Orange Baseball

In mid-February, there were several first-year varsity players that Orange Baseball coach Jason Knapp thought could rise to the level of being an everyday starter.

Cross Clayton became that player. And more.

After a 13-0, 5 inning loss to eventual 1A Eastern Regional champion Perquimans in Wilson on March 19, Orange limped home with a 3-4 overall record. On the bus ride back, Knapp and his assistants decided to put Clayton into the starting rotation permanently.

From that point forward, Orange went 15-5. They finished with its first outright conference championship since 2016, when Bryse Wilson was a senior.

Clayton, a sophomore, has been named the Central Carolina Conference Pitcher of the Year. The awards are based on a vote of the seven head coaches in the CCC.

Clayton finished 8-3 with a 2.59 earned run average. It was the most wins by a first-year Orange varsity pitcher since Wilson’s freshman year, when he went 11-0 with a 1.05 ERA.

Clayton led the team in wins. He immediately set the pace with a victory in relief during the season opener against Northern Durham on February 28 in Hillsborough. He tossed a clean sixth inning with two strikeouts, while Jackson Berini drove in the game-winning run off a bases-loaded walk. The Panthers went on to win 4-1.

In Orange’s CCC opener against Western Alamance on March 15, Clayton came on in relief of Ryan Hench in the fifth inning of a scoreless game. Facing ten Warriors, he walked just one and struck out five. Berini would steal home in the top-of-the-seventh inning for the game’s lone run, while Clayton retired the Warriors in order in the other half of the frame to take the win.

That was the last time Clayton came on in relief in a conference game. From that point forward, he became the starter in Friday games while Hench remained the top man in the rotation. It was a combination that carried Orange to a conference title.

After the Hilltop Invitational, Clayton started a string of 23 consecutive shutout innings. It started April 8 when Clayton threw a one-hit shutout against Person. Clayton struck out ten Rockets over six innings.

The following week, Clayton had a huge night at the plate in a 3-2 win over Northwood in eight innings. He blasted a solo homer in the second inning. With the game tied 2-2 in the eighth, Clayton belted a walkoff double that hit the centerfield fence to score Neo Best. The following Friday, Orange traveled to the Ronald Horton Baseball Complex, a hitters park that can be a nightmare for fielders. This time, Clayton threw a two-hit, complete game shutout with six strikeouts as Orange came away with a 5-0 win.

Clayton’s biggest gem of the season came against Cedar Ridge on April 21. He delivered a five-inning perfect game, the first perfect game for Orange since Wilson defeated Eastern Wayne in the opening round of the 3A State Playoffs on May 10, 2016. Clayton struck out four Red Wolves as Orange ensured the CCC regular season championship.

Clayton nearly had another shutout in the regular season finale at Eastern Alamance. He went into the seventh inning with Orange leading 1-0. In the seventh inning, the Eagles’ Gage Parsons lined a single up the middle to score Cole McGinnis and even the game 1-1. Clayton would regroup to send the game into extra innings and eventually earn the win after Hench scored off a double play in the top-of-the-eighth inning.

In the 3A State Playoffs, Clayton started against Terry Sanford and had a no-decision. He shut the Bulldogs out through the first two innings on just nine pitches.

Next season, Clayton and Hench are expected to return for an Orange team that finished 18-9 overall, 11-1 in the Central Carolina Conference.

Joey Berini: The East Carolina baseball team clinched the American Athletic Conference regular season championship after they swept the South Florida Bulls in a three-game series at Clark-LeClair Stadium in Greenville last weekend. On May 14, the Pirates defeated the Bulls 11-3. Berini went 1-for-2 with three RBIs after he entered the game as a pinch-hitter in the sixth inning. In his first plate appearance, Berini had a two-run single to left field to put the Pirates ahead 6-3. On Wednesday, the Pirates edged Campbell 7-6. Berini started as designated hitter and played at shortstop. He went 0-for-2. This weekend, East Carolina completed a three-game sweep of Houston. On Friday night, the Pirates defeated the Cougars 5-3. Berini had a pinch-hit, RBI single in the eighth to score the final run of the game. East Carolina will enter the American Athletic Conference Tournament next week at BayCare Ballpark in Clearwater, Florida as possibly the hottest team in the country. East Carolina has won 14 in a row. They finished the regular season 38-18, 20-4 in the AAC.

