Orange Baseball

For a team that has its top two pitchers back from a squad that won its final eleven regular season conference games last year, it’s not very surprising that Orange has started 6-0 for the first time since 2016.

Except it isn’t that simple.

Top starting pitcher Ryan Hench has missed the last two games while junior Cross Clayton hasn’t pitched since opening night. Yet the Panthers weren’t phased when they opened Central Carolina Conference action against Western Alamance on Tuesday afternoon.

Junior Josiah Gibbs, starting his second straight game, threw four shutout innings against the Warriors to earn his second win in as many games. Senior leadoff hitter Jackson Berini lined a two-run single during a five-run fifth inning as the Panthers broke open a tight game to win 7-1 at Panther Field.

Orange had dropped its past two games at home against Western Alamance. Last year, the Warriors upset the Panthers 5-4 in Hillsborough. In 2020, Western took the season-opener 9-7 in nine innings.

The decisive finals score disguised some hairy moments for Orange in the middle innings. The Warriors were 90 feet away from tying the game in the fifth inning. With Orange leading 2-0, Camden McCandless drove a double to left field past a diving Elijah Santos. Tyler Atkins lined a one-out double to left that hopped over the wall for a grounder rule double. Atkins advanced to third on a wild pitch. Aidan McCandless sent a high fly to centerfield, where Cameron Guentensberger made the catch and delivered a strong throw that kept courtesy runner Will Patillo from scoring. With two out, Landon Rose grounded out to Neo Best to end the inning.

Western Alamance reliever Zack Oakley delivered a gallant performance amid emergency circumstances. Rose, who started, injured his elbow early in the second inning as he pitched to Clayton. Oakley was summoned from the bullpen after Rose couldn’t continue. After Clayton walked, Best lined a single to centerfield. Santos grounded a ball that got past the third baseman to load the bases. Berini sent a fielder’s choice to second baseman Parker Queen, who threw out Santos at second on a fielder’s choice where Clayton scored. David Waitt lined a two-out single to right field to bring in Best.

In four innings of work, Gibbs allow only four hits and one walk with five strikeouts. Senior Joey Pounds threw two innings and protected the lead.

Ryan Honeycutt drew a one-out walk to start the fifth. Ty Walker, a courtesy runner for Honeycutt, moved to second base on a wild pitch. Designated hitter Wyatt Hedrick sent a grounder to shortstop Eli Abbott, who caught Walker in a rundown. But the throw to third base was dropped and Walker was safe. Clayton walked to load the bases. Santos drove in his first run of the season with a bases-loaded walk with two out to plate Walker. Berini delivered the biggest hit of the game with a two-run single to centerfield. Waitt followed with an RBI single to right field, scoring Santos. Connor Nordan, who has had an RBI in each of Orange’s first six games, sent a worm burner to left field to bring in Berini.

Pounds sent the Warriors down in order in the sixth inning. Coltin Hedrick struck out two batters in the seventh to close down the night just as it was getting chilly.

Orange will travel to Elon tonight to complete the two-game series with the Warriors. The Panthers are scheduled to travel to Historic Fleming Stadium to face South Central on Saturday night in Wilson. Orange has lost in its last two trips to Wilson. In 2020, they fell to Wilson Fike. Last year, they fell to Perquimans, who went on to win the 1A State Championship.

The Orange baseball team is off to its best start since the 2016 season. Orange is 6-0 after pulling away from Western Alamance 7-1 on Tuesday night at a frigid Panther Field. Jackson Berini laced a 2-run single to centerfield to break the game open in the fifth inning. Berini later scored after an RBI single by Connor Nordan. Two weeks ago, the Panthers pulled away from Northern Durham 11-3 in the Bull City. It was the last time that Orange will play at Knights Field. Northern will move into a new school in August. Senior Ryan Hench, who has committed to play at North Carolina, slammed a two-run homer to complete a strong all-around night. Hench earned the win on the mound with nine strikeouts. Berini scored three runs as the Panthers defeated the Knights for the second straight year. Against Western Alamance, Orange won its Central Carolina Conference opener in hopes of successfully defending its regular season championship. Orange will return to Elon for the second game of the two-game series against the Warriors on Friday night. On Saturday night, the Panthers will travel to Fleming Stadium in Wilson to face South Central.

