Rivers Andrews was one out away from her second perfect game of the season.

With 26 up and 26 down and two out in the 7th inning, she walked Southern Wayne’s Mackenzie Bryan.

Instead of a perfect game, Andrews had to be content with her eighth no-hitter of the season. And Cedar Ridge softball’s first state playoff win since 2006, at least.

Cedar Ridge stormed past Southern Wayne 9-0 in Hillsborough on Wednesday night in Hillsborough in the first round of the 3A state playoffs. The Red Wolves advance to face West Carteret in Hillsborough on Friday or Saturday.

West Carteret, the champions of the Coastal Conference, held off Southeast Guilford 2-1 on Wednesday in Morehead City.

There was no such drama in Hillsborough on Wednesday as the Red Wolves won its 13th straight game to improve to 16-1. Andrews struck out 19 Saints, pushing her season total to 177, compared to 12 walks.

Cedar Ridge broke open a scoreless tie with four runs in the third. Taylor Ruhl and Tionna Carter started the inning with consecutive singles. Andrews knocked in the game’s first run, bringing in Ruhl on a sacrifice fly. Kymberlie Thacker had an RBI groundout to second, scoring Carter and giving Cedar Ridge a 2-0 lead. With two out, Emma Roby singled, and then Kara Wagoner drilled a two-run homer to left field. It was Wagoner’s first dinger of the year.

It remained 4-0 until the bottom of the sixth, when Cedar Ridge poured in five more runs. Taylor Barnes, Amy Stutzer and Tori Dalehite each had infield singles. Stutzer was thrown out at second. Ruhl grounded into a fielder’s choice with the bases loaded as Cailyn Thornton, running for Barnes, was thrown out at home trying to score. Carter lined a single to center to bring in Dalehite. Ruhl scored off an RBI single from Andrews, pushing Cedar Ridge’s lead to 6-0. As Thacker was at bat, Carter scored off a wild pitch. Thacker doubled on a liner to left field which reached the wall, plating Shili Quade, who was running for Andrews. Reagan Ruhl, running for Thacker, scored the final run off Roby’s infield single.

Roby finished 3-for-4 with an RBI. Wagoner went 2-for-4 following the homer. Dalehite, batting leadoff, finished 2-for-4, pushing her team-best average to .583. She also leads the team with 28 hits, five triples and 28 RBI.

Cedar Ridge’s win ended a mixed night for the Big 8 in the opening round of the state playoffs. Conference runner-up East Chapel Hill defeated Gray’s Creek 8-5 in Hope Mills. The Wildcats advance to face Western Alamance in the 2nd round.

However, the other two teams from the Big 8 were decisively eliminated. 11th-seeded Topsail pulled away from defending 3A state champion Orange 16-7 in Hampstead. Cape Fear remained undefeated, improving to 25-0 after shutting out Northern Durham 7-0 in Fayetteville.

This was one trip away from Morehead City that P.J. Michaelson could enjoy.

As a player at South Central High in Winterville, Michaelson was 0-8 against Coastal Conference rival West Carteret.

He also managed the girls team for four years. They never defeated the Patriots, either.

“I used to dread going there,” said Michaelson.

So when the NCHSAA announced the girls soccer playoff brackets on Monday morning, Michaelson had a case of deja vu. Cedar Ridge, the team he has coached for the past five years, would travel to face, you guessed it, West Carteret.

But Michaelson didn’t feel dread. He got a jolt of optimism.

“I told the girls we were prepared,” said Michaelson. “Their 11-seed was just a number. It doesn’t matter what their rank is. We’re ready to go.”

On Wednesday night, his players proved him right.

Freshmen Emerson Talley and Ivy Garner each scored goals in the first half, while Geri Messinger scored in the 2nd to finally give Michaelson his long-awaited win at West Carteret 3-0 in the first round of the 3A State Playoffs.

Not only did the Red Wolves advance to the 2nd round to face D.H. Conley on Saturday, they also became the first team to shut out the Patriots this season. West Carteret, the 11th seed, finished runner-up in the Coastal Conference behind Jacksonville.

