This week’s Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week is senior lacrosse midfielder Jacob Driver. This season, Driver was the leading scorer for the Cedar Ridge lacrosse team. He scored six goals in a win over Eastern Alamance on March 21. In his sophomore season, Driver was a midfielder for a team that included Roman Oguntoyinbo, Alex Castro and James Clayton. That team won in the 3A/2A/1A State Playoff over Western Alamance. Driver scored 26 goals in his junior year. This year, Driver led the Red Wolves back to the state playoffs under new head coach Joe De Leo, where they hosted a state playoff game against West Carteret on Wednesday night. The Red Wolves came up one goal short in beating the Patriots. In his final game, Driver had three goals and an assist as he sparked a comeback after the Patriots held the Red Wolves without a goal for over 16 minutes. Driver has an insatiable appetite for lacrosse, watching college and professional games when he isn’t playing or practicing for the Red Wolves. After he graduates next month, Driver will prepare for a college lacrosse career, where he will play at Division II Mount Olive College, becoming the latest Cedar Ridge lacrosse product to play at the next level.

Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week: Jacob Driver

This week’s Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week is senior lacrosse midfielder Jacob Driver. This season, Driver was the leading scorer for the Cedar Ridge lacrosse team. He scored six goals in a win over Eastern Alamance on March 21.

The Cedar Ridge softball team played its final home game of the season on Wednesday night. It ended with a 7-6 win over Western Alamance when Kimber Shambley hit a walkoff home run. It was the final home game for seniors Cierra Copeland, Cameron Copeland, Aliceann Kohler and Kaitlyn Nieves. Cameron and Cierra Copeland have been a huge part of Cedar Ridge athletics since the emotional and physical depths of the pandemic in 2021. Together, they have played basketball and softball. They have also been managers for the volleyball team, including for the 2021 State Championship squad. Aliceann Kohler hit a huge catch playing left field on Wednesday night as the Warriors rallied to tie the game at 6-6. She has played in all 20 games for the Red Wolves this season. Nieves has appeared in nine games and had her number 17 spray painted along the third base line during a pregame ceremony. It was the first time the Red Wolves have beaten the Warriors since the two teams became conference rivals in 2022. Cedar Ridge ended the regular season 12-7-1. This week, they played three games in three days, playing to a tie against Falls Lake in Creedmoor. On Tuesday, they defeated Walter Williams in Hillsborough 10-0 in five innings. Cedar Ridge will move on to the state playoffs and learn their matchup in the field of 64 this weekend.

Cedar Ridge softball seniors Cierra & Cameron Copeland, Aliceann Kohler & Kaitlyn Nieves talk win

No Description

Tonight is the night that the Orange lacrosse team has been waiting three months for. It’s the start of the 3A/2A/1A State Playoffs at Auman Stadium. The Panthers are the #1 seed in the East Region for the third straight year and will face Southern Alamance at 6PM at Auman Stadium. This year, the Panthers have had nine players score at least ten goals. Sophomore Brett Clark has scored 52 goals in his sophomore season, second on the team. He ended the regular season with five consecutive games with hat tricks, including five goals against Eastern Alamance on April 19. His season-high is six goals against Seaforth on April 9. Junior Gray Crabtree has scored 32 goals, including seven goals against Southern Alamance on April 22. He has five hat tricks this season. This Orange team has set a school record with 355 goals. They won the Mid-Piedmont Conference championship for the fourth consecutive year. As long as the Panthers keep winning in the state playoffs, they will continue to have home games. The Panthers swept the season series from the Patriots, winning 18-5 on March 25 and 20-1 on April 22 in Hillsborough. If Orange wins tonight, they will meet the winner of Seaforth vs. Western Alamance in the round of 16 next week.

Orange lacrosse’s Brett Clark and Gray Crabtree discuss the start of the state playoffs

No Description

It’s finally Cedar Ridge’s off week from Central Conference play. The Red Wolves played its penultimate game of the regular season by dominating the best 3A team from the Northern Lakes Conference.

And they did it on the road.

