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ELON–As James Hinshaw threw out Ryan Horton for the final out in Western Alamance’s win over Orange on Tuesday night, a disgruntled Panther fan pulled up his lawn chair and bit his bottom lip as he started to the parking lot.

“That team has our number,” he huffed while sighing.

While Western Alamance hasn’t had a winning season in either year they’ve competed in the Central Conference, they do find a winning formula when they face the Panthers, the three-time defending conference champions.

On Tuesday night, the Warriors didn’t bring their “A” game, but what they came out with was still good enough to prevail.

A week after getting blown out by Person 13-3 in Roxboro, the Warriors edged Orange 4-3 at Warriors Field. It was Western Alamance’s fourth win over the Panthers in its last six meetings.

Orange (4-3, 0-1 in the Central Conference) had its 11-game conference winning streak , dating back to last season, snapped.

On a chilly night where fans were bundled up from the first pitch, Western Alamance pitcher Camden McCandless and reliever Sam Patterson didn’t allow any walks. Orange starter Josiah Gibbs and reliever Garrett Sawyer conceded four walks that proved to be costly.

In the sixth inning, Fred Harrelson, after striking out twice in his previous at-bats, drew a leadoff walk. Sawyer threw a wild pitch with Noah Huffine at bat. After Huffine struck out, Hinshawk grounded out to Henry Hoffman at third base, moving Harrelson over to third.

Jacob Miles, the ninth batter in the Western order, sent a bouncing ball to Cross Clayton at shortstop. Clayton didn’t charge the ball and his throw to first base was low, which Miles beat out. Harrelson scored the game-winning run.

Clayton reached on an infield single in the seventh with two out, but Horton’s groundout ended the game.

It was another trip to Elon where Orange struggled to put runs across the plate. In 2022, the Panthers won 1-0 when Jackson Berini stole home in the seventh inning to break open a scoreless game. Last year, McCandless held Orange to two runs off three hits in a 4-2 Warrior win.

The Panthers scored immediately on Tuesday night. Wyatt Hedrick singled to right field, then stole second. With two out, Clayton hit a pop-up in the infield, but the howling winds played games with the ball and shortstop Cooper Marks couldn’t find it and the ball well down in right field. Hedrick scored to put Orange ahead.

The Warriors got its own unearned run in the bottom of the first. Marks drew a walk off nine pitches. Eli Abbott laid down a sacrifice bunt that was thrown away by Gibbs. Marks rounded the bases to tie the game. McCandless reached on a fielder’s choice as Abbott was thrown out at second by Hedrick. Sam Patterson lined a single to centerfield, where Cameron Guentensberger threw to Hedrick trying to tag out McCandless, who was ruled safe on a close play.

The Warriors played some base running shenanigans as Patterson ran for second. Gibbs threw to Henry Hoffman, the second baseman, as McCandless ran for the plate. McCandless beat the tag to put the Warriors ahead 2-1.

Orange immediately tied the game when freshman Oliver Van Tiem laid down a bunt. McCandless’ throw to first went off Van Tiem’s thigh, leading Van Tiem to take second base. Elijah Santos sent a two-out liner into the wind to left field, which landed just shy of the fence. Van Tiem scored to even things at 2-2.

Huffine laced a one-out single to left field in the fourth. After Miles was hit by a pitch, Johnny Curtis came out as a courtesy runner for Huffine. Marks singled to right field, where Santos got a clean throw to the plate, but Curtis slid around Horton’s tag to put the Warriors back in front.

Orange had a two-out rally in the fifth inning when Guentensberger landed an infield single, then stole second. Clayton drilled an 0-1 fastball to the fence in left field, bringing in Guentensberger.

With Orange’s loss, six of the seven teams in the Central Conference already have a league loss. Southern Alamance, who defeated Williams 4-2 in Burlington on Tuesday, is atop the league at 2-0.

On a blustery night when fans showed up wearing sweatshirts and blankets to bear the cold weather, the Cedar Ridge bats got hot at the right time.

Going into the seventh inning trailing 4-1, the Red Wolves stunned Person with four runs in its final at-bat to beat the Rockets 5-4 on Tuesday night in Hillsborough. Sophomore Ian McGuffey laced the game-winning hit to the right field gap to score Caden Thompson, sending the jubilant Cedar Ridge reserves pouring out of the dugout for an on-field celebration.

Going into the last of the seventh, the Red Wolves trailed 4-1 and had only one hit. Junior Quinn Finnegan served notice that something special was on tap in the 7th when he drilled the first pitch from Dylan England over the left field power alley wall, which takes extra power because Red Wolves Stadium in probably the largest in the Central Conference. It was Finnegan’s second home run in as many games.

