Orange Softball

In his 1994 song “The Wild Ones,” Waylon Jennings reminisced about the group he ran with in his younger Texas days that eventually found fame in Nashville because “we didn’t know we could fail.”

Right now, that’s a very basic but accurate way of describing Orange softball.

In its Big 8 Conference opener, the Lady Panthers trailed 7-1 after four innings, but they were too tough–and perhaps too young—to know how to fold.

With freshman Carson Bradsher and sophomore Lauren Jackson leading the way, the Lady Panthers pulled out a 10-8 victory at Wildcats Softball Field in Chapel Hill. Orange (2-1, 1-0 in the Big 8) scored five runs in the fifth inning and added four more in the sixth to beat East for the third straight time.

Bradsher finished 4-for-5 with two RBIs in just her third varsity game. Jackson, a sophomore, went 3-for-3 with three RBIs.

East (1-1, 0-1) suffered its first loss after a 17-6 win over Broughton to open the season Thursday.

Sophomore Courtney Watkins, who came on in relief during the fourth inning with Orange trailing 7-1, earned her second win in as many games. Senior Grace Perry picked up the save, retiring the final four Wildcats.

It was another freshman, Kelsey Tackett, who started the Orange comeback in the fifth. Tackett singled up the middle to score Grace Andrews, who reached on a fielder’s choice. With Bradsher at bat, Chloe Glaser scored on a wild pitch. Bradsher followed with a line drive single to left, scored Tackett and Bradsher and cut Orange’s deficit to 7-6.

After East scored seven runs off six hits in the first three innings, Watkins kept the Wildcat bats tame. East could only muster a walk in the fourth and a hit batter in the fifth, both of whom were stranded.

Andrews drew a walk to open the sixth, then moved to second after Glaser reached on a bunt single. Colley tied the game when she reached on an error following a grounder to second, leading to Andrews scoring. Bradsher wound up with the game-winning hit with a line drive single to centerfield, bringing in Glaser and loading the bases. Then Maddy Bartlett was hit by a pitch to bring in Colley. Jackson knocked in Orange’s final run on a sacrifice fly, leading to a tag up from Rachel Tilley at third.

East put together a run in the sixth when Gabrielle Sielken got on board off an infield single. With senior Ella Pedersen at bat, Sielken eventually scored off an Orange throwing error.

Perry retired the Wildcats in order in the 7th, the only time all day that East went down 1-2-3.

Five Orange players had multi-hit games. In addition to Bradsher and Jackson, freshman centerfielder Serenity McPherson went 2-for-4 with an RBI. Junior third baseman Emma Puckett also finished 2-for-4 with a walk. Colley ended up 2-for-5 with two runs scored and an RBI.

Orange will host Person in Hillsborough on Wednesday at 5. East Chapel Hill will return the visit to Orange on April 14.

Photo by Angie Carden Hurdle

In terms of adversity, it’s already been a long season for Orange softball.

And they just finished their second game.

Before the Lady Panthers started workouts this year, they had already lost their top pitcher, their starting first baseman, their backup pitcher and their starting shortstop for the entire year.

Then again, things are tough all over Hillsborough softball as winter draws to a close. Across town, Cedar Ridge lost second baseman Tori Dalehite, the most accomplished player of the class of 2020, with a torn ACL suffered just as practice was about to start.

In November, Orange’s coaches knew that Jaden Hurdle, a freshman who was the starting first baseman for the 2017 3A State Championship team, would be unlikely to play her senior season. Hurdle tore the ACL in her left knee for the second time in her high school career last summer during travel ball.

The news grew more grim in the winter. Sophomore shortstop Mary Moss Wirt was injured playing basketball at Carrboro on December 12. Wirt, who played 20 games as a freshman, tore her ACL trying to return to action.

On top of that, sophomore pitcher Gracie Walker suffered a torn labrum in her throwing shoulder. She underwent surgery last month and watched Orange’s game against Roxboro Community School with her arm in a sling Thursday night.

In her freshman year, Walker led Orange with eight wins in the circle, including a victory over Jacksonville in the opening round of the 3A State Playoffs. She finished 8-5 with a 2.90 ERA, along with a .414 batting average.