Ian McGuffey continued to murder the ball, going 2-for-3 with an RBI double while Hudson Kelly slammed a triple in the late innings as the Red Wolves defeated Carrboro 13-5 at Jaguars Field on Wednesday afternoon. Junior Quinn Finnegan earned his third win of the season, striking out three over four innings.

It was a strong all-around game for senior Mason Cates. He threw two shutout innings in relief of Finnegan, allowing only two hits. Starting the game at first base, Cates had an RBI double during a three-run second inning that put the Red Wolves ahead for good.

Cedar Ridge took advantage of four Jaguars errors. The Red Wolves jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning when Landon Dalehite drew a leadoff walk. Ian McGuffey lined the first pitch he saw to left field. Dalehite moved to third after Carrboro was called for a balk. Nick Aitkin lined a ball to Carrboro’s shortstop, who tried to double up McGuffey at first. But the ball was thrown away and Dalehite scored. Grant McGuffey followed when he dropped a single into right field, scoring his twin brother.

After the Jaguars tied the game with two runs in the first inning, David Schoof opened the second with a line drive to center field. Hudson Kelly walked. After Schoof was thrown out trying to steal third, Finnegan walked. Carrboro was called for another balk, sending Kelly to third. Kelly would score off a groundout to the shortstop by Dalehite. Ian McGuffey drilled a double to centerfield to bring in Finnegan. Cates delivered the big blow of the game, a double that reached the right field fence, plating McGuffey.

Carrboro reduced its deficit to 5-3, but the Red Wolves immediately responded with two more runs in the fourth inning. Finnegan reached second base on a two-base error to start the inning, then went to third after yet another Carrboro balk. Dalehite drove in Finnegan off an error by the Jaguars third baseman. Dalehite generated a run with his legs, stealing third and eventually scoring off a sacrifice fly by Ian McGuffey.

In the sixth inning, Kevin Jones hit an RBI single to left field, bringing in Aitkin. Earlier in the frame, Cates knocked in Kelly with a sacrifice fly.

Cedar Ridge will play its final home game of the season against Knightdale on Thursday night at 6.

Kimber Shambley hit her first walk-off home run for Cedar Ridge softball on Wednesday night, and it didn’t just win the Red Wolves a game.

That walkoff home run gave an elusive victory for Cedar Ridge over an Alamance County team. The Red Wolves had lost seven straight to Western and Eastern Alamance, dating back to 2019.

It was also a win for the seniors. It was the last home game in the long legacy of Cierra and Cameron Copeland, two seniors who have been with Cedar Ridge athletics from August to May every academic year since they were freshmen. When Cierra and Cameron started playing basketball in 2021, it couldn’t have been less glamorous. They were suiting up while wearing masks during a pandemic inside empty gyms while a combination of injuries and graduation led to the Red Wolves only having five players.

Alice Ann Koehler and Kaitlyn Nieves also celebrated their senior nights as their numbers were spray painted along the third-base lines. It was Kohler who would come up with a big catch that ultimately led to the winning run from Shambley.

Much of the night felt like one big celebration for Cedar Ridge. They went into the seventh inning with a 6-0 lead as pitcher Charlotte Lowry threw six shutout innings, scattering only four hits.

Suddenly, it ended when the Warriors found the form that took them within one win of the 3A State Championship last year.

Camryn Rodrigues and Ryan Justice singled while Kayde Moore walked to load the bases, but it didn’t seem to be any big deal. Bayleigh Burris grounded to Lowry at the circle, who flipped it to catcher Rylee Capps for a force out. Lela Kate Baker sent a one-hopper to Laci Sykes at third, who threw out Moore at the plate.

With two out, Kara Alday lined a hard grounder to the left field gap to score Burris and Justice. To make the Red Wolves even more uneasy, Addison Beal skied a fly ball to the left field fence, easily plating Baker and Alday to cut the Red Wolf lead to 6-4.

Kyndal Wilborn skied a fly ball that bounced away with right fielder Victoria Matthews. Skylar Martin, running for Beal, scored from first base.

Briles Overton then sent a fly ball to right field that landed in front of Matthews for the game-tying hit. After Rodrigues was intentionally walked, Moore sent a dangerous fly to left field, but Kohler backtracked to the corner to make the catch and finally end the inning.