It was Cedar Ridge’s first win in the state playoffs since 2005, when the Red Wolves defeated Durham School of the Arts 3-1 in the 2A/1A state championship tournament (the NCHSAA crowned three state champions in women’s soccer in those days).

Senior Taylin Jean and junior Grace Davies shared goalkeeping duties. Jean played in the first half, then moved to right cornerback in the second half as Michaelson shifted formations. Starting in a 4-4-2, Michaelson adjusted to a 3-5-2 and finished with a 4-5-1.

“I was shocked because I didn’t think it would work so well,” said Michaelson. “The backline kept them in front of them so they couldn’t use their speed. We played perfectly.”

Talley and Garner assisted on each other’s goals. Garner, who was All-Big 8 in women’s tennis, leads the team with 18 goals. Talley has 15 goals and 14 assists.

Messinger notched her third goal as Cedar Ridge improved to 11-3-5.

The win was gratifying for Jean, a senior who had been to the state playoffs the past two years only to come away with first-round losses. Last year, Cedar Ridge lost a 2-1 heart breaker to West Brunswick with the game-winning goal coming in the last ten minutes. It made for a long four-and-a-half hour bus ride back from Shallotte.

“Without that loss, we wouldn’t have won tonight,” said Jean. “It really helped us. It motivated us. We really wanted to win tonight. It definitely feels good to win this one. Not winning in the playoffs had definitely been bugging me the last couple of years.”

The bus ride home for Cedar Ridge on Wednesday night was four hours. Michaelson started the day at 6:30 AM and didn’t get home until midnight. He had another day of school ahead Thursday, but he was too happy to care.

“I’m going to stay up all night just like I did in college,” said Michaelson.

En route to winning its first softball state championship last year, it’s easy to forget that Orange nearly lost in the second round.

Last May, Topsail had a 2-1 lead against the Lady Panthers in the 8th inning in Hillsborough. In the bottom of the inning, Abby Hamlett, Jaden Hurdle and Hayley Funk all reached, loaded the bases for All-State catcher Mia Davidson.

What followed has lived on through word of mouth across Hillsborough ever since. Topsail Coach Eric Phillips opted to walk Davidson with the bases loaded, surrendering the Pirates’ lead with the season on the line. Pitcher Christina Givens promptly lined to center to score the winning run.  Two weeks later, the Lady Panthers were celebrating a state title at N.C. State.

There will be no celebration this year. Topsail made sure of that.

The Pirates defeated the Panthers 16-7 in Hampstead in the first round of the 3A State Playoffs on Wednesday night. Orange scored three runs in the top of the second inning to take a 3-1 lead, but the Pirates reeled off five consecutive runs to advance to the 2nd round.

Orange ends the season 11-8.

With one out In the top of the second, Rachel Tilley reached on an error and Olivia Ruff walked. Sophomore Gracie Ducharme, pinch-hitting for Jala Rainey, singled to center to load the bases. Grace Andrews drew a bases-loaded walk to tie the game. Pitcher Jaden Hurdle lined a single to left to score Ducharme and Tilley.

After that, the Pirates had its way, totaling 15 hits. Topsail scored twice runs in the second inning. Lauren Labelle, running for Annalee Hart, scored on a wild pitch. Tanesha Williams laced an RBI single to bring in Tyesha Williams, tying the game 3-3.

Topsail added three more in the fourth. Tanesha Williams lined a single to centerfield to score Tyesha Williams once again to give the Pirates the lead. Sydney Hartgrove stroked a single to center to bring in Williams and Aneshia Jordan.

With Orange trailing 11-4 in the 5th, Hurdle drilled a single to right to score Ruff. With the bases loaded, Funk was hit by a pitch, plating Alisha Pettiford. Allyson Lloyd, in her final game at Orange, hit a sacrifice fly to center, allowing Andrews to touch home and narrow the Topsail lead to 11-7.