“It put us behind the eight ball,” said Orange Softball Coach Henry Horn. “We’re trying to do all the little things now. We’re giving a lot of kids opportunities. We’re just very young and inexperienced on the mound.”

The silver lining was Orange returned Kelly “Maddy” Bartlett, an all-Big 8 Conference infielder. Naturally, Bartlett was injured while tagging out Roxboro Community School’s Maci Clark at 2nd base in the penultimate out of Thursday night’s game in Hillsborough. Bartlett had to leave the game, forcing Orange to get the last out with four freshmen on the field.

Orange managed to get that last out to beat the Bulldogs 8-5 for its first win of the season. The Lady Panthers trailed 5-4 going into the bottom of the sixth inning, but scored four runs in their final at-bat. Sophomore catcher Lauren Jackson and freshman Serenity McPherson were hit by pitches to open the sixth. Grace Andrews had a critical RBI single to score courtesy runner Brianna Wilkins.

If there is a positive for Orange, it’s that the five freshmen who are already on the varsity roster have plenty of experience winning. McPherson, Carson Bradsher, Savannah Wynne, Briane Foster and Kelsey Tackett were all members of Stanford Middle School’s Orange Person Athletic Conference Championship team from last May.

Bradsher, who hit leadoff for Orange on Thursday, finished 3-for-5 with two runs scored.

“Carson is someone we can play anywhere,” Horn said. “She’s a utility player. Very talented lady.”

Foster earned the save for Orange by retiring the final two Bulldogs.

Hurdle’s absence means that senior first baseman Grace Andrews is the final player remaining from Orange’s State title team. Three years ago, Andrews was a freshman whose insertion into the starting lineup by coach Eddy Davidson required senior Abby Hamlett to move to shortstop, a combination that led Orange to Raleigh and eventually glory.

“We’ve asked her to be a leader,” Horn said. “We need her to get over this hill for us this year. She’s done a really good job to helping the younger players.”

After a rocky start to the season with a 7-1 loss to Holly Springs on Wednesday, Orange’s youth came through on Thursday against a Roxboro Community School team that topped the Panthers twice last season.

“This is nice because they got us twice last year,” Horn said. “This year, I want to get them twice.”

The Orange softball team rallied to defeat Roxboro Community School 6-4 at Orange Softball Field on Thursday night. Puckett went 3-for-3 with two RBIs, including a crucial hit during a four-run sixth inning that led the Lady Panthers to its first win of the season. Sophomore pitcher Courtney Watkins earned her first victory by throwing two-and-one thirds innings. She threw two strikeouts and two runs, neither one earned. Orange trailed 5-4 going into the bottom of the sixth inning before scoring four runs in the sixth. Jackson, who started as a freshman at catcher last year, hit .439 last season with 25 hits and 21 RBIs. On Tuesday, Orange will open Big 8 Conference play at East Chapel Hill. First pitch will be at 4. The Lady Panthers are 1-1.

Brandon Homsey: As a sophomore, Homsey has qualified for the NCAA Division III Wrestling Tournament. Competing for Ferrum College, Homsey finished third in the NCAA Southeast Regional at Messiah College in Mechanicsburg, PA over the weekend. On Friday, Homsey lost his opening match to Washington & Jefferson’s Alex Donahue 3-1 in overtime. That left Homsey needing to win four matches to qualify for the national championships. He started Saturday by pinning Waynesboro University’s Adam Rigney. Homsey earned a 3-0 decision over Jack Bauer of Wilkes University, then rolled past Michael Reinhart of York University 7-1. Homsey received a medical forfeit against McDaniel College’s Anthony Wuest, then won a rematch over Donahue with a 10-0 decision in the third-place match. Homsey is 33-10 with four pins this season.

Landon Riley: The Liberty baseball team combined for its first no-hitter in 20 years when they defeated Marist 6-4 at Worthington Field on Saturday afternoon. Three pitchers participated in the no-no and Riley earned his first victory of the season in relief as the Flames won its fifth straight game. In two innings, Riley faced six batters and struck out three of them. Marist scored four runs on eight walks, three hit batters and an error, but no hits. On Friday, Riley earned his third save as the Flames defeated the Red Foxes 4-3. Riley retired four batters, striking out two and walked one. Liberty has won six in a row. They’re scheduled to host Elon on Tuesday in Lynchburg, VA.