If there was any feeling of dread in the Red Wolf dugout, Shambley erased it instantly. The very first pitch she saw was a no-doubter, skied so far to centerfield, it even cleared the old Cedar Ridge fence, which was around 225 feet from home plate. It easily cleared the new fence, which is higher but about 25 feet shorter.

It was Shambley’s eighth home run of the season. Shambley, who has committed to play at Western Carolina, also leads the team with 34 RBIs.

Up to the seventh inning, the Red Wolves had played its most balanced game of the year. K0hler  led off the third inning with a walk, the first of six straight Red Wolves to reach against Beal, who started in the circle for the Warriors. Following a single by Matthews, Kohler scored off a single that rolled into left field by Mia Best. After Madeline Galindo-Woodring singled down the left field line, Shambley dropped a fly ball into right field to increase the Red Wolf lead to 3-0. With Brittani Goodard at the plate, Galindo-Woodring scored on a wild pitch, sending Shambley to third.

With Laci Sykes at the plate, Shambley scored the fifth run of the inning off another wild pitch.

In the fourth, Matthews walked, then stole second and advanced to third following a single by Best. Matthews scored off a groundout to second by Galindo-Woodring.

Cedar Ridge ends the regular season 12-7-1, winning its third game in three days. They started the week with a 7-7 tie against Falls Lake in Creedmoor in a game that reached the eleventh inning and had to be shut down because the Firebirds park doesn’t have lights.

Cedar Ridge defeated Walter Williams 10-0 in Hillsborough on Tuesday. Lowry went 2-for-3 with three RBIs for the Red Wolves against the Bulldogs. Sykes finished 2-for-2 with a triple.

Following its first win over one of the best teams in Alamance County, Cedar Ridge coach Allen Byrd will prepare for the state playoffs starting on Thursday afternoon.

With a smile on his face on Wednesday night, he was asked what he will tell his team as they prepare for a first-round road game.

“Why not us?” he replied.

It’s been eight years since an Orange pitcher won 20 games in his career. On Tuesday night, senior Cross Clayton became the first Panther hurler to do it since Bryse Wilson. Clayton made it an outing to remember, throwing a 5-inning no hitter as the Panthers defeated Eastern Alamance 11-0 at Panther Field in its final regular season home game of the season. Clayton allowed just one baserunner to get onboard, off an error in the fourth inning. Up to that point, Clayton had retired the first eleven batters he faced. Clayton is the first pitcher from Hillsborough to earn 20 wins since Phillip Berger won 21 games for Cedar Ridge from 2016-2019. The victory over Eastern Alamance was Clayton’s second career no-hitter. In 2022, he threw a five-inning perfect game against Cedar Ridge, which clinched the regular season Central Conference championship. Clayton is now 14-1 lifetime against conference opponents. He needed just 49 pitches to finish five innings against the Eagles. Ryan Honeycutt hit a grand slam for the Panthers to complete a 10-run third inning. Clayton struck out six against the Eagles in his second career win against the Eagles. Orange will finish the regular season with a road trip to Mebane to face the Eagles on Friday night. With a win, they will clinch a share of the regular season championship. 

Orange senior Cross Clayton discuses 20th career win

No Description

On March 1, 2022, Cross Clayton was one of several Orange baseball hopefuls trying to prove themselves as life returned to normal after the pandemic.

On a chilly, blustery day in Hillsborough, he entered a game against Northern Durham and threw a scoreless sixth inning to keep Orange’s deficit at 1-0. It would turn into Clayton’s first win when David Waitt stroked a two-run single to cap a three-run sixth.

Three years later, Clayton has become the winningest pitcher in Orange baseball since Bryse Wilson, who is now in his sixth Major League season with the Milwaukee Brewers.

On Tuesday night, Clayton earned his 20th career victory as Orange easily defeated Eastern Alamance 11-0 in five innings. In his final regular season start at Panther Field, Clayton threw a five-inning no-hitter. The only Eagle to reach, Jarrett Newell, got aboard off an error at second base with two out in the fourth inning after Clayton had retired the first eleven batters he faced.