England retired Kevin Jones for the first out, but Landon Dalehite drew a walk. Grant McGuffey got hit by a pitch, which led to David Schoof got drilled on the front leg by a fastball to load the bases, which led to Person coach Kyle Boyette choosing Brennen Kiser to replace England on the mound. Thompson replaced Schoof as a courtesy runner as Nick Aitkin stepped up to the plate.

Facing a 1-1 count, Aitkin turned on a fastball and sprayed it down the left field line. Dalehite and McGuffey scored to tie the game, sending Dalehite jumping up and down behind home plate as McGuffey rounded the bases. With Mason Cates at the plate, Kiser was called for a balk, advancing Thompson to third.

Cates was then intentionally walked, which brought up McGuffey. On a 1-1 pitch, McGuffey skied a fly ball that landed just shy of the fence in right centerfield. Thompson nearly bumped into several fired up reserves who rushed the field as he jumped up and down to plate the game-winning run.

It was the first loss of the season for the Rockets (5-1, 2-1 in the Central Conference), who swept a two-game set from Western Alamance to open the league slate last week.

Cedar Ridge (3-3, 2-1) started the game on a promising note. Freshman John Grove drew a walk with two-out against Person starter Keeghan Holmes. With Finnegan at bat, Grove stole second, then advanced to third off a throwing error. Finnegan was hit by a pitch. That led to the Red Wolves scoring off a double steal when Finnegan attempted to steal second, allowing Grove to race for home and cross the plate before Finnegan was tagged out by first baseman Casey Oakes.

Person tied the game in the top of the second with a double from Brady Holmes to score Holmes.

England replaced Holmes on the mound in the second inning and largely shut down Cedar Ridge’s offense. In his first four innings of work, he allowed only a single by Schoof in the fifth inning. Even that was canceled out when Aitkin grounded into a double play turned by second baseman Brady Holmes.

Person vaulted ahead 4-1 behind a three-run fourth inning. Brady and Keegan Holmes each drew a walk to lead off the inning against Cates, who started for the Red Wolves. After Camden Shaw laid down a sacrifice bunt to move Holmes and Holmes over, Nick Young reached on an error when he lined to first, scoring two runs. England then singled to centerfield, scoring Young.

Ian McGuffey’s walk off single led to him earning his win on the mound. He threw two innings of shutout baseball, striking out four. Cates threw five innings with five strikeouts and seven walks.

Cedar Ridge will host Seaforth on Wednesday night (tonight) in Hillsborough.

Tori Dalehite: Dalehite hit her first college home run against Massachusetts in a 8-2 win for UNC Greensboro during the UNCG Invitational on March 9 in Greensboro. Dalehite hit a two-run blast to put the Spartans ahead 4-2. It turned out to be the game-winning hit. Dalehite also. had an RBI single in the fifth. She finished 2-for-3 with three RBIs. Dalehite went 1-for-3 in the Spartans win over Maryland-Baltimore County 7-2 to end the event with a 4-1 record. She started in left field. Dalehite opened the event by going 2-for-3 in a 5-3 victory over Merrimack. In the Spartans only loss of the event, a 2-0 loss to Massachusetts, Dalehite went 0-for-2. On Wednesday, Appalachian State defeated UNCG 6-4. Dalehite went 1-for-2 and scored the game’s final run.

Takiya Nichols: The North Carolina Central softball team opened its MEAC slate by dropping two-out-of-three to Howard ate Thomas Brooks Park in Cary over the weekend. Nichols started at first base on Friday, a 3-1 Eagles win. Nichols went 0-for-2. On Sunday, Nichols went 0-for-2 with a walk, but the Bison won 12-3. Nichols had her first home run of the season against North Carolina on February 27. The Tar Heels won 21-1.

Mary Moss Wirt: The Elon softball team was swept by UNC Wilmington at Boseman Field in Wilmington over the weekend. On Saturday, Wirt drove in the opening run of the game with a bases-loaded walk. Wirt started at catcher in a 8-3 loss. Against North Carolina last Wednesday, Wirt threw out Kayla Lee at second base in the fourth inning. Wirt started at catcher as the Tar Heels won 12-1 in five innings. Elon swept a three-game series against North Carolina A&T at Hunt Softball Park in Elon on March 8th and 10th. Wirt started at catcher in a 6-5 win to finish a doubleheader on March 8.

Carson Bradsher: South Carolina Upstate took two games in a series against Radford to open Big South Conference play over the weekend. On Friday, the Spartans defeated the Highlanders 7-1. Bradsher scored as a pinch-runner in the sixth inning to put Upstate ahead 6-0.