Brad Debo: The #8 N.C. State baseball team swept all three games in the CambriaCollegeClassic at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis over the weekend. On Saturday, the Wolfpack defeated Purdue 6-0. Debo went 1-for-2 with a run scored. It was his only action of the weekend. N.C. State is 11-0.

Phillip Berger: Berger suffered his first loss at William Peace University against Greensboro College on Saturday. The Pride defeated the Pacers 11-8 at Ted Leonard Park in Greensboro. Berger threw two-and-two-thirds innings. He surrendered eight runs on six hits. He walked three and struck out three. Peace falls to 9-3, 1-2 in the USA South Athletic Conference after dropping two of three against the Pride.

Montana Davidson: The Mississippi State softball team won the Alex Wilson Memorial Tournament over the weekend, finishing 5-0 against UAB, Alcorn State, and UT Martin. On Sunday, the Bulldogs swept a doubleheader, beating Alcorn State 9-1 and UT Martin 6-1. Montana went 3-for-5 on the day, including going 2-for-3 against the Skyhawks. It was her second multi-hit game of the year. She tied her career high with four assists against the Braves. She went 1-for-3 with a run scored against UAB in a 16=6 win over the Blazers on Friday.

Mia Davidson: Mia made her first start of the season at third base during Mississippi State’s win over Alcorn State on Saturday. She eventually moved across the diamond to first base for the first time in her college career. Mia went 1-for-4 in Saturday’s game against the Braves, which extended her hitting streak to eight, the longest by any Bulldog this season. The streak was snapped the following day in Sunday’s win over the Braves when Mia went 0-for-3 with two runs scored and an RBI. On Friday, Mia went 1-for-4 with a double in the win over UAB. Mississippi State is 18-3 . They will host UT Martin on Monday afternoon.

Lauren Cates: The Wake Tech Community College women’s basketball team surprised Louisburg College 87-73 in its regular season finale on Saturday at the Taylor Center in Louisburg. Lauren Cates, a freshman for the Eagles, returned to the starting lineup and scored 16 points off 5-of-9 shooting from the field. Cates was 4-of-6 from three-point range. She also had eight rebounds and three assists as Wake Tech avenged a 14-point loss from January. Wake Tech completed the regular season 18-7. They will travel to the Region 10 Tournament in Martinsville, VA, where they will open against USC Salkehatchie on Thursday night at 6 PM.

Landon Riley: The Liberty Flames baseball team has won three of its last four games. Former Orange Panthers pitcher Landon Riley had saves in two of them. Last Wednesday, the Flames defeated Radford 4-2 for its first victory of the season at Worthington Field in Lynchburg, VA. Riley had a four-out save, striking out three. He faced five batters. Over the weekend, the Flames took the final two games of its series against Seton Hall. On Saturday, Riley picked up his second save of the season. He threw two-and-two-thirds innings. Riley struck out two, yielded two hits and one earned run. He also appeared in Liberty’s game against Clemson on February 16, a 6-2 Tiger win. In one-and-one-thirds inning, Riley faced six batters. He struck out one and surrendered two hits and one earned run. The Flames are 3-4 and will host Longwood on Tuesday before preparing for a weekend series against Marist.

Brad Debo: The #12 N.C. State baseball team remains undefeated after sweeping Tennessee Tech at Doak Field in Raleigh over the weekend. Debo started as designated hitter in the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader, a 10-3 Wolfpack win. He went 1-for-4 with a run scored in the sixth inning. On Sunday, Debo started again and went 0-for-2. N.C. State is 7-0 and will face UNC Wilmington on Tuesday in Raleigh.

Phillip Berger: In his first start for the Division III William Peace Pacers, Berger threw a three-hit shutout (seven innings) as Peace defeated Mary Washington 7-0 at the USA Baseball Complex in Cary on Sunday. Berger struck out five and walked only one. Berger, who graduated from Cedar Ridge in June with 21 career wins, made his first appearance with the Pacers in a 9-1 victory over Brevard on February 8. He struck out the only batter he faced in the first game of a doubleheader. Later that afternoon, Berger threw one-and-two-thirds innings in the second game of the doubleheader, striking out four over one-and-two-thirds innings. He yielded two hits and one run. Berger came out of the bullpen for long relief in a 17-inning marathon against Hampden-Sydney. Peace scored two in the top of the 17th to win 5-3 at Ty Cobb Ballpark in Hampton-Sydney, VA. Berger threw four-and-two-thirds innings, striking out four. He gave up only three hits, one run with no walks. Peace is 8-1.

