Orange High School

Orange pitcher Oliver Van Tiem threw a one-hit shutout as the Panthers defeated Cedar Ridge 5-0 at Red Wolves Stadium on Thursday night to split the two-game series. Panther shortstop Kayden Bradsher got Orange’s first hit of the game with a stand-up triple to left field in the third inning. Van Tiem drove him in with a double that bounced down the third base line. Bradsher added another run when he walked in the seventh inning and scored off a single from senior Dominic O’Keefe. Van Tiem earned his first win since March 7. He suffered an ankle injury against Western Alamance on March 11 and missed seven games. Thursday’s game was his third start since the injury. He showed the form that has him ranked as among the top pitchers in the Class of 2027. Bradsher reached base three times against Cedar Ridge. He leads Orange with 24 runs scored. Orange ended a five-game Central Conference losing streak. A young Orange team that has battled injuries throughout the season will look to finish the season strong with four conference games remaining. They will journey to Burlington to face Walter Williams on Tuesday. The following night, Orange will play its first-ever game against Southeast Alamance in Haw River. On Friday, it will be senior night as Orange hosts Williams in Hillsborouhgh.

Orange baseball’s Kayden Bradsher and Oliver Van Tiem discuss win over Cedar Ridge

Orange pitcher Oliver Van Tiem threw a one-hit shutout as the Panthers defeated Cedar Ridge 5-0 at Red Wolves Stadium on Thursday night to split the two-game series. Panther shortstop Kayden Bradsher got Orange’s first hit of the game with a stand-up triple to left field in the third inning.

By his own admission, Oliver Van Tiem isn’t 100% yet.

If he was 75% on Thursday night, it was still plenty to overpower Cedar Ridge.

Van Tiem, who suffered an ankle injury against Western Alamance on March 18 and missed six games, threw a complete game, one-hit shutout and added the game-winning hit during a two-run third inning as Orange defeated Cedar Ridge 5-0 at Red Wolves Stadium on Thursday night. It was Van Tiem’s first pitching win since  March 14, when he struck out 12 batters in five innings against Jordan.

Orange (10-9 overall, 3-5 in the Central Conference) ended a five-game conference losing streak by splitting the series against Cedar Ridge. It came two nights after the Red Wolves stunned Orange 6-1, its first win at Panther Field since 2012.

Unlike the previous two meetings between the crosstown squads, there were no memorable comebacks in the seventh inning. Yet tensions within the rivalry remain as healthy as ever as coaches and players from opposing sides exchanged words in the latter innings. The emotions lingered well into the postgame.

“We’re not fully healthy, but our boys played with a lot of fight,” said Orange coach Jason Knapp. “Tuesday left a bad taste in our mouth. We’ve dominated that program for the last 15 years. We didn’t finish Tuesday. Our kids came out yesterday (Wednesday) to practice laser focused. Laser focused. And we came out here as a totally different team tonight that we’ve had the last few weeks. I’m absolutely proud of them.”

When 2024 ended, Orange lost six position starters and two-thirds of its pitching to graduation. Van Tiem, a sophomore, was the player they could least afford to lose. He starts at shortstop when he isn’t pitching and hits third in the starting lineup.

He went down against Western Alamance, the Central Conference opener, when he stepped on third base after a dropped ball in centerfield. His loss took away Orange’s most powerful pitching arm, among its most potent batters and forced several players to adjust to new defensive positions on the fly in his absence.

Orange put up a two-out rally in the top of the third to bring across the game-winning runs. Kayden Bradsher sent a first-pitch fastball to the left field power ally, 360 feet from home plate, and stood up for a triple, the Panthers first hit of the game against Cedar Ridge starter Aidan Ryan. Van Tiem turned on a 1-0 curveball, which hugged the third base line and faded into the left field corner. Bradsher scored the first run of the game off Van Tiem’s double.

After Eli Horton replaced Van Tiem as a courtesy runner, designated hitter Henry Hoffman skied a 2-2 pitch to the wall in centerfield. Horton touched home as Hoffman earned his first triple of the year to increase Orange’s lead to 2-0. Hoffman has a team-high 18 RBIs.

Ryan laced a triple to left field in the first inning with one out. The next Cedar Ridge batter popped out to Orange’s Cam Brown, who made the catch in the third base’s coaches box. Van Tiem got his first strikeout of the night to end the inning.

Cedar Ridge would have only four more baserunners the rest of the game, all reaching off walks. The last true Cedar Ridge threat came when Quinn Finnegan and Ryan each walked. They both got into scoring position, but the inning ended after another infield pop-up that Van Tiem handled in foul territory.