Bryse Wilson: Wilson came out of the bullpen for the Pittsburgh Pirates against the Chicago Cubs on Monday at Wrigley Field. The Cubs won 9-0. Wilson threw five-and-one-thirds innings. He surrendered four runs off eight hits with two walks and two strikeouts. Dillon Peters suffered the loss for Pittsburgh.

Landon Riley: The Liberty baseball team honored its seniors during a game against Kennesaw State at Worthington Field on Saturday. Riley, one of the seniors, helped the Flames beat Owls 16-12 in its regular season finale. Riley threw the eighth inning and didn’t surrender a run. He struck out one batter and surrendered one hit with one walk. On Thursday, Kennesaw State defeated the Flames 9-6. Riley threw two shutout innings of middle relief. He conceded only one hit with two strikeouts. Liberty will start play in the Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament in Fort Myers, Florida on Tuesday.

Brandon Andrews: The Nicholls State baseball team completed its season in the Southland Conference Tournament at Lake Charles, Louisiana. On Saturday, Incarnate Word edged the Colonels 9-8. Andrews, in his final college appearance, threw two-thirds-of-an-inning. He surrendered two runs off two hits. On Tuesday, Louisiana defeated Nicholls 6-1. Andrews threw one inning of relief with one strikeout. He surrendered one hit. Last Sunday, Nicholls edged Southeastern Louisiana 4-3 in eleven innings. Andrews threw the eighth inning and surrendered one hit and one walk. Nicholls ends the year 26-25, its first winning season since 2017. Andrews, who returned to Nicholls this year after spending a season with Jacksonville State, had a 2.70 ERA. He was second on the team with 20 appearances. Andrews went 2-1 with 19 strikeouts and ten walks.

Phillip Berger: The Division III William Peace baseball team’s season came to an end in the USA South Conference Tournament at Cleaveland Field in LaGrange, NC. Berger won his final start of the season in an elimination game against Methodist on May 6. The Pacers outscored the Monarchs 14-10. Berger threw seven-and-one-thirds innings. He struck out four. He also gave up eight runs on nine hits. Six of the runs were earned. Peace was eliminated by LaGrange College. This season, Berger led the Pacers with eight wins. He went 8-2 in 13 starts. He finished with a 4.64 ERA with 84 strikeouts and 19 walks.

Will Walker: The Pitt Community College baseball team ended its season in disappointing fashion in the Region X Division II Baseball Tournament at Big Rock Stadium in Morehead City. The Bulldogs started with a 12-6 win over Cleveland Community College. Walker hit his sixth home run of the season, a solo blast in the fifth inning to put the Bulldogs ahead 7-5. Walker went 2-for-5 with two runs scored. On May 6, Catawba Valley rallied for two runs in the bottom-of-the-ninth inning to beat the Bulldogs 9-8. Walker went 1-for-5. In an elimination game, Brunswick Community College defeated Pitt 11-9. The Bulldogs led 6-3 until Brunswick scored eight runs in the seventh inning. Walker was named to the Region X, Division II All-Defensive team. He ends the season with a .319 batting average over 35 games. He hit six home runs with 31 RBIs.

This Week’s Orange Panther of the Week is sophomore pitcher Cross Clayton. In March, Clayton became a permanent part of the Panthers’ starting rotation. That was one of the moves that led to Orange winning the Central Carolina Conference regular season championship. In his first year at the varsity level, Clayton leads the team with eight wins, the most by an Orange player in a single season since Bryse Wilson won ten in 2016. On Tuesday night, Clayton came on in relief and got the victory over Cedar Ridge in nine innings. Clayton is 8-2 with a 2.45 ERA this season. Clayton has a 23-inning scoreless streak that spanned four games, starting on April 8 against Person when he shutout the Rockets in a 10-0 win. He’s also made his presence with his bat. On April 12, Clayton hit a solo home run against Northwood. In the eighth inning of that game, Clayton hit the game-winning single off the fence in centerfield. On Thursday, Clayton earned the start in the Panthers’ 8-5 victory over Terry Sanford in the second round of the 3A State Playoffs. Clayton has been an instrumental part in the winningest Orange team since 2016. 

At the conclusion of the film Wall Street, a wise character named Lou Mannheim tells Bud Fox, played by Charlie Sheen: “A man looks into the abyss, finds nothing staring back at him. At that moment, a man finds his character. And that is what keeps him out of the abyss.”