Montana Davidson: Montana hit her first home run of the season for Mississippi State in its 10-4 victory over San Diego State on Saturday night. Montana went 2-for-5 in a doubleheader that started with a 6-2 loss to BYU in the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic at Palm Springs, CA. Against the Cougars, Davidson singled in her first at-bat and made a diving catch along the third base line. Montana is hitting .231.

Mia Davidson: Mia hit .294 with a triple and two RBIs over five games in the Mary Nutter Classic. Davidson went 2-for-3 with an RBI in a 6-3 victory over UC Riverside. She went 1-for-3 with an RBI single in the 10-4 win against San Diego State. Mississippi State is 12-3 overall and will host Central Arkansas on Wednesday.

Icez Barnett: As her freshman year winds down, Barnett continues to start for the Division II Chowan women’s basketball team. On top of that, Chowan has won consecutive games for the first time since the start of 2020. On Wednesday, Chowan defeated Southern Wesleyan 69-58 at Tysinger Gym in Central, S.C. Barnett, who started at forward, scored four points and grabbed six rebounds in 12 minutes. She also had two blocks and one steal. On Saturday, Chowan won a thriller over Lees-McRae 71-68 in overtime in Murfreesboro at the Helms Center. Barnett scored three points, grabbed two rebounds, dished out two assists and made two steals in 16 minutes. Chowan is fighting for a spot in the Conference Carolinas Tournament. The Hawks will commemorate senior night against Limestone on Tuesday night. If Chowan wins, they will clinch eighth place and a trip to the conference tournament. The Hawks are 6-19, 6-15 in Conference Carolinas.

Lauren Cates: The Wake Tech Community College women’s basketball team lost to Catawba Valley Community College 62-52 at Tarlton Complex in Hickory on Thursday. Cates started but shot 0-2 from the field. She had three rebounds and five assists. Wake Tech will have its final home game on Monday night (February 24) against South Carolina Faith A&M. The Eagles are 16-7 overall, 9-6 in Region X of the National Junior College Athletic Association.

Photo by HailState.com

Mia Davidson: The Mississippi State softball team won the Bulldog Kickoff Classic at Nusz Park in Starkville, MS last weekend. Davidson hit three home runs over five games during the weekend, which ended with a 4-0 victory over Tennessee State on Sunday. Tulsa handed Mississippi State its first loss of the season on Friday. In a 2-1 loss, Davidson scored the Bulldogs only run with a homer to centerfield in the 5h inning. Later that night, Mississippi State defeated North Alabama 6-0. On Saturday, Mississippi State shutout Tennessee State 3-0, then rolled past North Alabama 9-1. Against the Lions, Davidson went 3-for-4 with two home runs. She finished with four RBIs and scored three times. It was the fifth time in her career that Davidson had a multiple home run game. The previous time was against Memphis on April 10, 2019. Davidson had a four RBI game for the sixth time in her career. Davidson has had a hit in seven of Mississippi State’s ten games this year. At 9-1, new Mississippi State head coach Samantha Ricketts is off to the best 10-game start of any coach in school history. Through ten games, Mia is hitting .290 with four home runs and six RBIs. She is 2nd on the team with 23 total bases.

Montana Davidson: In Mississippi State’s loss to Tulsa, Montana went 2-for-3 with two singles. The following day in a 6-0 win over North Alabama, Davidson scored a run in the sixth inning off a single by Christian Quinn. Montana, who played shortstop at Orange, has started all ten games this season for the Bulldogs. She is hitting .231 with two RBIs. Mississippi State starts play Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic in Palm Spring, CA on Thursday. They open with Oregon State on Thursday. The Bulldogs also play BYU, Oregon, UC Riverside and San Diego State during the three-day event.

