Orange Baseball

While the Orange baseball team has lost six starters from its 2023 Central Conference championship team, its pitching staff has largely returned intact.

In its final dress rehearsals before conference play begins this week, Orange showed off its strengths in two shutout victories.

On Wednesday night, senior Josiah Gibbs tossed six scoreless innings with a career-high nine strikeouts in a 5-0 win over Northwood in Pittsboro. Gibbs led Orange with seven victories last season as he was pressed into the starting rotation following injuries to Ryan Hench (now redshirting at UNC) and Cross Clayton. Against the Chargers, he scattered only two hits and retired the first nine batters he faced before Finn Sullivan singled to start the fourth.

Gibbs has a two-run lead before he even threw a pitch. After freshman Kayden Bradsher drew a leadoff walk in the first at-bat of the game, senior Wyatt Hedrick went opposite field for his first career homer over the right field wall.

Bradsher and Hedrick would pair again in the fifth. Bradsher drew a walk, then stole second and third bases. Hedrick sent a deep fly to centerfield that went over the head of Northwood’s Jake Leighton, allowing Bradsher to score standing up. Senior Cameron Guentensberger lined a single to left field to bring in Hedrick. Clayton, starting at shortstop, increased the Panther lead to 5-0 when he reached off an error on a ground ball to second base, scoring Guentensberger.

Gibbs thwarted any attempt at a comeback. He allowed only two baserunners in six innings, neither of whom touched second base. Coltin Hedrick, who has committed to play at Wake Tech along with his twin brother, tossed a scoreless seventh to complete Orange’s first shutout of the season, strikeout out two.

It was Orange’s seventh straight win over the Chargers, dating back to 2019.

On Thursday night, the Panthers shutout Grimsley 12-0 in Hillsborough, the Panthers first run-rule victory of the season.

Clayton, in his second start of the year, struck out seven in four innings for his first victory of the season and the 14th of his career. The last Orange pitcher to earn 20 wins in his career was Bryse Wilson, now with the Milwaukee Brewers. Wilson graduated in 2016.

Clayton has worked to recover from an injury that ended his junior season prematurely last May and caused him to miss all of travel ball last summer. He made his second start against the Whirlies and appeared in midseason form, retiring the first eight batters and giving up a scant single to Grimsley’s Will Rainwater on a meager dribbler over second base.

It was another game that Bradsher, a freshman, proved his worth as a leadoff batter. He was hit by a pitch by Grimsley starter Levi Ponder. Wyatt Hedrick lined a single to right. Bradsher didn’t skip a beat as he rounded for third base. Guentensberger scored Bradsher on a groundout to Grimsley second baseman Holden Barnwell. Following a walk to Clayton, catcher Ryan Horton laced a line drive to the left field gap that rolled to the fence, scoring Hedrick. Freshman Oliver Van Tiem hit a grounder to first baseman Max Snyder, who tried to throw out Clayton at the plate. Clayton slid under the tag of catcher J.T. Simmons for Orange’s third run.

Orange broke it open with eight runs in the third inning, sending 13 batters to the plate. Wyatt Hedrick started with a single to left field. Later, he would tag a two-run triple down the right field line to score Wren Hash and Bradsher. Van Tiem had a RBI single to score Guentensberger, who walked to conclude a 13-pitch at-bat. Horton walked with the bases-loaded for his second RBI. Hash earned his first career RBI with another bases-loaded walk.

Orange will travel to Western Alamance for its conference opener on Tuesday night.

Offense has been slow to come by for Orange baseball so far in the young season.

Thankfully, Tommy could hear their pleas for offense.

Well, it was really Ryan Horton, whose nickname is “Tommy” because that’s his middle name. Horton had never homered in a varsity game as he stepped up to plate in the sixth inning against Topsail on Monday night.

Then hit delivered the biggest swing of his career.

Horton delivered a grand slam, Orange’s third hit of the game, to provide a 4-1 win over Topsail in Hillsborough.

Junior Garrett Sawyer earned his second career win in relief of senior starter Cross Clayton. Sawyer allowed just three hits with four strikeouts in four innings work.