D.J. Woods stroked a double down the left field line to start the fifth inning. Hunter Albert replaced Woods as a courtesy runner and went to third after Wren Hash grounded out to Cedar Ridge first baseman Dominic Sena. Brown lofted a two-out single to left field to increase Orange’s lead to 3-0.

Orange added two more runs in the seventh. Bradsher drew a leadoff walk. Hoffman dropped a soft liner to right field where McGuffey and Carter Warren collided. With the infield drawn in, senior Dominic O’Keefe sent a grounder up the gut to drive in Bradsher. Woods drove in Hoffman with a single to left field.

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Joseph Logan became a success story playing for the Orange football team over the past two years. After transferring from Northern Durham, Logan became an offensive lineman who establishing himself blocking for the likes of Nate Sorrells, Ja’ki McDaniels and Jayden Medley against the largest teams the Central Conference has to offer. Logan signed with the Division III Bluffton Beavers out of Bluffton, Ohio during a ceremony inside Orange High Gymnasium last month. On hand for the ceremony was Samiya Logan, Sharon Moore and Lanita Moore. Logan was a big part of the reason why Orange defeated Chapel Hill last September for the first time since 2019. Blocking alongside center Luke Cecil, Logan helped pave the way for McDaniels to score three rushing touchdowns against the Tigers at Culton-Peerman Stadium. Logan is one of the rare offensive linemen to run track and field. Just last week, Logan competed in the 100 yard and 200 yard dash during Orange’s meet against Eastern Alamance, Western Alamance and Person inside Auman Stadium. On Wednesday night, Logan was one of the seniors honored during the Orange men’s and women’s final home meet of the season against Person and Cedar Ridge. Logan will graduate in June, then journey north to start his college football career in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference.

Orange offensive lineman Joseph Logan discusses signing with Bluffton University

Joseph Logan became a success story playing for the Orange football team over the past two years. After transferring from Northern Durham, Logan became an offensive lineman who establishing himself blocking for the likes of Nate Sorrells, Ja’ki McDaniels and Jayden Medley against the largest teams the Central Conference has to offer.

Orange women’s soccer senior striker Sullivan Gaddy earned the hat trick as the Lady Panthers rolled past Cedar Ridge 8-0 in the opening leg of the Hillsborough Derby at Orange Soccer Park on Monday night. Gaddy scored the only goal of the first half in the 5th minute off a through pass from Cora Bailey. Orange would pour on seven goal in a span of 23 minutes during the second half to secure its first conference win of the season. It was Gaddy’s second hat trick of the season. Bailey would add two goals in the second half. Caroline Cathey, another senior forward, scored on a penalty kick to put the Lady Panthers ahead 4-0 in the second half. Cathey would assist on Bailey’s first goal. Freshman Ella Mccay scored her fist varsity goal to close out the scoring on an assist from another freshman, Madison Edwards. Earlier in the half, Mccay set up Bailey’s second goal. With two of the top teams in the 3A East Region in the Central Conference, Orange has faced a stacked schedule to being the season. They will look to continue the momentum when they host Walter Williams in Hillsborough on Monday night. The Lady Panthers will travel to Cedar Ridge next Thursday for the second leg of the Hillsbrough Derby.

Orange women’s soccer’s Sullivan Gaddy & Cora Bailey discuss win over Cedar Ridge

Orange women’s soccer senior striker Sullivan Gaddy earned the hat trick as the Lady Panthers rolled past Cedar Ridge 8-0 in the opening leg of the Hillsborough Derby at Orange Soccer Park on Monday night. Gaddy scored the only goal of the first half in the 5th minute off a through pass from Cora Bailey.

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There was every reason to think the Cedar Ridge women’s soccer was set to end Orange’s domination in the Hillsborough Derby.

The Red Wolves convincingly defeated Walter Williams 5-2 last week in Hillsborough. The Lady Panthers limped into spring break with an 0-4 Central Conference record after falling to Williams 5-4 in Burlington.

On Monday night, none of that mattered.

Once senior Sullivan Gaddy scored off a breakaway courtesy of a through pass from Cora Bailey in the opening minutes, Orange controlled Cedar Ridge once again.

Gaddy earned her second hat trick of the season as Orange scored seven goals in the final 25 minutes of regulation to defeat Cedar Ridge 8-0 at Orange Soccer Stadium.

