Orange Baseball

A combination of strong pitching and timely pitching carried Orange to its first win over Northwood in Pittsboro since 2016 on Tuesday night. The Panthers prevailed 9-4. Catcher Davis Horton extended his hitting streak to 12 games, dating back to his freshman year at Riverside High School. Horton continued the streak with an infield single in the 7th inning. He would go on to score off a sacrifice fly by Will Walker. Orange junior third baseman Cesar Lozano led off the third inning with a double that one-hopped the wall in left field. Lozano would go on to score off a bunt by Tyler Lloyd. In addition, Lozano was voted the consensus best kickball player on the team during a recent practice to work on base running at Orange softball field. Orange has won two in a row. Its their first season sweep of the Chargers since Bryse Wilson was a senior. Orange will play its final home game of the year on Friday night against Chapel Hill. The Panthers are 8-3. They will also travel to Cedar Ridge to continue the suspended game from last Friday. The makeup date is next Tuesday at 5 PM at Red Wolves Territory.

You haven’t lived until you’ve seen a ball thrown away at the Ronald Horton Baseball Complex at Northwood.

At most ballparks, there are fences along the first base line to help fielders whenever an errant throw gets past them.

There’s no fence at first in Pittsboro. There’s just a very big hill, which can lead to chaos on seemingly ordinary ground balls and two-to-three base errors more commonly than you would expect.

It’s also been a house of horrors for Jason Knapp.

Take 2019, for instance. In his first game against the Chargers as Orange coach, Knapp felt confident as his Panthers went into the bottom of the sixth inning with a 5-1 lead.

Then everything fell apart.

The Orange bullpen surrendered four hits and five walks in the final two innings. After trailing 5-3 in the bottom of the seventh, the Chargers scored three runs, including the game-winner of a bases-loaded walk, to escape 6-5.

It may have been bowling shoe ugly, but the Orange baseball team rode away from Pittsboro much happier on Tuesday night.

In a game with a combined 12 errors, the Panthers rode the strength of its offense and sophomore starting pitcher Ryan Hench to a 9-4 win at the Ronald Horton Baseball Complex on Tuesday. Hench allowed only one run off two hits with six strikeouts.

Senior centerfielder Jaren Sikes drove in the Panthers’ first run, scored by Hench, off a triple to left field in the bottom of the second inning off a fly ball hit over the head of left fielder Nate Ortiz.

Orange catcher Davis Horton extended his hitting streak to twelves games with an infield single in the seventh inning. Horton, who started the streak with two hits against Southern Nash during his freshman year at Riverside in 2019, also had a sacrifice fly in the 3rd inning for his team-leading 14th RBI of the year.

It was Orange’s first win at Northwood since 2016, when Bryse Wilson was a senior.

“Anytime you can come down here and get a win, it’s a good thing,” Knapp said. “It’s a tough place to play, but it was an ugly game on our part. I’ve been coming down here since 2000, and every time I come here, it’s tough. The score wasn’t indicative of how hard Northwood fought. Coach (David) Miller has done a great job and they’ve improved a lot since the first time we met.”

Northwood shortstop Mason Bae struck first after being drilled on the second pitch Hench threw. Catcher Luke Smith blooped a single to shallow centerfield, and Bae went to third went the ball got past an outfielder. After sophomore third baseman Zach Barnes walked to load the bases, Ortiz reached on a throwing error to score Bae.

Following Sikes’ double in the second inning, Orange took the lead with three runs in the third inning. Tyler Lloyd drew a leadoff walk, followed by a liner to right field by Jackson Berini. Junior David Waitt doubled down the left field line to score Lloyd. Berini came in next off Horton’s sacrifice fly. With two out, Will Walker drove in a single to left field to plate Waitt.

Third baseman Cesar Lozano, who has been precipitously close to a home run throughout the season, nearly parked a fastball over the left field fence to leadoff the third. Instead, it one-hopped the wall and Lozano settled for a double. After Sikes walked, Lloyd laid down a bunt that was thrown into right field by the pitcher, and Lozano scored the first of several unearned Orange runs.

Sikes moved to third base off a Berini sacrifice bunt, which led to Twitter-caliber comedy. Waitt hit a fielder’s choice to Barnes at third base, who caught Sikes in a rundown at the plate trying to score. Sikes ran back to third, only to find Lloyd standing at third. Lloyd, who was nearly called out for sharing the same base, dashed to second. Sikes wound up being safe at third, and Northwood’s attempt to nab Lloyd during his retreat to second wound up with the ball thrown in the outfield. That allowed Sikes to score to put Orange ahead 7-1.