To say that Horton’s grand slam came out of nowhere would be putting it mildly. Orange had just two singles up to that point, and one of those rolled roughly 50 feet up the third base line off the stick of Henry Hoffman. Hoffman led off the fourth inning with a single to centerfield, the first ball to land in the outfield off an Orange batter. But the Panthers failed to lay down a bunt on the next at-bat and Hoffman wound up getting doubled up off a smooth play by Topsail catcher Gavin Schoenwiesner.

Orange (2-1) trailed the whole game. Topsail’s Rhett Britt doubled into right centerfield, the deepest part of the ballpark. With two down, Gibson Todd lined a 1-2 fastball to right field for the Pirates’ only run.

Senior Cross Clayton, with 13 career victories, started for Orange and threw three innings. After giving up the opening run, Clayton allowed just one more hit before yielding to Sawyer in the fourth.

Topsail starter Drew Shelar, making his varsity debut, kept Orange at bay. He threw five shutout innings and allowed just two hits and one walk. Caleb Kelley replaced Shelar in the sixth.

Orange freshman Kayden Bradsher opened the sixth with a leadoff walk. The Panthers nearly botched another bunt situation when Kelley caught a pop-up, then attempted to throw out Bradsher at first base. But the throw got away from first baseman Tyler Wilson and Bradsher moved over to second base. It was ruled that Cameron Guentensberger got hit with a pitch on the elbow, though Guentensberger didn’t seem to know it until the umpire motioned for him to move to first base. Clayton drew a walk to load the bases, leading to Horton’s first career home run.

Sawyer struck out Wes Atkinson and pinch-hitter Andrew Schmidt to open the seventh. Then Luke Keenan grounded out to Sawyer to end the game.

Wake Forest 3, Cedar Ridge 0: Facing the defending 4A Eastern Regional champions who were one win away from the state championship in 2023, Cedar Ridge didn’t back down in its home opener on Monday night.

The Red Wolves trailed 1-0 going into the sixth inning before James Bradbury scored off a double steal in the sixth inning. Bradbury drew a walk to lead off the frame.

Cedar Ridge’s Quinn Finnegan struck out five in four-plus innings, allowing just one run. The Red Wolves loaded the bases in the second inning against Cougars starter Jackson Hardy. Nick Aitkin reached on an infield single, Grant McGuffey lined a single to centerfield. Finnegan reached on a bunt. But the Cougars turned a double play when Kyle Brazeau caught a bunt and threw out Aitkin at the plate. Hardy got a strikeout to end the threat.

Then Brazeau drove in the first run of the game with a double that one-hopped the wall in right field. Ian Williams, who finished 2-for-4, scored after he started the inning with a single to centerfield.

McGuffey went 2-for-3 for Cedar Ridge. The Red Wolves are scheduled to travel to Carrboro on Wednesday. They will start its Central Conference slate against Walter Williams in Burlington on Tuesday night.

For the fifth time in six seasons, the Orange baseball team won its season-opener under head coach Jason Knapp. On Monday night, the Panthers defeated Northern Durham 7-3 at Panther Field. Senior Josiah Gibbs earned his 11th career win, allowing only four hits in four innings as the opening day starter. Gibbs, who led the team with seven wins in 2023, struck out four. Cameron Guentensberger, a senior centerfielder, drove in the Panthers opening run with a soft liner to right field, scoring Kayden Bradsher. Orange busted the game open with five runs in the fourth inning. Henry Hoffman reached on an error and scored off a single by Bradsher. Guentensberger added another RBI single with a liner to left field. Cross Clayton, Wyatt Hedrick, Hoffman, Guentensberger and Bradsher all scored in the fourth inning. Clayton finished out the game by striking out the side in the seventh inning. It was a good start for an Orange team that lost six starters from a squad that won the Central Conference championship last year and reached the 3A State Quarterfinals. Orange will face Eden Morehead, who won the 2A Eastern Regional championship last year, on Thursday night at 6PM in Hillsborough. It will be the second of six scheduled non conference games for Orange before the start of the Central Conference campaign against Western Alamance on March 19. 