Brad Debo: The N.C. State baseball team started its season with a sweep of James Madison last weekend. Debo, who is now a senior, went 1-for-3 as a designated hitter in the Wolfpack’s 4-0 win over the Dukes. Overall, Debo went 2-for-9 for the weekend. N.C. State is 4-0 after Tuesday’s win over Longwood.

Bowen Collins: The Lenoir-Rhyne men’s lacrosse team, ranked #17 in the country, defeated Westminster 17-8 Moretz Stadium in Hickory on Friday. Collins, a senior from Hillsborough, scored a man-advantage goal for the Bears in the 2nd quarter, his fourth of the year. Lenoir-Rhyne will face #6 Belmont Abbey in Hickory on Friday night.

Zach Wright: The Division II Mars Hill men’s lacrosse team defeated Lees-McRae 20-13 at Meares Stadium on February 11. Wright had two shots and scooped up two ground balls for the Lions. On February 15, Lindenwood defeated Mars Hill 23-6. Wright assisted on a goal scored by Devin Napol in the fourth quarter. Mars Hill is 1-2.

Jonathan Hall: Now in his senior year as a runner at Wofford, Hall competed in the VMI Indoor Classic in Lexington, VA last weekend. He reached the semifinals of the 60 meter hurdles and finished 8th with a time of 8.74 seconds. In the Carolina Challenge at the South Carolina Indoor Track & Field Complex on January 31, Hall finished 21st in the 60 meter hurdles. In 2018-19, Hall made the Southern Conference Academic Honor Roll.

Marvin Jones: The former Cedar Ridge Red Wolf was named the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Male Athlete of the Week. Jones, a junior on the North Carolina Central track & field team, won his third high jump competition of the season at the Darius Dixon Memorial at Liberty University on Saturday. Jones had a career-best jump of 2.10 meters. He also won the Camel City Invitational and the JDL January College Kickoff for the Eagles. Jones will compete in the MEAC Indoor Track & Field Championships in Landover, MD starting Thursday.

Jamar Davis: The N.C. State indoor track & field team competed in the Don Kirby Elite Invitational at New Mexico University in Albuquerque, NM. Davis finished fourth in the triple jump with a leap of 50’6.25″. He has already qualified for the ACC Indoor Track & Field Championships, which will be held at South Bend, IN starting February 27.

Braden Homsey: Wrestling at 197 pounds for Division III Ferrum College, Homsey won the Southeast Wrestling Conference Tournament at Huntingdon College in Montgomery, AL on Saturday. In the championship match, Homsey edged Huntingdon’s Jack Haury 11-10. Homsey scored a technical fall over D.J. Adams of Huntingdon in the opening round and pinned Montana Doty of the University of the Ozarks in 6:14 to reach the finals. Ferrum won the team championship, as well. Homsey is 25-9 with two pins this season.

Icez Barnett: The freshman for the Division II Chowan women’s basketball team earned her first college start on Saturday. Barnett played 16 minutes as King defeated Chowan 72-45. Barnett scored six points off 3-of-7 shooting, and grabbed two rebounds. On February 11, Barton routed Chowan 88-58 in the Helms Center in Murfreesboro. Barnett came off the bench and scored six points and grabbed six rebounds in 17 minutes. Chowan is 4-19, 4-15 in Conference Carolinas. Icez has played in 15 games this season for the Hawks. She has averaged 9.2 minutes per game and has scored 32 points. Chowan will return to action against Southern Wesleyan in Central, S.C. on Wednesday.

Kaylen Campbell: On Saturday, the Division III Trinity Bantams women’s college basketball team defeated Hamilton 74-71 in double overtime at Oosting Gymnasium in Hartford, CT. It was the New England Small College Athletic Conference regular season finale for Trinity. Campbell came off the bench and played seven minutes. The victory ended a four-game losing streak for the Bantams. On Friday, Campbell scored two points in six minutes as Trinity lost to Amherst 58-53. Trinity concludes the regular season 16-8 and will play at Williams at Williamstown, MA in the opening round of the NESCAC Tournament on Saturday. This season, Campbell has played in 19 of the Bantam’s 24 games. She is averaging 11.3 minutes per game and 2.7 points per game.