Topsail responded with five runs in the fifth and five more in the sixth.

Hurdle finished 2-for-5 with 3 RBI. Andrews was 1-for-2 with an RBI and a run scored. Ruff went 1-for-3.

Hurdle, a sophomore pitcher who started at first last season, ended the season as the team’s leading hitter with a .483 batting average. She also led the team in hits (18), home runs (3), and RBIs (24). Lloyd had seven doubles to pace the squad.

Hurdle also led the team with 68.2 innings pitched, going 7-7 with a 4.28 ERA.

Along with Lloyd, it was the final game for Orange seniors Olivia Latta-Harshaw, Alyssa Hellman and Kaitlyn Torain.

When the NCHSAA released its pairings on Monday, many around Cedar Ridge softball anticipated getting a high seed.

But when the Red Wolves received an 8-seed, despite finishing 15-1 overall, it left a sour taste in the mouths of Red Wolves coaches.

The 8-seed means Cedar Ridge could face the #1 seeded West Brunswick Trojans in the third round in Shallotte next week, if the Red Wolves advance that far. First, they have to get past Southern Wayne (9-11) on Wednesday in Hillsborough. In the second round, Cedar Ridge could face Coastal Conference Champions West Carteret, who went 10-0 in league play.

So why did Cedar Ridge get such a low seed? Why did teams with more losses like #2 seed Western Alamance (20-3), #4 Southern Alamance (20-4) and #6 C.B. Aycock (16-6) get a better seed?

First, understand teams are seeded based on their MaxPreps rankings. Since Cedar Ridge won their conference, the lowest they could be seeded was #9. Cedar Ridge’s MaxPrep ranking was #66. West Brunswick, the top overall seed in the East, had a #3 ranking. Western Alamance was #23. Southern Alamance was #36.

Why?

If you’re thinking about going to the FAQ section on MaxPreps seeding on the NCHSAA website, here’s a word of advice: don’t.

Based on help from Raleigh News and Observer High School Sports Editor J. Mike Blake, we got help in understanding what happened.

There are several factors:

The weather: It was a rainy and snowy spring across Orange County. Cedar Ridge had two nonconference games canceled because of weather. Both of them were against teams that won their respective conferences. In the first week of March, Cedar Ridge was scheduled to travel to Western Alamance, but there was enough snow that week to cancel the game. Western Alamance captured the Mid-State Conference Championship with a 11-3 league record. Roxboro Community, who is the only team to beat Cedar Ridge this season, won the 1A North Central Championship last week, taking a tiebreaker from Vance Charter School. According to Blake, if Cedar Ridge had played those games (not win them, simply play them) against the Warriors and Bulldogs, their MaxPreps rankings would have increased, perhaps substantially.

Not Enough Games: Cedar Ridge only played 16 games, the least of any team in the entire 3A State Tournament. Again, the weather was a factor. The Red Wolves missed opportunities to play good teams and boost their MaxPreps ranking.

The Schedule: As Blake points out, Cedar Ridge played one team with less than five losses. That was Roxboro Community School, who beat CRHS. Cedar Ridge couldn’t overcome the damage to its schedule done by the bottom feeders of the Big 8 Conference. Of Cedar Ridge’s 16 wins, six came against Hillside, Southern Durham and Chapel Hill. East Chapel Hill, Orange, Northwood, and Northern Durham all had less wins this season than in 2017.

Cedar Ridge outscored opposition 145-9 this season and won the first softball conference championship in school history. They have the talent to win a state championship against a loaded field. They’ll just have a tougher climb to get there than anticipated.

The most successful coach in Orange Men’s Basketball history is leaving.

On Monday, Greg Motley completed an agreement to become the post-graduate head coach at Mt. Zion Christian Academy in Durham. He will depart Orange at the end of the academic year.

“It’s been a great place,” said Motley via text message on Monday night. “I will miss coaching there but excited about the new opportunity, as well. So there are mixed emotions.”

