Orange Baseball

It was a classic Orange High home run.

The infamous porch in left field at Orange High has been a hindrance for right-handed pitchers for years. The fences were moved in during the late-1990s to take the light poles out of play for outfielders who had enough to worry about chasing down fly balls without crashing into something, which actually happened a few times.

That created an environment where no lead in safe regardless of how good the pitching is.

Orange’s Connor Nordan faced Lee County’s Walker McDuffie, who has committed to North Carolina, in the first inning. After Nordan missed badly on McDuffie’s initial offering, he made contact on a slider hit to left field.

At first, Nordan thought it would be blooper that may hug the third base line. But the wind was blowing out of the park and the ball carried and carried. It wound up right at the foul pole, naturally colored Orange, where it disappeared over the shallowest area of the ballpark. A true wall scraper.

“I thought it was going to go foul,” Nordan said.

Afterwards, the showdown between the Panthers and the Yellow Jackets became the defensive struggle everyone thought it would be. Yet Nordan’s dinger stood the rest of the way and led Orange to its biggest non-conference win of the year.

Clayton struck out eight and allowed just five hits in his first complete game of the season in Orange’s 3-1 win over Lee County. Clayton, in his fourth start of the season, earned his 12th win since the start of last year.

It was a victory that could pay off handsomely for the Panthers in the 3A East RPI rankings. Orange entered the game ranked #3 while Lee County was #4. Earlier this week, Person upset #1 South Brunswick. Last week, #2 J.H. Rose lost consecutive home games to D.H. Conley and Rolesville.

Orange is 15-2, its best start since the 2013 squad that roared out of the gates 16-1.

The only run Orange conceded came from Lee County’s B.J. Brown, who sent a high fly over the, you guessed it, left field fence. The wind pushed the ball beyond the reach of outfielder Elijah Santos to give the Yellow Jackets an early lead.

Lee County didn’t have another runner in scoring position until the fifth inning.

While the home runs may have been surprising, Orange coach Jason Knapp noticed the wind was blowing out as he watered the infield a few hours before first pitch.

“I wasn’t completely surprised that the ball jumped out a little bit,” Knapp said. “Especially early because it felt like both teams were trying to feel each other out at the very beginning. It’s not surprising, but it’s also not surprising with my squad that they didn’t blink.”

Following Nordan’s two-run wall scraper, Clayton and McDuffie went along business as usual. McDuffie finished with eleven strikeouts, his sixth double-digit strikeout game in seven starts. After Nordan’s home run, McDuffie set down ten in a row.

Clayton, coming off a 12-strikeout performance over Person last Wednesday, improved to 4-0 this season.

By the end of the fourth inning, only one run separated the two teams. Just about everything else was remarkably similar. They each had two hits. McDuffie had 51 pitches. Clayton had thrown 50.

The Yellow Jackets’ biggest threat came in the fifth inning when Blake Carlyle lofted a double down the left field line with one out. Cameron Cabe, batting ninth, sent a soft liner to right field, where David Waitt got the ball in before Carlyle could score. McDuffie flew out to Waitt for the second out in shallow right, leaving Carlyle unable to tag up. Brown was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Dylan Kelly worked the count up to 3-1, only the third Yellow Jacket to get three balls against Clayton all day. With Lee County one ball away from tying the game, Kelly sent a grounder to third baseman Neo Best, who stepped on third to end the inning.

Orange took advantage of its chances in its side of the fifth. Junior catcher Ryan Honeycutt laced a leadoff double down the third base line. Wyatt Hedrick looped an 0-2 fastball to left field for a base hit to send Ty Walker, a courtesy runner for Honeycutt, to third. After a sacrifice bunt by Best sent Hedrick to second, Berini pulled a 1-1 fastball down the right field line that landed fair. Walker and Hedrick both scored standing up in what proved to be the kill shot.

Lee’s Carson Beal led off the seventh with a single, but Hedrick turned a 4-6-3 double play in the next at-bat. Clayton struck out Cabe to end the game.

Orange is 8-0 against non-conference teams and has won eleven in a row at home.

“Lee County is traditionally strong,” Knapp said. “I was proud of the way we represented our school and our community today. It’s a big win. We’ve still got work to do over the next two weeks.”