Lauren Cates: On Thursday, Catawba Valley Community College defeated Wake Technical Community College 62-52. On February 8, Cape Fear Community College beat Wake Tech 90-83. Cates, a freshman guard for Wake Tech, started but didn’t take any shots. In 22 games this season, Cates is averaging 8.7 points per game and shooting 35.3% from the field. Wake Tech is 16-7 overall, 9-6 in Region X.

There’s so much spring sports news between baseball, softball and men’s lacrosse that will have another alumni update early Tuesday morning. It was another strong weekend for Mia Davidson and the Mississippi State Bulldogs softball team. Plus, Brad Debo started his senior season with the N.C. State baseball team and the Pfeiffer men’s lacrosse team kicked off its season.

Mia Davidson: The Mississippi State softball team opened the 2020 season by winning the National Fastpitch Coaches Association Leadoff Classic at the Eddie C. Moore Complex in Clearwater, FL. The Bulldogs defeated Missouri State 5-0 on Friday, romped past Liberty 9-2 and edged Louisville 3-2 in eight innings on Saturday, then shut out N.C. State 9-0 in five innings on Sunday to clinch the championship. Davidson hit her first home run fo the season against Liberty, a solo blast in the fourth inning. For the weekend, Mia hit .385 for the weekend. She finished 5-for-13. In the season opener against Missouri State, Davidson went 1-for-3 with a run scored.

Montana Davidson: Montana started her redshirt junior season by playing all four games this weekend for Mississippi State, as well. Montana went 1-for-2 against Missouri State and had an RBI off a sacrifice fly. She finished .273 with two RBIs. Mississippi State will host Alabama State in hits home opener at Nusz Park in Starkville, MS on Wednesday.

Marvin Jones: The North Carolina Central junior continued a strong season for the Eagles’ indoor track & field team. In the Camel City Invitational at the JDL Fast Track in Winston-Salem, Jones won the high jump on Saturday. Jones matched his career-best leap by clearing 2.10 meters. Jones, who graduated from Cedar Ridge in 2017, has now won the high jump twice and finished second twice this season. He has also qualified for the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Championships, which starts February 20 in Landover, MD. The Eagles will return to action in the Darius Dixon Memorial Invitational, hosted by Liberty University in Lynchburg, VA on Friday.

Bowen Collins: The Lenoir-Rhyne men’s lacrosse team opened its season with a 22-11 victory over Young Harris at Moretz Stadium in Hickory on Saturday. Collins had three goals and two assists for the Bears, who are ranked #16 in Division II. With his first career hat trick, Collins matched his total goal output from all of last season. Collins, a redshirt senior, had five shots, four of them on goal. The Bears face Westminster on Friday in Hickory.

Zach Wright: The former Orange attacker started lacrosse season for the Division II Mars Hill Lions. Montevallo defeated Mars Hill 19-12 at Meares Stadium in Mars Hill on Saturday. Wright scored Mars Hill’s last goal of the third period. He had three shots, two on goal. Mars Hill will host Lees-McRae on Tuesday.

Kaylen Campbell: After starting the year 9-1, the Division III Trinity women’s basketball team has lost three straight. On February 1, Williams defeated the Bantams 83-76 in Williamstown, MA. On Friday, Tufts upended the Bantams 77-61 in Medford, MA. Campbell scored two points and grabbed five rebounds in 16 minutes. Tufts, the top-ranked team in Division III, improved to 21-0. On Saturday, Bates edged Trinity 54-50 in Lewiston, ME. Campbell didn’t score in three minutes of action. Trinity is 15-7 overall, 4-4 in the New England Small College Athletic Conference. Campbell has played in 17 games this season. She’s averaging 11.9 minutes per game, 2.9 points per game and 2.2 rebounds per game. Trinity will host Amherst on Friday in Hartford, CT in an attempt to break its losing streak.

Icez Barnett: Erskine defeated the Division II Chowan women’s basketball team 60-57 on Saturday in Due West, S.C. Barnett didn’t play. Last Tuesday, #21 Belmont-Abbey defeated Chowan 95-84. Barnett scored two points in three minutes. The Hawks are 4-16, 4-12 in Conference Carolinas.