Orange won three conference championships during Motley’s run. In 2016, behind Connor Crabtree, the Panthers captured the Big 8 Tournament Championship, beating Southern Durham 68-65 in an emotional title game at Chapel Hill High. It was Orange’s first tournament conference championship since 1998.

The 2016-17 season was Motley’s best Orange team. They finished 23-7, winning the Big 8 regular season championship. Along the way, they won the Eastern Guilford Holiday Hoops Championship, beating Eastern Guilford 74-60 for the title in its own gym.

In the 3A state playoffs, Orange cruised past Gray’s Creek and Southern Guilford. In the third round against Triton, Orange looked like a team of destiny. Behind Crabtree and Logan Vosburg, Orange surged to a 28-2 lead just six minutes into the game. Late in the first quarter, Crabtree tore a ligament in his right ankle while going for a defensive rebound. He never played for Orange again. While the Panthers would defeat Triton 67-47, they fell to Northern Guilford in the state quarterfinals 56-48 three nights later. The same Eastern Guilford team that Orange defeated in December wound up playing for the 3A state championship.

Motley replaced Frank Meadows at Orange in 1997. He took over a dormant program that failed to have a winning season since the early 1980s. His first season, Orange won the PAC-6 Tournament and defeated Lee County in the 4A state playoffs during an emotional time for the school. Longtime assistant coach Bob Lewis had been diagnosed with cancer. At the time, it was thought to be terminal. 20 years later, Lewis is still living.

Suddenly, Orange had a winning basketball team. The student section was rebranded “Motley’s Crew.”

Many things changed during Motley’s tenure in Hillsborough. Orange went from 4A to 2A to 3A. He started when East Chapel Hill High School had just opened as Orange County’s third high school. Now, there are five.

As successful as 2016-17 was for Motley, this past season was tumultuous on and off the floor. They finished 9-16. Motley’s final game was a 74-29 loss to Hillside in the Big 8 Tournament.

In the end, Motley demanded loyalty from his players. More often than not, he received it.

The night after Motley’s final game at Orange, he received a text message from a player. It read, in part: “Thanks for the opportunity. I would probably be in trouble or in jail. You brought me through so many tough times with my problems and the passing of my grandma. I will always have your back.”

Having the most wins of any coach in Orange history will be a point of pride for Motley to live on the rest of his life.

But those types of texts are his legacy.

Bryse Wilson: Five starts with the Florida Fire Frogs was enough for the brass in the Atlanta Braves organization to see Bryse Wilson should be promoted. On Saturday, Wilson was called up to the Mississippi Braves of the AA Southern League. The transaction came after Wilson threw six-and-two-thirds shutout innings for the Fire Frogs against the Bradenton Marauders on Wednesday. Wilson departs Kissimmee, Florida with a 2-0 record and a 0.34 ERA. In four of Wilson’s five starts, he didn’t give up an earned run. He struck out 26 and walked seven. He’s expected to make his Southern League debut next week.

Mia Davidson: In Sunday’s 6-1 loss to #7 Tennessee, former Orange High catcher Mia Davidson set the Mississippi State softball record for most home runs in a season by a freshman. She launched her 18th home run in the 3rd inning. On Saturday in Mississippi State’s 10-3 win over the Volunteers, Davidson tied the record with her 17th homer. Mississippi State, ranked #24 in the country, concluded the regular season 35-20 overall, 7-17 in the SEC. Davidson concluded the regular season leading the team in batting average (.385), hits (66), doubles (13), home runs (18), RBI (46), total bases (133), slugging percentage (.733), and on-base percentage.

Mackenzie Cates: The Efland native was named the Lenoir-Rhyne Female Athlete of the Year on Wednesday during the first-ever Bears Choice Awards. Cates was named to the 2019 All-South Atlantic Conference First Team last week. She leads the Lenoir-Rhyne softball team in home runs (12) and RBI (42). Lenoir-Rhyne was upset by Carson-Newman in the first round of the SAC Softball Quarterfinals 6-0 on April 27. Nonetheless, the Bears are expected to receive a high-seed when the NCAA Division II Softball Tournament brackets are unveiled this week.