Orange’s Ryan Hench & Jackson Berini discuss 6-0 start for baseball

The Orange baseball team is off to its best start since the 2016 season. Orange is 6-0 after pulling away from Western Alamance 7-1 on Tuesday night at a frigid Panther Field. Jackson Berini laced a 2-run single to centerfield to break the game open in the fifth inning.

GREENSBORO–In its final games before the Central Carolina Conference opener, the Orange baseball team is using the week to explore in several ways.

On Wednesday night, they journeyed to First National Bank Park, the home of the Greensboro Grasshoppers. For now, it’s the home of the Grimsley Whirlies, who were basically vacated from their longtime home field due to the opening of a new middle school.

Both teams had to feel likeLilliputians from Gulliver’s Travels playing with tall buildings surrounding them as the Greensboro skyline faded to darkness after first pitch. With the ACC Tournament a stone’s throw away at the Greensboro Coliseum, Orange jumped out to an early lead and tried out some new pitching arms along the way in a decisive win.

Catcher Ryan Honeycutt went 2-for-3 with three RBIs as the Panthers scored five runs in the opening inning to prevail 15-7. For the second time in five years, the Panthers are off to a 4-0 start.

Orange’s early runs prevented the Whirlies from seriously challenging for the lead despite some uncommon sloppiness from the Panther defense in the middle innings. Orange had a season-high three errors which accounted for three unearned runs.

Senior Ryan Hench earned his second win in two starts. He struck out six over three innings. Hench, gearing up to play in ballparks as big as the one he was in on Wednesday night, stroked a double in the first inning down the left field line to score David Waitt. Jackson Berini drew a leadoff walk and scored when Waitt lined a 1-2 fastball to left field, allowing Berini to score from second.

Cameron Guentensberger reached on an error, moving Hench to third. Honeycutt leveled the hardest hit ball of the night to the left field power alley for the Panthers’ first triple of the season, easily scoring Guentensberger and Hench. Cross Clayton knocked in Honeycutt on a fly ball to left field, the first of five sacrifice flies for Orange on the night.

Hench only allowed two hits over three innings. Grimsley’s Sebastian Rodriguez got a one-out double in the second, but was stranded at third when Hench struck out Levi Ponder to end the inning. Guentensberger replaced Hench after three innings.

Orange’s sacrifice parade resumed in the fourth when Clayton opened with a walk. With Joey Pounds at bat, Clayton went to second base on a wild pitch. Pounds bunted Clayton over to third, and Berini knocked him in on a fly ball to right field.

The Whirlies scored three runs in the fourth. Tai Richmond and Eli Coll each singled, while Rodriguez walked to load the bases. Chase Gurner grounded out to Clayton, which scored Richmond. Ponder reached on a throwing error with two out that scored Coll and Rodriguez to cut Orange’s six-run lead in half.

In the fifth, Clayton got his own sacrifice fly RBI when he scored Guentensberger, who reached on a one-out walk. Orange led 7-3.

The Whirlies scored another run when Clay Rosser reached on a one-out throwing error. Richmond knocked him in with a single to centerfield. Grimsley had runners at first and second with one out and Orange’s lead down to 7-4, but Honeycutt threw out J.T. Simmons at third base on a steal attempt to shut down the threat.

The Panthers added four more runs in the sixth. With Richmond on the mound, Neo Best hit a leadoff single. Berini also singled to right field and Best took third following a throwing error. Waitt walked to load the bases, and Connor Nordan scored Best off another sacrifice fly to right field. Nordan has an RBI in each of Orange’s four games.

Waitt came in off a wild pitch. Elijah Santos, who replaced Hench, walked and eventually scored off a sacrifice fly by Honeycutt.

In the seventh inning, Nordan laced a bases-loaded double down the third base line to score Berini, Waitt and Santos. Pounds started the frame with a leadoff walk and came in off a Berini single. Of Orange’s nine starters, eight scored runs. Berini has a team-high ten runs in four games.

The Orange baseball team’s pitching depth was on full display in a tight 2-1 win over Jordan on Monday night. With senior Joey Pounds on the hill, the Panthers held the Falcons to a season-low with one run. For comparison’s sake, Jordan was held to one run to less just once last season. Pounds earned the win throwing the opening two innings. The revelation of the night was junior Coltin Hedrick, who threw four relief innings and allowed just one run. Hedrick struck out four. He also had help from his defense. Shortstop Jackson Berini turned a double play that ended the third inning. Hedrick ended a Jordan threat in the fifth when he struck out Andrew Davis with runners at second and third. Hedrick set the Falcons down in order in the sixth inning. Orange junior Josiah Gibbs earned his first career save in the seventh. The Panthers got all of its runs in the first inning off RBI singles by Connor Nordan and Ryan Honeycutt. Jackson Berini and Ryan Hench scored both of Orange’s runs. All three of Orange’s wins have come against 4A teams from the DAC-VII Conference. Orange will go to Greensboro on Wednesday to face Grimsely at First National Bank Field. 