Twice this week, the Orange baseball team had moments where their season hung precariously by a thread. It would be easy to say that Orange found its character when they trailed Cedar Ridge 2-1 going into the bottom of the seventh inning on Tuesday night. Or during the sixth inning of Thursday’s game with Terry Sanford, when it appeared the Bulldogs were set to take its first lead of the game.

The truth is Orange has spent its season building its character. Starting with its season-opening win over Northern Durham on March 1, to losing a four-run lead late against Middle Creek to a forgettable day against Perquimans in Wilson at midseason. Losses against New Hanover and Ashley all paved the way for several defining moments that paid off handsomely by senior Conner Funk on Thursday night.

Funk knocked in the game-winning run in the sixth inning, then completed his first win of the season by striking out Brady Gore for the final out to lead Orange past Terry Sanford 8-5 in the 2nd round of the NCHSAA 3A State Playoffs in Hillsborough. The Panthers advanced to face J.H. Rose, the defending 3A State Champions, on Tuesday night in Greenville.

It’s the first time that Orange (18-8) advanced to the Round of 16 in the state playoffs since 2017.

Terry Sanford, the champions of the 4A/3A All-American Conference, ends the year 19-7.

“Conner comes through in all the crucial situations,” said Orange coach Jason Knapp. “Just look throughout his career the last two years. Every crucial play, he puts his stamp on it.”

Funk, who started the game at second base, was called in to pitch by Knapp with one out in the sixth inning–a time when the Bulldogs had a tidal wave of momentum. They had just tied the game after catcher Andrew Kittinger sprayed a fastball to the right field line that landed two feet fair in front of a sprinting David Waitt. Nathan Townsend scored to even the game 5-5 after the throw to the plate went over catcher Davis Horton’s head, which allowed Gehrig Hodges to advance to 3rd base and Kittinger to second with one out.

Inheriting two runners in scoring position, Funk calmly threw to Nathan Brown, who sent a soft pop-up back to the mound. After Funk made the catch, he struck out Alex Smith to end the inning and keep the score tied 5-5.

“Those were the biggest outs of our season,” Knapp said of Funk’s clutch pitching. “That kept the score tied and it gave us a chance to go ahead. No better guy I’d rather have the ball in that situation than him”

Jackson Berini walked to start the bottom of the sixth, which turned out to be the final batter for Brown, the Bulldogs’ starter. After Waitt bunted Berini to second, Ryan Hench sent another fly ball to right field that dropped in for a single. With Berini at third, Funk bopped a Baltimore chop over the head of third baseman Cameron Seagroves and into left field to score the game-winning run. Sophomore Cameron Gunetensberger lined a single up to the middle to bring in Hench and increase Orange’s lead to 7-5. Connor Nordan popped up a fly ball to foul ground in right field. Instead of letting it drop foul, Gore opted to catch it, which allowed Funk to score on a headlong, joyous dive to home plate for another insurance run as Funk celebrated with a joyous group of Orange reserves.

On a unseasonably cool mid-May night with overcast skies and occasional soft rain, the play was often just as peculiar as the weather. There were no less than three Baltimore chop base hits, including Funk’s game-winning RBI.

“It was probably the field maintenance guy’s fault,” joked Knapp, who obsesses over Orange’s field like Michael Myers does Haddonfield, Illinois. “The ball was hitting the front lip of the infield and it got some elevation.”

There were several pop fly balls to right field that ordinarily would have been comfortably caught that instead dropped harmlessly to the ground.

Orange bolted out to a 4-0 lead after two innings. After Berini led off the first with a single, Ryan Hench hit his team-leading fifth home run of the season over the infamous Panther porch in left field. In the second, Nordan drew a leadoff walk. Horton reached on an error at second base. With one out, Orange third baseman Neo Best sent the first Baltmore Chop of the night to the left side of a drawn-in infield, where it floated over the head of shortstop Brent Smith. Nordan scored to increase Orange’s lead to 3-0. With two out, Waitt grounded a single into left field to bring in Elijah Santos, a courtesy runner for Horton.

Clayton retired the first seven Bulldogs in order on just 17 pitches. Alex Smith reached on a single to right field in the third inning. With two outs, Brent Smith drew a key walk, which led to Seagroves sending a three-run homer to left field to cut Orange’s lead to 4-3.