Brandon Andrews: The former Cedar Ridge pitcher earned his first college win as Nicholls defeated Stephen F. Austin 22-10 on Saturday in Nacogdoches, Texas. Andrews, a freshman with the Colonels, threw three shutout innings, giving up one hit, striking out one. He retired ten of the eleven batters he faced. Andrews also pitched on May 2 in Nicholls 17-8 win over Prairie View in Prairie View, TX. Against the Panthers, Andrews threw two shutout innings, striking out two. Nicholls is 21-27, 10-13 in the Southland Conference going into Sunday’s series-finale against Stephen F. Austin.

Jordan Toney: The former Orange pitcher started for UNC Pembroke against Georgia Southwestern on April 28. He gave up 12 hits and seven runs in four-and-two-thirds innings as the Braves defeated the Hurricanes 13-7. Toney also started against Flagler on April 21st, also getting a no-decision. Toney threw six-and-a-third innings, giving up six hits, three runs, striking out three. This season, Toney is 3-0 with a 6.04 ERA in eight starts. He’s made 13 appearances on the mound.

Brad Debo: Debo made pinch-hitting appearances on Friday and Saturday against William & Mary. Debo got a base hit in the Wolfpack’s 4-0 win over the Tribe on Friday. In a 5-4 loss to Campbell on Wednesday, Debo had a pinch-hit RBI single. Debo is hitting .276 and has started 22 of the Wolfpack’s 46 games. N.C. State is 33-12.

Bowen Collins: The former Orange midfielder played in Lenoir-Rhyne’s win over Queens in the South Atlantic Conference men’s lacrosse tournament. The Bears lost the championship game to Wingate 12-9 on April 29.

Jaydin Poteat is far too young to know who Vanessa Williams is, but he certainly is taking the theme from her signature song, released in 1991.

He’s saving the best for last.

Poteat, an Orange senior who has started in centerfield the past three years, led off the final regular season game of his 73-game career against Northern by lining a 1-0 fastball over the left field wall.

It was the first home run of Poteat’s high school career, extending his hitting streak to a team-best seven games.

Poteat finished 4-for-5, Dalton Brown threw five innings for his third win and Orange scored nine unanswered runs to beat the Knights 10-2 in the regular season finale at Knights Field.

Orange (12-10, 10-4 in the big 8) sewed up third place in the Big 8, ensuring a spot in the 3A state playoffs. The Panthers will be on the road to open the playoffs on Tuesday. The 64-team field will be released on Sunday.

Poteat was mobbed by his teammates at the plate, which appeared to be an emotional release for a team that needed it. Earlier on Thursday, the news broke that starting pitcher Will White suffered a broken bone in his right foot, likely sidelining him for the rest of the season. White suffered the injury in the first inning of Tuesday’s game against Northern when a liner went off his right leg. Though he refused to come out of the game at first, it was clear White was hampered. Northern tagged White for four runs in the second inning before he was replaced by Kaymin Matsko.

On Thursday with the game tied 1-1 in the top of the fifth,  Orange scored nine unanswered runs to take its fifth straight win. Moments after Northern’s Cole Singsank tied the game off a wild pitch, Nas Powell led off the fifth by reaching on an error. Poteat and Joey Berini walked to load the bases. Jason Slaughter drew a bases-loaded walk against new Knights pitcher Jordan Snow. Catcher Cooper Porter was called out on a controversial infield fly, which appeared to be more of a looper to third base instead of a pop up, but Poteat tagged up and scored anyway even though the ball barely reached the outfield grass.

Berini and Slaughter scored off an error off a grounder to second hit by Mark Willms to push the Orange lead to 5-1.

Orange put across three more in the sixth, all with two out. Poteat singled but was thrown out on a fielder’s choice grounder hit by Berini. Slaughter reached on an error, sending Berini to third. With Caige Clayton at the plate, Berini scored on a wild pitch, and Slaughter moved to third on an error by the catcher. Orange would make it 8-1 after Clayton doubled to right to bring in Slaughter.