Orange baseball’s Joey Pounds and Coltin Hedrick discuss win over Jordan

The Orange baseball team’s pitching depth was on full display in a tight 2-1 win over Jordan on Monday night. With senior Joey Pounds on the hill, the Panthers held the Falcons to a season-low with one run. For comparison’s sake, Jordan was held to one run to less just once last season.

The term “staff game” is a relative term for Orange baseball this year.

Most seasons, a “staff game” features two or more inexperienced pitchers trying to piece together a win against a non-conference opponent. The regular starters wait their turn in the rotation for the next conference game. It usually winds up with a lot of runs on the board, upwards of seven pitchers during a game that lasts over two-and-a-half hours.

That’s sort of how Monday night’s game against Jordan started. Orange’s top two starters, Cross Clayton and Ryan Hench, were position players but didn’t pitch. Yet it ended in a surprising pitcher’s dual that included a staff that may be even deeper than Panthers coach Jason Knapp anticipated and a few free bases that made all the difference in the world.

Orange’s Mark Pounds, Colin Hedrick and Josiah Gibbs combined on a four-hitter as Orange held off the Falcons 2-1 at Panther Field. Pounds, a senior who committed to Barton College in Wilson earlier this winter, earned his first win of the season. The revelation of the night was Hedrick, who threw four innings and allowed just one run in only his second varsity appearance.

“We know we have a lot of good arms on this team,” Knapp said. “We’re confident in who we have out there and I wanted to see how much our younger players could handle themselves in a tough situation. I’m happy to get the win because Jordan’s a really good team. I’m also happy how we grew tonight.”

Orange (3-0) scored all of its runs in the first inning. Senior shortstop Jackson Berini opened with an infield hit. With Ryan Hench at bat, Berini advanced to second on a wild pitch, then moved to third after an errant throw to second wound up in centerfield. After Hench walked, Connor Nordan grounded a single though the 5-6 hole to drive in Berini. With the bases loaded after Cameron Guentensberger walked, junior designated hitter Ryan Honeycutt sent a fly ball that dropped in right field to plate Hench.

The bases were still loaded with one out, but Jordan centerfielder Andrew Davis caught a fly ball from Ryan Horton that kept Nordan from scoring. Davis ended the inning with a flyout by Cross Clayton.

For the rest of the night, Jordan’s combination of Alex Mooring (who started) and Elijah Crowley ruled the roost, retiring the final ten Panthers that came to the plate. Orange only mustered one hit and two baserunners in the final six innings. Crowley, who replaced Mooring to start the fourth, threw three perfect innings.

Through the opening three games, Orange’s defense has singled itself out as the strength of the team. It thwarted one attempt after another by Jordan to push across the tying runs.

On two occasions, Berini made key plays at shortstop. In the first, the Falcons loaded the bases with two outs against Pounds. Left fielder Carter Liverman grounded a ball towards the hole, but Berini raced under it and threw out Miller Young at third base to shut down the threat.

Jordan’s Logan Lowe and Ian Bailey reached with one out in the third, but Berini positioned himself perfectly on top of second base and waited for the ball to turn an easy 6-3 double play.

Davis led off the fourth inning with a double down the third base line, but was stranded at third after Hedrick induced three straight pop-ups, the final one caught by Berini.

Jordan finally pushed across a run in the fifth when catcher Nick Reed reached on an error. Miles Newsome laid down a bunt down the third base line for another single. Ian Bailey lined a fastball to left field to score courtesy runner Kai Hale, who beat out a throw by Hench. It appeared the Falcons were set to add more when Bailey advanced to second on the throw and Newsome at third base with one out, but Young popped out to Best and Hedrick struck out Davis.

Knapp left Hedrick in to throw the sixth, his fourth inning of relief. Hedrick set down the Falcons in order, including two strikeouts. It was the first time that the Falcons went down in order all night.

Junior Josiah Gibbs earned his first career save with another 1-2-3 inning, ending when right fielder David Waitt caught a fly ball from Logan Lowe for the final out.