Following his 7th inning single, Horton ran for himself (usually Jacob Jones serves as his courtesy runner). After a errant pickoff to the death area at first, Horton took second and advanced to third on a wild pitch. Horton, who has started every game, would score his second run of the year off a sacrifice fly from Walker to centerfield.

Connor Funk was hit by a pitch, and Hench reached on a throwing error. With Mason Thompson replacing Hench as a courtesy runner, Lozano was hit by a pitch. Sikes reached on an infield throwing error to score Thompson.

Despite scoring nine runs, no Panther had a multi-hit game. Sophomore Joey Pounds recorded the final two outs, including taking care of a bunt by Andrew Johnson on the last play of the game. He also had a strikeout.

Orange will host Chapel Hill on Friday night at 6 for its final home game of the year.

Landon Riley: The Liberty Flames were upset in the Atlantic Sun Tournament championship game by Jacksonville 7-3 on Saturday at Harmon Stadium in Jacksonville, Florida. Riley threw one inning of scoreless inning against the Dolphins with one walk and one strikeout. Liberty defeated North Florida 5-2 in Friday’s semifinal game. On Thursday, Jacksonville defeated the Flames 2-1, Liberty’s first loss in the tournament. On Friday morning, Liberty shut out Kennesaw State 6-0. The Flames now await for the NCAA Selection Show at noon on Memorial Day to learn if their season will continue. Projections from Baseball America and D1baseball.com both have Liberty receiving an at-large bid for the NCAA Tournament. The Flames have two wins over North Carolina, as well as victories over Virginia and Virginia Tech. Liberty, which won the Atlantic Sun regular season championship, are 39-14. In 18 pitching appearances this season, Riley had a 2-0 record with a 4.08 ERA and five saves. In 17-and-two-thirds innings, Riley had 19 strikeouts and nine walks.

Joey Berini: #11 East Carolina was eliminated by UCF on Saturday in the American Athletic Conference Tournament at BayCare Park in Clearwater, Florida. Berini entered the game as a pinch hitter for the Pirates in the eighth inning and hit a two-out single to centerfield. It was Berini’s third hit of the season. Berini also played Wednesday at East Carolina defeated Cincinnati 13-9 in an elimination game. He went 0-for-1 as a pinch hitter. East Carolina is 41-15 and will wind up with a spot in the NCAA Tournament when the field is announced later today. Berini has played in eleven games this year.

Brandon Andrews: The Jacksonville State baseball team ended the year with consecutive wins over Eastern Illinois. It was not enough for the Gamecocks to qualify for the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament. They finished 26-27, 10-14 in the Ohio Valley Conference. Andrews pitched in one game for Jacksonville State after he transferred from Nicholls State. He has one season of eligibility remaining.

Bryse Wilson: After his win over the Toronto Blue Jays last Friday, Bryse Wilson was optioned back to the Gwinnett Stripers of Triple-A East. On Friday night, Wilson earned the win as the Stripers defeated the Memphis Redbirds 8-2 in a rain-shortened six innings. It was the first complete game by a Gwinnett starter this year. He struck out five over six innings and surrendered only two runs. He also had a bunt hit in the third inning and scored off a home run by Jason Kipnis. In his last nine starts with the Stipers, Wilson is 8-0 with a 1.58 ERA dating back to July 21, 2019.

Marvin Jones: Jones competed for North Carolina Central at the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field East Regional Preliminary Championships at the University of North Florida in Jacksonville, FL. Jones finished tied for 37th place in the high jump with a 2.06-meter leap. During his senior season, Jones had five top-5 finishes with three wins. He won the gold medal at the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championships.

Olivia Ward: The former Cedar Ridge women’s tennis player ended the year on a strong note for Division III Methodist. On April 25, Ward defeated Chandler Brice of North Carolina Wesleyan 6-4, 7-6 (7-5) in the opening round of the USA South Women’s Tennis Tournament. North Carolina Wesleyan won the match 6-3 at the Slick Family Tennis Center in Rocky Mount. Ward ended the year with wins in six consecutive matches. Methodist end the year 8-14, but finished 2nd in the USA South Conference with a 5-1 record.

Brad Debo: Though he didn’t play for N.C. State this season, Debo was still honored during the Wolfpack’s home game against Florida State on May 22 at Doak Field in Raleigh. Debo didn’t have a senior day game during his senior year in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Debo played in eight games in 2020 for the Wolfpack as a catcher and designated hitter. He hit .263 with one double. For his Wolfpack career, Debo hit .284 with nine home runs and 96 RBIs. He has started work as an organizational instructor for catchers at North Carolina Development Baseball out of Durham.