The Orange baseball team is off to its best start since the 2013 season. In a battle of two teams in the top five of the 3A East Region RPI rankings, Orange defeated Lee County 4-1. The Panthers surrendered a home run in the first inning, but recovered quickly. Senior Connor Nordan sent a two-run homer that went under the fair pole down the left field line to put the Panthers ahead. Lee County pitcher Walker McDuffie, who has committed to play at UNC, held Orange without a hit for four innings. In the fifth, senior Jackson Berini lined a double down the right field line to score Ryan Honeycutt and Wyatt Hedrick. Orange is now 15-2. The last time Orange had 15 wins before their third loss, it was the 2013 team that started 16-2. Nordan and Berini are the top two RBI leaders on the team. Nordan’s two-run homer put him at 25 RBIs on the year. Berini’s two-run double gives him 16 RBIs, even though he’s the leadoff hitter. Orange’s win could vault them to either the #1 or #2 spot in the 3A East RPI rankings. The Panthers are slated to play Wakefield on Friday night to wrap up the Hilltop Invitational. Orange will return to conference action against Northwood on Tuesday in Hillsborough.

Orange baseball’s Jackson Berini & Connor Nordan discuss win over Lee County

The Orange baseball team is off to its best start since the 2013 season. In a battle of two teams in the top five of the 3A East Region RPI rankings, Orange defeated Lee County 4-1. The Panthers surrendered a home run in the first inning, but recovered quickly.

Even on nights when they aren’t clicking on all cylinders early, the Orange baseball team has enough arms to simply overpower the opposition.

That was the case once again Tuesday night in the Panthers’ opening game of the Hilltop Invitational, concluding a day where the stakes of the event rose dramatically.

Trailing 4-2, the Panthers scored five runs off five hits in the fifth inning with senior David Waitt knocking in the go-ahead run on an infield single. Junior Coltin Hedrick, coming on in relief of starter Josiah Gibbs, threw three shutout innings as Orange won 9-4 to improve to 14-2.

The Panthers are 8-0 against non conference opponents. The win set up a showdown between Lee County and Orange for Wednesday night at Panther Field in a meeting between two teams in the top five of the 3A East RPI rankings. The Panthers entered Tuesday night #3, while the Yellow Jackets are #4.

The winner of Orange-Lee County could find themselves ranked even higher next week.

Earlier on Tuesday, Person stunned South Brunswick, the #1 team in 3A East, 9-8 in the semifinals of the Battle for the Big Rock Tournament in Morehead City. The Rockets will face New Hanover for the tournament championship on Wednesday afternoon.

Last week, J.H. Rose, ranked #2, lost consecutive home games to D.H. Conley and Rolesville.

For much of Tuesday night, it appeared the upset bug may bite Orange. The Vikings erased an early 2-0 deficit with two runs in the second, a go-ahead tally in the third and insurance in the fourth.

The Vikings’ Hunter Meeds led the comeback. He scored off a single by Grey Booker to right field in the second. Chandler Ring, who started the game at shortstop, scored off a bunt by Malcolm Vann to tie the game.

In the third, Meeds laced an RBI single to right centerfield, the deepest part of Orange’s park, bringing in Mayson Dear to put the Vikings ahead 3-2. In the fourth, Dear sent a deep liner to right center to score Ryan Wallace from first base.

Orange chipped away at the Union Pines lead 90 feet at a time in the fifth inning. Ryan Honeycutt lead off with a walk. Catcher Ryan Horton looped a single to right field. Cross Clayton loaded the bases with a soft liner to centerfield for another hit. Neo Best lined a ball under the glove of Ring being second base and into centerfield to score Honeycutt. After Elijah Santos reached on a fielder’s choice where pitcher Austin Mooring threw out courtesy runner Joey Pounds at third on a bunt attempt, Jackson Berini drew a bases-loaded walk to tie the game, scoring Clayton.

After Ring replaced Mooring as pitcher, Waitt poked a soft pop-up behind the mound. Dear, who went from catcher to shortstop, couldn’t throw out Waitt, leading to Best scoring. Connor Nordan lifted a sacrifice fly to left field, which was caught by Grey Booker in the left field bullpen, allowing Santos to tag up and score. Cameron Guentensberger sent a 3-0 fastball to right field for an RBI single, scoring Berini and putting Orange ahead 7-4.