“We weren’t shaken after that,” Knapp said. “We have dealt with adversity all season long. We’re seasoned for tough guys. Nothing shakes these guys confidence because that’s why we play these games in the regular season. To put ourselves in a position to win. When they hit that three-run bomb, we weren’t shaken one bit.”

Funk reached second to lead off the bottom of the third with another fly ball to right field somehow dropped between three Bulldogs. After Nordan walked, Horton singled to right-centerfield, but Funk was held at third. With the bases loaded, Codey Snipes was hit by a pitch, bringing in Funk.

Townsend sent the first pitch of the fourth inning down the left field line, where he landed fair by five feet across from the fair pole. Once again, Orange’s lead was cut to one run at 5-4.

Clayton, who earned the win in Tuesday’s win over Cedar Ridge after throwing two innings of relief, was going for his team-leading eighth win of the year. He came away with a no-decision in five-and-one-thirds innings.

J.H. Rose, the #1 seed in the 3A East Region, defeated Southern Lee 10-0 in five innings on Thursday.

It’s hard to narrow down the clutch plays that Conner Funk made for the Orange baseball team on Thursday night. Suffice it to say, if Thursday’s win over Terry Sanford was Funk’s final game at Orange High Field, he truly saved his best for last. On the mound, Funk replaced starter Cross Clayton in the sixth inning with the Panthers tied 5-5 against the Bulldogs. Funk entered the game just moments after Terry Sanford’s Adam Pittinger tied the game with a double down the right field line, putting runners at 2nd and 3rd base with only one out. Funk forced an infield pop-up for the second out, then struck out Alex Smith to keep the game tied 5-5. In the bottom of the sixth, Funk chopped a fastball over the third baseman’s head into left field to score Jackson Berini, which turned out to be the game-winning run. For good measure, Funk scored the game’s final run on a sacrifice fly to right field hit by Connor Nordan. Funk earned his first win of the season in the seventh inning, closing the game with a strikeout of Terry Sanford’s Brady Gore. Orange will travel to Greenville to face J.H. Rose, the defending 3A State Champions, for the third round of the 3A State Playoffs on Tuesday. It will be Orange’s first trip to the Round of 16 in the state playoffs since 2017. 

If the first-ever meeting between Orange and Cedar Ridge in the state baseball playoffs had been anything less than a classic, it would have been viewed as a disappointment.

Instead, the hundreds of people who gathered in the grandstands, around the fences and along the back row of Auman Stadium beyond centerfield Tuesday night were treated to a game they won’t forget anytime soon.

By the time extra innings rolled around, the only thing for certain was that one team would move on to the round of 32 in the 3A State Playoffs. The other team would have a group of seniors hurting badly after a painful loss.

There was so much to gain for Cedar Ridge. It’s first playoff win since 2018. It’s first win at Orange since 2012. Ending a six-game losing streak to its archival.

All of it was two outs away.

For the second straight year, Orange would find a way to pull an improbable escape in the 7th inning. After the Panthers trailed for most of the game, sophomore Cameron Guentensberger bunted David Waitt home for the game-tying run with one out in the bottom-of-the-seventh inning.

The game eventually went nine innings, the longest for both teams this season. In the ninth, senior Davis Horton lined a bases-loaded single to score Conner Funk and push the Panthers past Cedar Ridge 3-2. It was Orange’s first playoff win since 2018. It was also the first time that Orange won a home playoff game since 2016, when they defeated South Johnson it what turned out to be Bryse Wilson’s final victory before he was drafted by the Atlanta Braves a month later.

Orange (17-8) will host Terry Sanford in Hillsborough in the second round. The game is scheduled for Friday but may be moved to Thursday due to the threat of rain.

Cedar Ridge (13-11) held a 2-1 lead after the third inning off a strong pitching performance by freshman Quinn Finnegan, who scattered only five hits in six innings. Finnegan was replaced by B.J. Thornton in the 7th inning after he reached his maximum allotment of 105 pitches allowed by the North Carolina High School Athletic Association.

“When I brought him into my office today, I said ‘Hey dude, you’ve earned every bit of this,'” said Cedar Ridge coach Bryson Massey, clearly emotional after a season-ending postgame meeting with his team. “I said ‘You’ve got four years of this, so go get it.’ He earned it. He showed his resilience all year. We had no doubt that he was going to go out there and pitch the way he did.”