Grace Andrews: The Carolina Bruins of the National Christian College Athletic Association has won nine in a row. The Bruins swept a two-game series from Johnson C. Smith at the Field of Dreams in Charlotte on Saturday. Andrews went 3-for-3 with two doubles as the Bruins won the nightcap 11-1 in five innings. In the opener, Andrews went 1-for-3. Through 18 games, Andrews is hitting .382 with nine doubles and five RBIs.

Lauren Jackson: The Lenoir-Rhyne softball team is now ranked #20 in Division II. The Bears swept a two-game series over Coker over the weekend at Bears Field in Hickory. Jackson started as a designated player in Saturday’s 10-0 win over the Cobras in the opening game. Jackson went 0-for-1 with a walk. Jackson played as a pinch-hitter in L-R’s 13-3 win over Young Harris at YHC Softball Field in Young Harris, GA on Tuesday. She started in the opening game, going 0-for-3. The Bears are 27-5 and have won 13 in a row.

Olivia Aitkin: The former Cedar Ridge centerfielder started her sophomore season with Amherst last weekend. Aitkin played in right field and went 1-for-3 with an RBI double in the fourth inning, but Wisconsin Eau-Claire defeated the Mammoths 7-5. She started in right field and went 1-for-2 against Rampo College on March 17, but the Roadrunners defeated Amherst 4-3 in Clermont, FL. Aiken started in centerfield in Amherst’s opener, a 5-0 loss to Endicott. Amherst is 1-3 and will face the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater and the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point on Tuesday.

Ava Lowry: The Division III North Carolina Wesleyan softball team lost to Mary Washington on Saturday. Lowry, starting at shortstop, went 2-for-3 with a walk. Mary Washington took the opener 2-1. Lowry also started at shortstop. The Battling Bishops split a doubleheader against Guilford at Edge Field in Rocky Mount last Wednesday. Lowry went 0-for-2 in a 2-0 Wesleyan win in the nightcap. Lowry finished 1-for-3 with a double as Guilford took the opener 11-4. Wesleyan is 7-7.

Breezy Foster: Foster started at catcher as Wake Tech lost to Cleveland Community College 6-1 on Saturday at Buffaloe Road Athletic Park on Saturday. Wake Tech edged Cleveland 8-7 on Saturday. Foster played as a reserve in right field. Foster is hitting .227 over 15 games.

The Orange baseball team starts conference play this week with plenty of momentum. Last week, the Panthers posted back-to-back shutout wins over Northwood and Grimsley. It’s been a strong start for catcher Ryan Horton, who hit his first varsity home run in a 4-1 victory over Topsail on March 4. Horton hit a grand slam in the sixth inning to win the game for the Panthers. Last week, Horton belted a RBI double to conclude a three-run first inning as the Panthers rolled past Grimsley 12-0. Horton also had a bases-loaded walk to drive in Wyatt Hedrick during an eight-run third inning. Junior pitcher Garrett Sawyer earned his second career win in the victory over Topsail. Sawyer relieved senior Cross Clayton and threw four shutout innings, allowing just three this. He struck out seven. Sawyer played his first varsity game last year in the state playoffs against Triton and was part of a memorable rally where the Panthers came back from five runs down to beat the Hawks 9-8 in ten innings. Horton is one of the few returning starters playing the same position that he played in 2023. Against Northwood on Wednesday, Horton had a single as the Panthers won 5-0. Orange will travel to Western Alamance for its Central Conference opener in Elon on Tuesday night.

Orange baseball’s Ryan Horton & Garrett Sawyer discuss win over Topsail

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This week’s Orange Panther of the Week is senior long-stick defenseman Alden Cathey. For the past four years, Cathey has been a pillar of the Orange lacrosse team’s defense. He has been a part of three conference championship teams, the first squads to win a league title in the sport in school history. Cathey was huge in Orange’s season-opening win over Apex, the first of three victories over 4A teams so far this year for the Panthers. Cathey had two ground balls and created numerous turnovers as the Panthers captured its season-opener. Last week, in a tight win at Jordan, Cathey had seven ground balls. In December, Cathey officially signed with Division III Arcadia University in Pennsylvania, just outside of Philadelphia. Cathey has paired alongside Sascha Van Praag, Josiah Tisdale, Nick Dardone and Braden Hunt over the past three years to help anchor Orange’s defense in front of goalkeeper Katie Wolter. In addition to playing lacrosse, Cathey has been a member of Orange men’s cross country team the past three years. Cathey has been a part of three conference championship teams in cross country, as well as two Mideast Regional championship teams. Last year, Orange finished 2nd in the state behind Croatan. This week, Cathey will suit up as the Panthers face Northwood at Auman Stadium on Thursday night in a rematch of last year’s 3A/2A/1A Eastern Regional championship game. Faceoff will be at 7 PM in Hillsborough. 