Hedrick replaced Gibbs to open the fifth inning and allowed only one baserunner in the final three innings. Over the past month, Hedrick is 2-0 with two saves. In 12-plus innings over his last four appearances, Hedrick has 13 strikeouts with four walks, one run and five hits surrendered.

Berini opened the scoring in the first when he lined a single to right field. With Waitt at the plate, Union Pines starting pitcher Grey Withrow was called for a balk. With Connor Nordan at bat, Berini advanced to third on a wild pitch, then came home after the corresponding throw to third bounced off the fielder’s leg and rolled into the outfield.

After Nordan, Guentensberger and Honeycutt all drew walks, Horton lifted a fly ball to the left field that may have stayed in the park solely because of the wind. The left fielder dropped it at the warning track, which allowed Nordan to score.

Orange put the game away in the sixth when Berini lined a two-run single up the middle, scoring Best and Clayton. Nordan nearly added another double, but he was robbed on a gorgeous diving catch by Meeds in centerfield for the third out.

Lee County 7, Cedar Ridge 1: The Yellow Jackets scored two runs in the first inning against Cedar Ridge, then scored four runs in the final two innings to secure their 13th win of the season.

B.J. Thornton struck out six for the Red Wolves. Thornton also drove in the Red Wolves’ only run in the fourth inning. After Mason Cates drew a leadoff walk, he went to second after a balk. Thornton lined a double to left field.

Nick Pope earned the win for the Yellow Jackets, allowing only two hits over six innings. He struck out seven and walked four.

Cedar Ridge, who defeated Union Pines 9-5 on Monday night, will face Chapel Hill on Thursday in their final game of the Hilltopper Invitational.

Photo courtesy of ECUpirates.com

Joey Berini: The East Carolina baseball team, ranked #12 in the country, swe a series over UCF at Clark-LeClaire Stadium in Greenville last week. On Friday, the Pirates endured a rain delay to win 3-2 in 12 innings. Berini, who started at shortstop, went 1-for-6. On Thursday, the Pirates won the second game of a doubleheader from the Knights 11-5. Berini had his third home run of the season, a two-run blast down the right field line in the 1st inning. Berini also had a triple in the second inning that led to a run scoring. Berini finished 2-for-4 with two RBIs and two runs scored. ECU won the first game of the doubleheader 17-7 in seven innings. Berini went 1-for-2 with an RBI single in the 3rd inning. Last Tuesday, the Pirates defeated N.C. State 13-9. Berini sent a three-run homer over the right field wall in the 4th inning. Berini finished 2-for-4 with three RBIs. The Pirates are 24-8, 4-2 in the American Athletic Conference. Berini is hitting .330, which is third on the team. He has four home runs with 16 RBIs.

Bryse Wilson: The Milwaukee Brewers have opened the Major League Baseball season 7-2. Wilson earned his first save in a Brewers uniform on April 3 in Milwaukee’s 10-0 win over the New York Mets at Miller Park. Wilson threw three shutout innings and allowed only one hit. He had three walks and two strikeouts. On April 7, the Brewers shut out St. Louis 4-0. Wilson threw a scoreless ninth inning with two strikeouts.

Dante DeFranco: As the Charlotte 49ers continue its final season in Conference USA, DeFranco has become a regular starter for the 49ers at second base. On April 4, DeFranco had two doubles as the 49ers defeated Radford 10-0 at Hayes Stadium in Charlotte. DeFranco went 2-for-3 with two runs scored. On Friday, DeFranco went 0-for-2 as UTSA defeated the 49ers 5-3. Against UAB on April 2, DeFranco finished 1-f0r-3 with a walk as the 49ers defeated the Blazers 5-0 at Young Memorial Field in Birmingham, AL. Charlotte is 15-15, 6-5 in CUSA.

Phillip Berger: On April 6, the Division III William Peace University baseball team suffered a 13-9 loss to North Carolina Wesleyan. Berger suffered the loss starting for the Pacers. In four-and-two-thirds innings, Berger conceded four runs off five hits. He walked five and struck out eight. On March 31, Greensboro College defeated Peace 10-4. Berger gave up seven runs off ten hits in four-and-two-thirds innings. He struck out five and walked two. This season, Berger is 3-3 with a 4.93 ERA. He has 39 strikeouts and 20 walks.