Orange had its own redemption story. Last June, Asheboro defeated the Panthers off a walkoff double in the opening round of the 3A State Playoffs at McCrary Park. Horton’s walkoff single gave the Panthers another day as a team after they stared into the abyss of its season ending.

“Going into playoff baseball, anything can happen,” said Orange coach Jason Knapp. “These guys are resilient. Conner Funk has showed that time in and time our, against this team specifically. The guys have a no-quit attitude. They’ve been in these situations a lot this year and they know they can pull them out.”

The dramatic finish came three weeks after the Panthers swept a two-game series from Cedar Ridge by a combined score of 29-5. Anyone who knows anything about high school baseball understands that the regular season bears little resemblance to the postseason, something that the Red Wolves made clear on the very first pitch of the game when senior Aidan McCallister lined a single to left field. McAllister advanced to second after a groundout by B.J. Thornton, went to third on a wild pitch and scored off a groundout by Cristian Macias.

McAllister, in his final game at Cedar Ridge, reached base in all four of his plate appearances.

Guentensberger, whose brother Colin (a walk-on football player at Appalachian State) was among the many faces in the crowd, factored in on both Orange runs in regulation. He led off the second by getting hit by a pitch. Guentensberger went to second base after a single by Connor Nordan. After Horton flew out to centerfielder Garrett Ray, Guentensberger tagged up and went to third. Orange’s Codey Snipes lifted a fly ball to right field that dropped in and evened the game, but not for long.

Cedar Ridge senior Nick Nolan lined a single to centerfield to lead off the third inning. After Braedyn Jacobson moved Nolan to second on a sacrifice bunt, McAllister was hit by a pitch. Thornton sent a grounder through the 5-6 hole into left field to put Cedar Ridge back in the lead at 2-1.

Orange starter Ryan Hench controlled the Red Wolves for the remainder of his stint. In his final four innings, Hench retired the Red Wolves in order three times. In yet another no-decision, Hench allowed only three hits.

Strong defense by Cedar Ridge led to Finnegan getting out of jams in the fourth and sixth innings. Nordan led off the fourth with a standup double. Horton followed with a single, but defensive plays by the Red Wolves’ Carlo Garay and Thornton led to the Red Wolves maintaining its 2-1 lead.

Nordan and Horton started the sixth inning with consecutive walks. This time, Finnegan struck out Snipes while Garay tagged out Neo Best. Left fielder Mason Cates ended the sixth inning with a catch on a Jackson Berini flyout.

Orange’s seventh inning started when Waitt lofted a soft liner to shallow centerfield that went off a glove and fell to the ground. After Hench walked, Thornton replaced Finnegan. Waitt moved to third after Funk grounded to Jacobson on a fielder’s choice, leading to Guentensberger’s bunt single to push across the tying run.

Knapp inserted Cross Clayton, the Panthers’ #2 pitcher who will likely face Terry Sanford, for the eighth inning. Clayton, who got Orange’s first win of the season against Northern Durham on February 28 in relief, earned his team-leading eighth win of the season, also in relief.

In the ninth, Funk got aboard off an error in the infield. Guentensberger lofted a soft liner that floated over first base and landed fair by about three feet along the right field line. After Nordan was intentionally walked, Horton lined the first pitch he saw up the middle to give Orange its first lead of the game and send the Orange reserves flying out of the dugout in jubilation.

In the first-ever meeting between Orange and Cedar Ridge in the state baseball playoffs, anything less than a classic would have been a disappointment. On Tuesday night, the two teams delivered a memorable game at Orange High Field. After trailing 2-1 for most of the game, Orange scored a run in the 7th inning and another in the ninth to beat the Red Wolves 3-2 in the opening round of the NCHSAA State Playoffs. Cameron Guentensberger factored in on both Orange runs in regulation. After getting hit by a pitch in the second inning, Guentensberger scored off a fielder’s choice hit by Codey Snipes. In the seventh inning, with Orange’s season two outs away from being over, Guentensberger laid down a bunt that scored David Waitt to tie the game. In the ninth inning, catcher Davis Horton lined a bases-loaded single to centerfield to score Conner Funk for the game-winning run. Orange claimed its first win in the state playoffs since 2018, when they defeated Jacksonville. It was Orange’s first home win in the state playoffs since 2016, when they defeated South Johnston. Orange will face Terry Sanford later this week in Hillsborough. The game is tentatively scheduled for Friday, but could be moved to Thursday due to the threat of rain.