The sophomore right hander earned a win in his sixth straight start on Tuesday night in the Red Wolves’ 4-1 victory over Nash Central. It was Cedar Ridge’s first playoff win in 10 years.

Cedar Ridge Pitcher Phil Berger Talks Beating Nash Central

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Cedar Ridge DH Adam Chnupa Talks Red Wolves 1st Playoff Win in 10 Years

The junior DH went 2-for-2 in Cedar Ridge’s 4-1 Win Over Nash Central on Tuesday night. Chnupa is on a five-game hitting streak going into Friday’s 2nd round game vs. Eastern Alamance.

How much good news was there for Cedar Ridge baseball on Wednesday night?

For starters, they won their first state playoff game ever as a 3A school,  beating Nash Central 4-1 at Red Wolves Field in Hillsborough in the first round of the North Carolina High School Athletic Association Playoffs. It was their first overall playoff victory since the 2007 2A state playoffs, when they advanced all the way to the fourth round, losing to eventual Eastern Regional Champion North Lenior.

On top of that, the Red Wolves (17-6) will host Saturday’s second round game. Eastern Alamance, a 31st seed with an 11-14 record, stunned Coastal Conference Champion West Cartaret in Morehead City 11-8. West Cartaret became the highest seeded team to lose in the first round of the 3A playoffs.

Just as he did when he threw a one-hitter against Orange last Wednesday, sophomore pitcher Phil Berger kept Nash Central’s batters off balance. He gave up only three hits, just one in the final five innings.

The Red Wolves scored all four of its runs in the bottom of the third, starting with freshman third baseman Matthew Kahn grinding out an eight-pitch at-bat that ended with a single to left. After Jake DeFranco walked, senior Brandon Andrews hit a hard grounder up the middle to score Kahn and give Cedar Ridge a 1-0 lead It was the second of Andrews’ three hits on the night.

With the Bulldogs’ infield playing in, sophomore Dante DeFranco sent a liner off the shortstop Drifton Padgett’s glove, which scored Jake DeFranco. Andrews moved over the third, but Dante DeFranco was thrown out trying to advance to second. After Chnupa was hit by a pitch, junior Chris Cox lined a two-run single to centerfield for his 21st and 22nd RBIs of the year.

Berger finished with his third complete game in his last four outings, striking out five, surrending only three hits and one earned run in the seventh. He improved to 8-2.

Nash Central, who finished tied for fourth in the Big East Conference, ends the season 15-11.

The Cedar Ridge Red Wolves boys lacrosse team has advanced to the 3A/2A/1A State Quarterfinals after beating Eastern Alamance 19-10 on Tuesday night at Red Wolves Stadium. Senior midfielder Jack Widman continue an All-State-caliber season with six goals and two assists, putting him at 81 points on the season.

Friday’s game against Carrboro in the state quarterfinals will likely be personal for Widman. Last season, Cedar Ridge faced the Jaguars in the state quarterfinals and built an 8-2 lead behind Sean Tobin’s hat trick in the first quarter. Widman won the first seven faceoffs.

Then came the second phase of the game, which started when Widman was ejected along with Carrboro’s Chase Bolesky. Without Widman’s ball-controlling presence, Carrboro went from 13 shots in the first half to 27 in the second. The Jaguars won three faceoffs in the first half. In the second, they won eight.

Cedar Ridge scored one goal in the second half.

On Friday night, the Red Wolves will get Carrboro again. Same place, same playoff situation.

Cedar Ridge Midfielder Jack Widman Prepares for State Quarterfinals vs. Carrboro

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Cedar Ridge Left Fielder Sailor Ramos went 2-for-2 against Orange on Wednesday night, scoring twice. This video became photo bomb overload as the rest of the Red Wolves couldn’t resist taking over the scene.

Cedar Ridge LF Sailor Ramos and a Cast of Thousands

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After throwing a 1-hitter against Orange on Wednesday night, Cedar Ridge sophomore pitcher Phillip Berger leads the team with a 7-2 record. He has won each of his last five starts as the Red Wolves prepare for the state playoffs next week.

Cedar Ridge Pitcher Phillip Berger Discusses 1-Hit Shutout vs Orange

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Now this was a 16th birthday celebration.

Beating Orange for the first time since 2012 would have been enough for Phil Berger on his birthday. The fact that he threw a one-hit shutout and held the Panthers to only three baserunners just made the birthday cake waiting for him at home taste a little sweeter.

Perhaps it was fate or karma, but Cedar Ridge’s 6-0 win over Orange was also its 16th win this season, the most by the school this decade. They finish the regular season 16-6, 7-5 in the Big 8 Conference.

Berger has won his last five starts, improving to 7-2 with a 1.83 ERA. Even the lone hit he yielded was debatable, a two-out high chopper by Orange’s Dalton Brown to 2nd baseman Jake DeFranco, who knocked it down with his glove hand and had no chance to make a throw to first.

Aside from that, all Orange could muster offensively was Caige Clayton and Jason Slaughter reaching after getting hit by pitches. The Panthers, who had scored 28 runs in its last four games, didn’t have two runners on base all day.

The six Red Wolves players who commemorated senior night waited their whole careers to beat Orange, and their time finally came on Wednesday. It came one night after Orange pounded the Red Wolves 9-1 to end Cedar Ridge’s nine-game winning streak.

In the 2nd inning, Senior Brandon Andrews started the scoring with a single over second base that scored Sailor Ramos, who finished 2-for-2 with 2 runs scored and an RBI.

Cedar Ridge added two more in the fourth, again getting production from the bottom of the order. Freshman Jake DiFranco, who finished 2-for-2 with an RBI, singled. After Andrews walked, designated hitter Adam Chnupa lined a fastball off the glove of Orange shortstop Joey Berini into centerfield, scoring Andrew and DiFranco to increase the Cedar Ridge lead to 3-0.

Ramos, who led off the fourth with a walk, scored off a sacrifice fly from Jake DiFranco.

More insurance arrived for the Red Wolves in the 6th when Dante DiFranco, a sophomore who leads the team in hits, scored on a squeeze play following a perfect bunt by Berger. Two batters later, Ramos laced a single to the gap in right field, bringing in Chris Cox.

Orange finished the regular season 12-12, 8-4 in the Big 8. The Panthers will likely make the playoffs and may finish in sole possession of 2nd place in the Big 8 if Chapel Hill loses to Northwood on Thursday.

The Orange softball team finished its regular season on Wednesday night by beating Cedar Ridge, finishing tied for first in the Big 8 Conference. They will face J.F. Webb on Friday night in a tiebreaker for the Big 8 outright championship. Senior All-American Mia Davidson and classmate Enzyah Holt discussed Tuesday’s senior night victory over the Red Wolves, which featured Holt lacing a double to right field that turned into a Little League home run.

Orange Softball Seniors Mia Davidson and Enzyah Holt Discuss Senior Night win over Cedar Ridge

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