Orange baseball’s Josiah Gibbs & Cameron Guentensberger discuss win on opening day

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Cooper Hench: Last week, Hench was chosen the National Club Pitcher of the Week after he threw two scoreless innings for the N.C. State club team against Campbell. In that stint, Hench struck out all six batters he faced. The Wolfpack won both games over the Camels. While his younger brother has started his career at North Carolina, Hench has played for the N.C. State club team since graduated from Orange in 2020.

Joey Berini: On Friday, Berini opened his senior season with East Carolina. The Pirates had a weekend sweep of Rider at Clarke-LeClair Stadium in Greenville. Berini started all three games at shortstop. On Sunday, he went 1-for-4 in ECU’s 7-0 win. On Saturday, ECU won 7-0 and Berini went 1-for-4 once again. The Pirates won the season-opener 16-2 on Friday. Berini went 1-for-3. ECU has opened the year ranked #11 in the country by D1Baseball.com.

Dante DeFranco:After reaching the NCAA Tournament last year, the Charlotte 49ers started its season against Virginia Tech at Hayes Stadium this weekend. DeFrano served as a pinch-hitter for the 49ers in its 10-0 loss to the Hokies on Friday. DeFranco had a single in his only at-bat with a stolen base. DeFranco started in right field in Virginia Tech’s 10-5 win on Saturday. He went 0-for-2. On Sunday, the 49ers salvaged a game in the series with a 10-5 win. DeFranco drove in a run with a pinch-hit single in the 7th inning.

Jackson Berini: Gaston College swept a weekend series Caldwell Community College and Technical Institute over the weekend. Caldwell is the #5 ranked Division III team in the country in the National Junior College Athletic Association. Berini played in Sunday’s win as a pinch-runner.

Davis Horton: The Rockingham Community College Eagles are 1-9 to start the season. This weekend, USC Lancaster swept two doubleheaders against Rockingham. Horton started the second game of the doubleheader on Saturday, a 11-3 win for the Lancers. Horton went 0-for-3, starting at catcher. Horton also started on Sunday, a 10-6 win by the Lancers. Horton went 0-for-3. Last week, Montgomery College swept a doubleheader from the Eagles. Horton went 1-for-4 in a 10-8 loss to the Mustangs. Horton also played as a pinch-hitter in the opening game, which Montgomery won 9-5.

Ryan Hench: The former Orange High pitcher started his career with the #15 North Carolina baseball team on Friday. The Tar Heels swept Wagner at Boshamer Stadium in Chapel Hill. Hench helped the Panthers win three straight conference championships in his Orange career. His freshman year was interrupted due to the pandemic after four games.

Aidan McCallister: After a year at Hofstra University, the former Cedar Ridge 1st baseman transferred to Brunswick Community College. He is now a redshirt freshman and teammates with former Northern Durham pitcher Matthew Lombard.

Chase Finley: The Division II Shorter University lacrosse team has started the season in strong fashion. The Hawks defeated Oglethorpe 12-10 on February 1 in Atlanta. Finley, a former Cedar Ridge goalkeeper, earned the win making 13 saves. Shorter edged Tennessee Wesleyan 13-12 at Ben Brady Field in Rome, GA. Finley made 15 saves to take the win. On Wednesday, Shorter defeated Montreat 11-3 at Pulliam Stadium in Montreat. Finley made 12 saves for the win. Finley finished with 14 saves as the Hawks defeated Centenary College 9-6 on February 12. The only loss for Shorter so far was a 21-17 loss to Malone University on February 10. Finley started in net and made 17 saves.

Cy Horner: The Division III Methodist men’s lacrosse team started its season with a 12-8 loss to Goucher at Monarch Stadium in Fayetteville. Horner, a sophomore, scored the first goal of the season for the Monarchs. Horner had seven shots, four of them on goal, with one ground ball. Methodist with travel to Virginia Wesleyan University in Virginia Beach, VA on Tuesday.

Josiah Tisdale: Tisdale, who was a member of the Orange men’s lacrosse team the past four years, started his college career at Methodist.

Tigh Metheney: The former Orange lacrosse midfielder is already playing in his freshman season for Division II Catawba College. In the Indians 16-11 win over North Greenville, Methane saw playing time in the season-opener. Methane also played in Catawba’s 9-7 win over Belmont-Abbey at Alumni Field in Belmont on Saturday. Catawba will travel to Tusculum on Saturday.