Clayton ended the night with six strikeouts and no walks. He retired 15 out of the 16 batters he faced on only 49 pitches, 38 of which were strikes.

Clayton is just the third pitcher from Hillsborough in the last decade to win 20 career games. Cedar Ridge’s Phillip Berger won 21 from 2016-2019. He went on to pitch at Division III William Peace University. Wilson holds the Orange record with 33 career victories–and that came after he threw only three games his sophomore year because of an injured shoulder.

The Panthers (16-5, 8-3 in the Central Conference) remained tied for first in the loss column with Southern Alamance for first place in the Central Conference. Orange will travel to Eastern Alamance for its regular season finale on Friday night. With a win, Orange will take a share of the conference championship, which would be its fourth straight league title.

Southern Alamance’s game against Western Alamance was postponed on Tuesday night because a power line was cut hours before the first pitch in Graham. The game was rescheduled for Wednesday night at 5.

“He’s one of the best arms that I’ve had the pleasure and honor of coaching in my 24 years,” said Orange coach Jason Knapp. “That says a lot because I’ve been around some really good pitchers. He pounds the zone. He was a bad hop away from a perfect game.”

Orange was going against one of the hottest pitchers in the Central Conference in Eastern’s Jarrett Newell, who had allowed only five runs in his previous three starts. Orange’s Cameron Guentensberger sent a fly ball over the head of right fielder James Wellons in the first inning. The very next pitch to Kayden Bradsher was stroked into right field for an RBI single, which was all the run support that Clayton needed.

Turns out, he got more. Much more.

Guentensberger started a 10-run third inning by reaching on an error at third base. Bradsher laid down a sacrifice bunt, but the throw went to second base where Guentensberger beat out the throw. Orange loaded the bases when Ryan Honeycutt walked. Oliver Van Tiem drove in a run off a walk. Wyatt Hedrick dropped a bloop single into centerfield to score Bradsher. Designated hitter Garrett Sawyer lined a two-run single to left field to increase the Orange lead to 6-0. Hedrick would score off a wild pitch. With Guentensberger, Dominic O’Keefe and Elijah Santos on base, Honeycutt delivered his first career grand slam over the centerfield fence. Honeycutt now has four home runs, which leads the team. It was his first career grand slam.

After Van Tiem retired Merchel for the game’s final out, Clayton was presented with a poster created by Orange’s Baseball booster to commemorate is 20th career win.

This week’s Orange Panther of the Week is senior wrestler Jared Hutchins. This year, Hutchins was named the Central Conference Most Outstanding Wrestler from 106-to-144 pounds. He finished 3rd in the state at 132-pounds, defeating Gavin Cryderman of Enka 1o-8 in the 3rd place match at the Greensboro Coliseum. He ended his senior year with a 35-5 record, surpassing 100 career wins in January. In December, Hutchins won the Eastern Alamance Eagle Invitational in Mebane. He defeated Cameron Stokes of Bartlett Yancey via pinfall in the championship match. Hutchins finished the season with 25 pins. Hutchins finished sixth in the Tiger Holiday Classic at Chapel Hill High School. Hutchins won the Mideast Regional championship at 144 pounds. he defeated Logan Mitchell of Union Pines 14-6 in the championship match. Leading up to that point, Hutchins had pins over Cristian Ramos of Douglas Byrd, Chasen Phillips of Eastern Alamance and he also pinned Jameer Farmer of Person to qualify for the state championships. Hutchins was one of the leaders for the Panthers on a young team. Hutchins also claimed the championship of the Joe Via Memorial Tournament at South Stokes High School in December. Hutchins will graduate in June after winning three conference championships in wrestling for Orange under head coach Spenser Poteat.

No Title

This week’s Orange Panther of the Week is senior wrestler Jared Hutchins. This year, Hutchins was named the Central Conference Most Outstanding Wrestler from 106-to-144 pounds. He finished 3rd in the state at 132-pounds, defeating Gavin Cryderman of Enka 1o-8 in the 3rd place match at the Greensboro Coliseum.