Clayton and Slaughter tied for the team lead with 20 RBI to conclude the regular season. Poteat scored in the 7th inning off a Berini double for his 24th run of the season, tops on the team. First baseman Trey Clayton singled in the 7th, and scored off of Poteat’s single to right.

Brown threw five innings for his third win  of the season, allowing three hits and one earned run.

Orange pitcher Dalton Brown earned his third win of the sesaon on Thursday in a 10-2 victory at Northern Durham in the regular season finale. In his ninth start of the season, Brown surrendered only one earned run on three hits to improve to 3-3. The win bolstered Orange’s record to 12-10 and ensured a winning season for the sixth straight year. Orange officially finished 3rd in the Big 8 playoffs, sewing up a spot in the state playoffs for the 16th year in a row. The Panthers start play in the 3A state playoffs on Tuesday.

Orange Pitcher Dalton Brown Discusses Beating Northern Durham in the Regular Season Finale

Orange pitcher Dalton Brown earned his third win of the sesaon on Thursday in a 10-2 victory at Northern Durham in the regular season finale. In his ninth start of the season, Brown surrendered only one earned run on three hits to improve to 3-3.

The Cedar Ridge softball team’s coronation came with 81-degree temperatures, the warmest day so far this year.

That’s not only summer weather. It’s championship weather.

The high school sports season ends on June 2. If 2017 is any indication, it will be well into the high-80s. On the field, it will be in the 90s.

When Orange won the 3A state softball championship at Dail Field at N.C. State last season, pitcher Christina Givens got lightheaded in the dugout. Trainer Emily Gaddy had to give her cold towels, carbonated beverages and breath mints to finish the game.

There’s no other place Cedar Ridge would rather be.

From the time that Cedar Ridge started the season with a 4-1 win at Eastern Alamance on February 28, it was clear that the 6-12 season in 2017 was a distant memory.

As well as it should have been. Pitcher Rivers Andrews missed her entire junior season with a hip injury. 1st baseman Tori Dalehite’s freshman season was lost after she tore her ACL in her first basketball game.

In other words, Cedar Ridge competed in 2017 without its top two players and anyone around the Red Wolves team will tell you pitchers like Andrews don’t grow on trees.

On Thursday, the Red Wolves completed a coronation to its first softball championship in school history, shutting out Southern Durham 19-0. Naturally, Andrews was perfect in her final regular season game, throwing three innings and striking out nine. Dalehite hit her fifth home run, while Kymberlie Thacker belted her seventh.

Anyone can measure a team’s dominance by the slaughter rule, I.e. beating an opponent by over ten runs in five innings. Half of Cedar Ridge’s 14 wins came that way, but the ones that grabbed the attention of many around the Big 8 came on March 14 when they romped past Northwood 11-0, and did it again two days later 12-0 against the Chargers.

On March 28, Andrews tossed her masterpiece against Orange, a perfect game where she struck out 20 of the 21 Panthers she faced. Overall, Cedar Ridge outscored opposition 140-6 in Big 8 play this season.

Andrews threw six no-hitters this season, finishing 12-1 with a 0.64 ERA. She struck out 158 while walking eleven.

Dalehite, in her first varsity season, led the team with a .614 batting average. She had team-highs in hits (27), RBIs (28), runs (26), and triples (5)

There’s also the power of Thacker, who hit seven home runs and added 20 RBIs.

The rain and snow of a strange spring robbed Cedar Ridge of some potentially interesting non-conference games. On Monday, the Red Wolves were supposed to face Roxboro Community School, the only team to beat the Red Wolves this season. It was canceled.

In early March, CRHS was set to face Western Alamance, a game that fell victim to a late snowfall. The Warriors are 20-3. Perhaps that canceled regular season date was only a rain check for sometime in May.

Regardless, Cedar Ridge softball withered the spring snow and rain to take its first conference championship in a race they controlled from day one.

Now, they want to be playing on June 2nd.