DiFranco and senior Brandon Andrews each doubled and scored, finishing 1-for-2. Junior Chris Cox had an RBI, as did Erik Zehnder.

Following the first complete game of his career, Berger improved to 5-2 with a 1.84 ERA. His previous best for longest outing came last week in the Hilltop Invitational, when he gave up six hits in six innings in a 9-3 victory over Western Harnett.

In three games this week, the Red Wolves outscored opposition 33-0. In Wednesday’s 20-0 rout of Southern Durham, Evan Hall and Zehnder combined on a five inning no-hitter. Andrews hit his third homer of the season, while Zehnder added two doubles.

Cedar Ridge hosts Oxford Preparatory on Monday, then welcomes Southern Durham for a home game Wednesday.

The Cedar Ridge Red Wolves have taken a big step towards its first winning season since 2012.

Senior Brandon Andrews and junior Erik Zehnder doubled while first baseman Chris Cox drove in two runs as the Red Wolves shutout J.F. Webb 9-0 on Tuesday night at Red Wolves Field. Cedar Ridge (10-5, 3-4) have now won four in a row after sweeping its three games in the Hilltop Invitational Tournament against Riverside, Western Harnett and the Wake County Warriors.

Leadoff batter Dante DeFranco went 2-for-4 with a run scored and an RBI. Zehnder finished 2-for-3, scoring twice. Junior Sailor Ramos went 2-for-3 with two runs scored and an RBI.

Freshman Jake DeFranco’s four-game hitting streak came to an end against the Warriors, but he still leads Cedar Ridge with 22 hits and a .500 batting average.

After two scoreless innings, the Red Wolves struck for three in the third, including Andrews RBI double. It was Andrews’ 14th RBI of the season, which leads the team.

The Red Wolves, who travel to Southern Durham tonight, are now in 5th place in the Big 8, a game behind Webb and Chapel Hill, who are locked in a tie for 3rd at 4-3. The top three teams in the Big 8 automatically advance to the state playoffs.

Three weeks ago, after a 10-9 loss at Chapel Hill where the Tigers scored two runs in the bottom of the seventh, Cedar Ridge senior Brandon Andrews called a mandatory, players-only practice.

After some tough losses, the results are starting to arrive.

On Friday night, the Red Wolves defeated Western Harnett 9-3 in the 2nd game of the Hilltop Invitational at Red Wolves Field. Cedar Ridge won its opener in the tournament 9-8 against Riverside on Thursday.

Sophomore Phil Berger improved to 4-2 after scattering six hits in six innings, yielding just two runs, one earned.

Junior Adam Chnupa went 2-for-4 with two runs scored and two doubles as Cedar Ridge jumped out to a 5-0 lead after two innings. Chnupa also stole two bases. Cedar Ridge poured on four more runs in the fifth inning to erase any hopes of an Eagles comeback.

Andrews finished 2-for-4 with 2 RBIs. Freshman Jake DeFranco went 2-for-3 with an RBI. 1st baseman Chris Cox, who had three hits on Thursday night, laced a double in the first and scored twice.

Cedar Ridge will wrap up its stint in the Hilltop against Wake County Home Schools on Saturday afternoon at 2:30 at Red Wolves Field. They return to conference play on Tuesday with another home game against J.F. Webb.