Will Walker: Walker continues to play for the Pitt Community College baseball team in his sophomore season. Over the weekend, Brunswick Community College took two games from the Bulldogs in a three-game series. On Friday, Brunswick defeated Pitt 6-5 in eight innings in the second game of a doubleheader. Walker went 1-for-3 with a run scored. In the opening game of the doubleheader, Pitt won 9-2. Walker finished 0-for-5. On Wednesday, Lenoir Community College outscored Pitt 13-12 at Lancer Field.Walker finished 2-for-4 with two RBI singles. On the season, Walker is hitting .305 with two home runs and 21 RBIs. The .305 average is third on the team. Pitt Community College is 21-9 overall, 15-6 in Region X in the National Junior College Athletic Association.

Davis Horton: On Monday, the Rockingham Community College baseball team swept a doubleheader from the Montreat junior varsity team. In the opening game of the doubleheader, which the Eagles won 6-5, Horton went 0-for-4. In the second game, Horton went 1-for-3 as the Eagles won 6-2. On March 26, Rockingham edged Surry Community College 4-3. Horton finished 2-for-4 with an RBI double. In the opening game of a doubleheader against Surry, the Eagles won 9-8. Horton finished 3-for-5 with two RBIs. He had two doubles. Rockingham is 11-20.

Jamar Davis: Davis won the triple jump in the Raleigh Relays on March 25 at the Paul Deer Track Facility in Raleigh. Davis won with a leap of 15.66 meters, a season-best. Elliott Barner of Tennessee finished second. Also in the Raleigh Relays, Davis finished second in the long jump. His best leap was 7.44 meters. Maxwell Forte of Duke finished first.

Cy Horner: Former Orange lacrosse player Cy Horner continues his sophomore season for the Division III Methodist University Monarchs. On Saturday, La Grange defeated Methodist 21-20 at Callaway Stadium in LaGrange, GA. Horner finished with four assists. On April 1, Southern Virginia defeated Methodist 17-6. Horner had a goal and an assist with two shots on net. Horner is the second-leading scorer on the Monarchs. He has eleven goals and 15 assists. Methodist 3-8 overall, 1-3 in the USA South Conference.

Chase Finley: Former Cedar Ridge lacrosse goalkeeper Chase Finley continues to play for the Division II Shorter University Hawks. On April 8, Finley made 24 saves as Flagler College defeated the Hawks 24-6 in St. Augustine, FL. On April 3, Shorter defeated Warren Wilson 23-8 in Rome, GA. Finley played 17 minutes in net and made two saves. The University of Alabama-Huntsville defeated Shorter 23-9 at Ben Brady Field. Finley made eight saves after he received the start. Shorter is 3-9, 0-3 in the Peach Belt Conference.

Jaylin Jones: Jones continues his graduate season at Division III Pfeiffer University. On April 1, the Falcons defeated Huntingdon 19-5 in Montgomery, AL. Jones, a midfielder, had one shot. On March 29, Pfeiffer defeated William Peace 19-11. Jones had three shots and two ground balls. Jones scored the opening goal for Pfeiffer in their 14-13 win over Centre on March 23. In ten games this season, Jones had two goals.

Another power pitching performance by Cross Clayton led the Orange baseball team to a two-game sweep of Person on Wednesday night. Clayton struck out a career-high 12 batters over five innings to earn his third win of the season in Orange’s 3-0 victory over the Rockets. Clayton helped his own cause when he ended a scoreless tie in the bottom of the fifth inning with a solo homer to left field. It was his second homer of the season. Junior Ryan Horton had a solid series against Person. On Wednesday, he went 2-for-3 and drove in an insurance run in the sixth inning with a single to right field, bringing in Ty Walker. On Tuesday night, Orange defeated Person 4-3 in Roxboro. Horton went 2-for-3 with two RBIs. Horton’s single in the fifth inning scored Cameron Guentensberger in what proved to be the game-winning run. Orange is in first place in the Central Carolina Conference with a 5-2 record with four league games remaining. They will start play in the Hilltop Invitational on Monday night when they face Lee County in Hillsborough.

Orange baseball’s Cross Clayton and Ryan Horton discuss win over Person

Another power pitching performance by Cross Clayton led the Orange baseball team to a two-game sweep of Person on Wednesday night. Clayton struck out a career-high 12 batters over five innings to earn his third win of the season in Orange’s 3-0 victory over the Rockets.

Since he emerged as Orange’s #2 starting pitcher last season, Cross Clayton has had a flair for huge performances in big games.