Orange Coach Jason Knapp turned to the basics to end a three-game losing streak.

A game of kickball.

Following a 8-7 loss to East Chapel Hill on Friday, Knapp didn’t have a weekend of leisure. There were a couple of sleepless nights instead, paired along with nine-hour shifts at his Orange baseball diamond that remains in meticulous shape. As he mowed the grass during a sunny Saturday, Knapp pondered ways to shore up his team’s base running flaws that led to some costly outs against Northern Durham and East. So during practice Monday, he took his players back to their days of running across blacktops and playgrounds at various elementary schools.

For the record, the best kickball player on Orange’s team is junior third baseman/designated hitter Cesar Lozano.

Whatever it was that unfolded in practice Monday, a composed and relaxed Orange team turned in its most complete performance of the season in an 7-0 victory over Walkertown on Tuesday night at Panther Field. Senior Will Walker had his best night of the season, going 3-for-3 with a double and 3 RBIs as Orange (7-3) ended a three-game losing streak.

What impressed Knapp more was his pitching staff, who turned in the second shutout of the year. Jordan Underwood, in his first start of the season, earned the win after he threw the opening two innings. Pierson Kenney, in his team-high seventh pitching appearance, had his best outing of the year. Over three scoreless innings, Kenney conceded just one hit and one walk.

“A lot of guys contributed tonight,” Knapp said. “We got it done on the mound. It’s great to see (Jordan) Underwood get a start. Pierson (Kenney) looked real comfortable coming in out of the bullpen. Jaren (Sikes) just continues to get better. That’s how we had it mapped out tonight.”

It was an impressive win over a Walkertown (6-3) team that had not been shutout this season. The Wolfpack, from the 2A Western Piedmont Conference, defeated West Stokes on May 11. Three night later, Stokes edged Orange in Hillsborough.

Underwood got help from his defense early. After Walkertown leadoff batter Luke Tucker was hit on the first pitch of the game, Panther shortstop Jackson Berini triggered a 6-4-3 double play on the next Wolfpack at-bat, as he flipped a grounder to Connor Funk, who threw to Walker on the relay.

Orange’s David Waitt scored Orange’s first run. Waitt got aboard after being hit on the lower leg by a pitch. Catcher Davis Horton extended his hitting streak to eight games with a single to centerfield. After Waitt advanced to third on a wild pitch, Walker lined a first-pitch fastball to left field to bring in Waitt. Jacob Jones, running for Horton, went to third after Ryan Hench was walked. Lozano, taking every inch of the plate allowed, was hit by a pitch to score Jones for a run battered in.

“I love that out of him up there,” Knapp said of Lozano. “He’s just trying to find a way on. He’s really worked hard in practice and really proud of the effort he’s put in.”

Walker drew a two-out walk in the third inning. Hench sent a hard liner to the deepest part of the park in right center, an abyss for fielders. Walker scored all the way from first. It was Hench’s seventh RBI of the year.

Centerfielder Jaren Sikes led off the fourth with a single to centerfield. After stealing second, Berini sent a hard grounder to right for his first hit. It led to Horton lining a double into the abyss to score Berini and Sikes. Horton leads the team with 13 RBIs.

Orange pushed two more across in the seventh inning. Horton drew a walk, following by a stellar bunt single by second baseman Connor Funk down the third-base line. Walker nearly sent a 2-2 slider over the left field fence, but it bounced over for a two-run ground rule double.

It was Underwood’s first win since last season when Orange defeated Eastern Alamance in Mebane.

On the night where seven Orange seniors were honored in pregame ceremonies, the Panthers played its most complete game of the season in a 7-0 win over Walkertown. Will Walker went 3-for-3 with a ground rule double that bounced over the left field wall in the sixth inning. Walker also had 3 RBIs. Jordan Underwood earned his first win of the season. He threw two scoreless innings, ending with a strikeout. Pierson Kenney relieved Underwood and added three scoreless innings. Kenney conceded only one hit and one walk. Tyler Lloyd started in left field and had a single in the fifth inning. Centerfield Jaren Sikes hit a leadoff single in the fourth inning and scored off a two-run double by catcher Davis Horton. Jacob Jones served as the courtesy runner for Horton and scored two runs, in the first and sixth innings. And Will Crabtree came off the bench to pinch-hit in the fourth inning. Crabtree is preparing for an even bigger role in life, to serve as a fireman, which he’s actually done while attending Orange. Crabtree will attend Appalachian State in the fall, along with Sikes. Orange is 7-3 and will face Cedar Ridge on Friday.