Nick Cardone: Cardone, a key defensive presence for Orange lacrosse the past four years, is also a freshman for Catawba College.

Jackson Berini: The Gaston College Rhinos baseball team opened its season 6-1. On Saturday in the opening game of a doubleheader against Walters State, Berini hit a three-run homer to lead a comeback after the Senators jumped out to a 6-0 lead at Sims Legion Park. The following inning, Berini tied the game with a sacrifice fly to score Seth Christmas to make the score 6-6.  Walters State would go on to win 7-6 in eight innings. It was the first start for Berini, who played second base. Berini went 1-for-3 with an RBI single as the Rhinos took the second game 9-3 in six innings. Berini made his first college appearance against Guilford Technical Community College on January 27. The Rhinos won 13-1 in five innings. Berini appeared as a pinch hitter. Berini scored his first college run in a 16-0 win for the Rhinos. He drew a walk and touched home plate after a double by Brandon Crabtree.

Davis Horton: Former Orange catcher Davis Horton started his sophomore season at Rockingham County Community College by splitting a doubleheader with Patrick Henry Community College in Martinsville, VA. Patrick Henry won the opener 10-0. Horton, who started at catcher, went 0-for-3.

Lauren Jackson: The Division II Lenoir-Rhyne softball season started its season by splitting a doubleheader against Lander at Bears Field in Hickory. The Bears won the nightcap 9-1 in five innings. The Bearcats won the opener 10-7. The Bears will host UNC Pembroke in Hickory for a doubleheader on Wednesday afternoon.

Abby Dease: Former Orange High softball player Abby Dease is now swimming at Smith College, a Division III school in Northampton, Massachusetts. On January 27, Wellesly College won a dual meet over Smith 198-94. Dease finished eighth in the 1000 yard freestyle at 12:01.75. She came in seventh in the 100 yard butterfly. In the 50 yard freestyle, Dease came in ninth in the 100 yard freestyle. Dease, the daughter of longtime Orange baseball coach Dean Dease, is in her junior season.

Mia Davidson: Last week, Davidson officially re-signed with Athletes Unlimited for the 2024 and 2025 seasons. Last year, Davidson earned a third-place medal with AUX. Over 12 games, Davidson had five home runs, tied for the league lead. Her slugging percentage of .615 was the best in Athletes Unlimited. Davidson frequently visits her old stomping grounds for hitting clinics with her sister, Montana Davidson. The two played together at Mississippi State.

This Thursday, softball season will officially get underway for Division I schools. Here are the five former Cedar Ridge and Orange players who will start their respective seasons this weekend.

Takia Nichols: After the North Carolina Central Eagles won the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference championship last year, Nichols returns for her sophomore season. The all-time home run hitter in Cedar Ridge history, Nichols was named the MEAC Rookie of the Week twice last season. She hit .338 with eight home runs and 31 RBIs. The Eagles will open in the NFCA Leadoff Classic in Clearwater, Florida at the Eddie C. Moore Complex. The Eagles will open against South Alabama on Friday morning and will face Central Arkansas later that morning. They will also face Iowa, Utah and Indiana during the event.

Tori Dalehite: a senior at UNC Greensboro. The Spartans are picked to finish first in the Southern Conference. Dalehite has played in 72 career games and has scored 24 runs. UNCG starts its season against Virginia in the Carolina Classic at Beckham Field in Columbia, South Carolina on Friday morning. The Spartans will also face Jacksonville State and South Carolina this weekend.

Mary Moss Wirt: A sophomore for Elon University, Wirt played in 28 games last season, starting six. Elon will open with a doubleheader against Kent State in the Elon Classic at Hunt Softball Park on Thursday. The Phoenix will also welcome Appalachian State, Kent State, Evansville and Miami (Ohio) for the multi-team event.

Carson Bradsher: Bradsher will start her freshman year at South Carolina Upstate on Friday morning. Bradsher was a four-year starter for Orange at shortstop, where she won the Big 8 Conference championship in 2021. South Carolina Upstate will start its season in its own tournament, the Spartan Classic, against Loyola University of Chicago on Friday morning. Later that day, the Spartans will face Toledo. South Carolina State will face the Spartans this weekend.