Senior Caroline Cathey added two goals, including a penalty kick in the second half. She also assisted on a goal from Bailey that put Orange ahead 5-0. Bailey also scored two goals and opened the game with an assist.

Orange (5-5, 1-4 in the Central Conference) earned its eighth straight win over the Red Wolves with its second-highest goal output of the year. The Lady Panthers scored nine against Durham School of the Arts in the second-opener on March 3.

Orange is 8-0-1 against Cedar Ridge since 2019. The Red Wolves’ last win over Orange came on April 17, 2019.

“I’m never surprised by our conference,” said Orange coach Jacki Mignosa. “It just ping-pongs back and forth as far as who wins, who loses. Cedar is a good team this year. I never underestimate Cedar Ridge because it’s such a rivalry. Everybody is hyped up. I always believe we have very good players.”

The opening five minutes went end-to-end. Orange goalkeeper Alexis Stephens saved a penalty kick in the third meeting, then triggered a transition opportunity which led to Bailey finding Gaddy, who tucked the ball in the right corner of the net.

Gaddy has 12 goals on the season. She has scored 32 goals over the past two seasons.

Cedar Ridge goalkeeper Ellamarie Perel was busy throughout the first half but limited Orange to just one goal in the opening 40 minutes. Moments after Gaddy scored the opener, Cathey took a pass from Gaddy in the box but got rubbed off the ball by Red Wolves’ centerback Addison Reiniche, allowing Perel to secure the ball.

Following the penalty kick save by Stephenson, Cedar Ridge’s best opportunity to score came from sophomore Kate Finnegan, who took a throw-in from Fleury Nicholson at the top of the penalty area. Stephenson rushed in from the six-yard box to smother the ball. In the 31st minute, Finnegan found Alex Tong, who fed Nicholson from 20 yards away. Her shot floated over the crossbar.

After Orange took a 1-0 lead to the half, Finnegan took a pass from Nicholson and took off on a breakaway but the shot sailed over the net.

In the 55th minute, the dam burst free. Emma Edwards took a pass from Gaddy and found the heart of the net from 15 yards away. Moments later, Stephens got a rare goalkeeper assist when she jump started the offense with a quick pass to Gaddy, who scored her second goal on a breakaway with 22:36 remaining to put Orange ahead 3-0.

After Cathey’s penalty kick, Bailey added her first tally off a pass from Cathey. Gaddy completed her hat trick on an unassisted goal.

Bailey scored her second goal off a pass from Ella Mccay. Later, Mccay scored her first goal off a pass from fellow freshman Madison Edwards.

“I believe we’ve come together as a team and learned to trust each other,” Mignosa said. “They have learned it is better to know and appreciate each other’s strengths and know each other’s weaknesses. The thing is they have to trust and believe each other that they can win.”

Orange will host Seaforth on Wednesday night.

Cedar Ridge returns home to face Person on Wednesday.

This week’s Orange Panther of the Week is junior track & field athlete Adelyn Alvis. Last winter, Alvis qualified for the 3A State Indoor Track & Field championships at the JDL Fast Track in Winston-Salem. She finished 4th in the 3A State Championships in the 500 meter dash at 1:18.18. She was also a member of the 4×400 relay team that finished 4th at 4:13.05. Unlike many athletes who focus either on running or field events, Alvis specialized in both. She qualified for the state championships in the long jump and finished tied for 5th in the state at 17-feet, 6-inches. Since the outdoor season started last month, Alvis has already qualified for the Mideast Regionals in several events. On March 26, Alvis qualified for the 800 meters, finishing at 2:25.00, beating the minimum regional standard by five seconds. Alvis also nearly qualified for the triple jump, winning a meet with Cedar Ridge, Person and Walter Williams at Auman Stadium. Last week during another meet at Auman Stadium, Alvis qualified for regionals in the 300 meter hurdles, finishing at 47.14 seconds. Adelyn has also been a member of the Orange women’s tennis team for the past two years under head coach Justin Webb. Last season, she was a starter when Orange defeated Northern Nash in the opening round of the 3A State Dual Team playoffs. Alvis will continue her junior season on April 23 with a trio-meet at Western Alamance.

Orange Panther of the Week: Adelyn Alvis

This week’s Orange Panther of the Week is junior track & field athlete Adelyn Alvis. Last winter, Alvis qualified for the 3A State Indoor Track & Field championships at the JDL Fast Track in Winston-Salem. She finished 4th in the 3A State Championships in the 500 meter dash at 1:18.18.

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