Lauren Cates: The Wake Tech women’s basketball team edged Bryant & Stratton College 62-59 on Saturday at Maury High School in Norfolk, VA. Cates, who graduated from Orange in 2019, finished with four points, one rebound, two assists and two steals. She shot 1-of-5 from the field. On Wednesday, Louisburg College defeated Wake Tech 80-66 in a game where the two teams combined for seven technical fouls. Cates finished with six points. Wake Tech is 15-5 overall, 8-4 in Region X of the National Junior College Athletic Association.

Jamar Davis: The N.C. State indoor track & field team competed at the Texas Tech Invitational in Lubbock, TX over the weekend. Davis finished 11th in the triple jump with a leap of 15.38 meters.

Braden Homsey: Over the weekend, the Division III Ferrum Panthers wrestling team finished 16th at the Pete Wilson Invitational at Wheaton University in Wheaton, IL. Homsey came in 7th at 197 pounds, one of three Panthers to place individually. Homsey finished 5-2 with two pins in the tournament. This season, Homsey is 24-9 with two pins.

Next weekend will start the spring sports season for many college across the state. Hillsborough will be represented in baseball, softball and men’s lacrosse. Here are some of the local athletes that will return to action at colleges across the southeast.

Mia Davidson: The Mississippi State catcher was named a Preseason All-American by Softball America. Davidson, who led Orange to the 2017 3A State Championship, is 10th among active players with 45 home runs in her first two years in Starkville. She led Mississippi State in batting average, slugging percentage, on-base percentage, hits, runs, RBIs and total bases in 2019. Davidson was a top-10 finalist for USA Softball’s Collegiate Player of the Year in 2019.

Montana Davidson: Montana will join Mia Davidson for a Mississippi State team that hired Samantha Ricketts as its new head coach in the offseason. After Montana received a medical redshirt during her sophomore season due to a knee injury, she started all 58 games for the Bulldogs in 2019. As a redshirt sophomore, she hit .269 with seven doubles and 21 RBIs. Mississippi State will play Missouri State to start its season on Friday during a weekend series in Clearwater, FL. That series will also include N.C. State, Louisville, and Liberty.

Amy Stutzer: Stutzer, a 2019 Cedar Ridge graduate, will start her softball career at Division III Salem College in Virginia against Southern Virginia on February 14.

Brad Debo: This upcoming season will be the senior campaign for Debo, who was the catcher for four consecutive Big 8 Conference championship teams for the Orange Panthers. Last season for N.C. State, Debo appeared in 59 of the Wolfpack’s 61 games. He hit .242 with 47 hits, 16 doubles, one triple, four homers and 39 RBIs. The Wolfpack will start its season against James Madison on February 14.

Brandon Andrews: Andrews will start his junior season with the Nicholls Colonels against Southern Illinois-Edwardsville in Thibodaux, LA on February 14. Andrews appeared in 24 games as a pitcher last season for the Colonels. He was 1-2 with a 3.24 ERA and two saves.

Jaylin Jones: The Division II Pfeiffer men’s lacrosse team has become Hillsborough south. There are three former Orange and Cedar Ridge players who will suit up for the Falcons this year. Jones will start his junior season in Misenheimer. In his sophomore season, Jones made six starts and played in 16 games. He scored two goals and added three assists for the Falcons.

Zach Berry: The former Cedar Ridge goalkeeper transferred from the Virginia Military Institute to Pfeiffer last season. In his only year at VMI, Berry was between the pipes for five games. He gave up seven goals in 55 minutes and made six saves.

Luke Hernandez: Also now at Pfeiffer. Hernandez played in one game for the Falcons last season. Pfeiffer faces Emmanuel in Franklin Springs, GA on Saturday.

Bowen Collins: A former star at Orange, Collins is now at redshirt senior at Division Lenoir-Rhyne. Last season, Collins played in 15 games for the Bears. He scored seven points with ten shots on goal.

Zach Wright: Now a senior at Division II Mars Hill, Wright had nine goals in 15 games last season. Mars Hill hosts Montevallo on Saturday.

Aidan Poole: A former defenseman at Cedar Ridge, Poole is now at Division III Greensboro College. Greensboro opens its season on February 15 against Virginia Wesleyan at Pride Field in Greensboro.

Featuring Josh Jackson, Jimmy Rogers, Carson Bradsher, Caitlin Carden and Maddie Bartlett