Last year, he threw a five-inning perfect game against Cedar Ridge to clinch the Central Carolina Conference regular season championship. At one point in 2022, Clayton threw 23 consecutive scoreless innings.

On Wednesday night, Clayton came through with possibly his best all-around game in his Panther career, and it put Orange on the brink of a second consecutive regular season championship.

Locked in a scoreless stalemate with Person pitcher Dylan England, Clayton launched a 3-2 fastball over the porch in left field for the go-ahead run in the fifth inning. Clayton would go on to strike out a career-high 13 batters as conceded just three hits over six innings with zero walks as Orange defeated Person 3-0 to sweep a two-game series.

Orange (13-2, 6-2 in the CCC) now leads Walter Williams by two games in the loss column for first place in the CCC. The Panthers have four conference games remaining, two each against Northwood and Eastern Alamance.

Clayton overpowered Person throughout the night and didn’t show any signs of wilting in the late innings. He retired the final seven Rockets he faced, six of them via strikeout, before yielding to junior Cameron Guentensberger for the seventh inning.

Of Clayton’s 77 pitches, 59 were for strikes. Not one Person batter touched third base. Of the 21 batters Clayton faced, he threw the first pitch for a strike on 16 of them. Three Rockets either struck the first pitch or was hit by it. Only two Person batters the whole game had a first pitch that was called a ball. One of those was catcher Tyler White, the final batter Clayton faced.

White struck out anyway.

“If you Google efficiency, you’re probably going to see a picture of Cross Clayton,” said Orange coach Jason Knapp. “He’s very efficient. I don’t know how many first pitch strikes he had tonight, but I’m sure it’s a ton. He just pounds the zone and moves around and is a very good pitcher.”

For the second straight game, Orange played without David Waitt, the senior right field who leads the team in hits. This time, Orange wasn’t alone in facing injury adversity. Person third baseman Levi Strader left the game in the first inning after a hard grounder by Jackson Berini caught his bare right hand. Peyton Smith replaced Strader.

England was able to match Clayton’s power on the mound through the first four innings. Berini was stranded at second after the leadoff infield single when England set down Elijah Santos, Connor Nordan and Ryan Honeycutt on strikes.

In the second inning, Orange’s Ryan Horton sent a one-out dribbler up the middle for a single. Wyatt Hedrick walked with two out, but England struck out Neo Best to quell the threat.

Person’s biggest opportunity of the night came after a base hit from Smith, who had played in only one game prior to Wednesday. After Tyler White sent a single over second base to leadoff the fourth inning, Clayton struck out Brennan Kiser. Smith, who hadn’t had a base hit this season,  lined a single to right field. Joey Pounds came up with the ball and threw to Berini, who managed to catch a Person courtesy runner in a rundown. Hedrick tagged out the runner at second, which was the closest anyone from a Person uniform would get to home plate. Clayton set down William Ragan to end the inning.

Clayton faced England to lead off the fifth and chased several pitches. With the count 3-2, Clayton launched a fastball that barely cleared the left field fence. Shaw, the left fielder, got his glove over the fence but couldn’t pull it back into the ballpark. It was Clayton’s second home run of the season.

In the next at-bat, Hedrick struck a double that rolled to the right field fence. Best lined out to Regan in right field, which allowed Hedrick to advance to third. Berini swung at a high fastball and pulled it to Ragan, who argued to the field umpire that he made a shoe top catch to no avail. The single was Berini’s eleventh RBI of the season and it put Orange ahead 2-0.

In the sixth, Honeycutt snuck a pop fly to shallow right in between three Rockets for a double. Walker replaced Honeycutt as a courtesy runner. With two out, Ryan Horton looped a 1-2 fastball into right field to bring in Walker.

Guentensberger walked Kiser to open the seventh, but Best turned a 5-4-3 double play to immediately quell any Person hopes of a comeback. Guentensberger wound up with his second save of the year.

Orange will take a respite from CCC play nest week and start play in the Hilltopper Invitational. On Monday, the Panthers host Lee County in a matchup that could heavy implications for state playoff seeding. Orange is currently #3 in the RPI rankings for 3A East Region schools, while the Yellow Jackets are #7.

Orange will also face Union Pines on Tuesday at 6PM, then host Wakefield for Senior Night festivities next Friday.