Orange Panther of the Week: Alden Cathey

This week’s Orange Panther of the Week is senior long-stick defenseman Alden Cathey. For the past four years, Cathey has been a pillar of the Orange lacrosse team’s defense. He has been a part of three conference championship teams, the first squads to win a league title in the sport in school history.

Cedar Ridge 9, Person 0: The Cedar Ridge women’s soccer team may very well be off to the very well the best start in school history. Junior Katie Paulakonis had one of the greatest weeks in team history last week.

Paulakonis had consecutive four-goal games. On Wednesday night, Paulakonis scored four goals in the Red Wolves Central Conference opener over Person at Red Wolves Stadium. The Red Wolves improved to 5-0, it’s first five-game winning streak to start a season since 2009, which is as far back as online records go.

Junior Fleury Nicholson, in her third year starting on the varsity level, earned her first hat trick of the season. Freshman Kate Finnegan also had a goal for the Red Wolves.

Paulakonis, a junior, is in her first season at Cedar Ridge. She was homeschooled for the past ten years at played with Dash FC out of Clayton.

Goalkeeper Ellamarie Perel earned the clean sheet as Cedar Ridge remained undefeated under new head coach Sam Semerzier.

It was Cedar Ridge’s second mercy rule win of the season. They also defeated Northern Durham 9-0 on March 8.

On Monday night in a 4-2 win over Franklinton, Paulakonis scored four goals. She added her fourth goal in the 87th minute after the Red Rams had narrowed its gap to 3-2.

Cedar Ridge will host Eno River Academy in Hillsborough on Monday night. They will host Enloe on Wednesday night, its final game before spring break.

Orange 6, Durham School of the Arts 0: Junior Caroline Cathey earned her first hat trick of the season as the Lady Panthers rolled past the Bulldogs in Hillsborough on Thursday night. Cathey now has four goals on the season.

Elliana Sullivan Gaddy notched two goals for Orange, who improved to 3-1. Ella Wimsatt, added her seventh goal of the season. Wimsatt, who is currently the leading scorer on the team, also assisted on two goals.

Cathey, Kaylen Crayton, Molly Kruse and Lucy Mignosa all had assisted for Orange. Makayla Davis earned the clean sheet as goalkeeper, her second clean sheet of the season.

Orange 5, Eno River Academy 0: In the first-ever women’s soccer game between the two Hillsborough schools, Wimsatt came away with the hat trick as the Lady Panthers earned the win at home.

Sullivan Gaddy and Kyla Mehl also had goals for Orange. Davis played the first half as goalkeeper and was credited with the win. Lexie Stephens played the second half and kept the Bobcats off the scoreboard.

Sullivan Gaddy, Evelyn Gover, Cora Bailey, Kaylen Crayton and Cathey all had assists. Senior wingback Lily Crayton and Channing Mahaney all had solid defensive games for Orange.

The Lady Panthers will travel to Elon to face Western Alamance tonight (Monday).

While the Orange baseball team has lost six starters from its 2023 Central Conference championship team, its pitching staff has largely returned intact.

In its final dress rehearsals before conference play begins this week, Orange showed off its strengths in two shutout victories.

On Wednesday night, senior Josiah Gibbs tossed six scoreless innings with a career-high nine strikeouts in a 5-0 win over Northwood in Pittsboro. Gibbs led Orange with seven victories last season as he was pressed into the starting rotation following injuries to Ryan Hench (now redshirting at UNC) and Cross Clayton. Against the Chargers, he scattered only two hits and retired the first nine batters he faced before Finn Sullivan singled to start the fourth.

Gibbs has a two-run lead before he even threw a pitch. After freshman Kayden Bradsher drew a leadoff walk in the first at-bat of the game, senior Wyatt Hedrick went opposite field for his first career homer over the right field wall.

Bradsher and Hedrick would pair again in the fifth. Bradsher drew a walk, then stole second and third bases. Hedrick sent a deep fly to centerfield that went over the head of Northwood’s Jake Leighton, allowing Bradsher to score standing up. Senior Cameron Guentensberger lined a single to left field to bring in Hedrick. Clayton, starting at shortstop, increased the Panther lead to 5-0 when he reached off an error on a ground ball to second base, scoring Guentensberger.

Gibbs thwarted any attempt at a comeback. He allowed only two baserunners in six innings, neither of whom touched second base. Coltin Hedrick, who has committed to play at Wake Tech along with his twin brother, tossed a scoreless seventh to complete Orange’s first shutout of the season, strikeout out two.

It was Orange’s seventh straight win over the Chargers, dating back to 2019.

On Thursday night, the Panthers shutout Grimsley 12-0 in Hillsborough, the Panthers first run-rule victory of the season.

Clayton, in his second start of the year, struck out seven in four innings for his first victory of the season and the 14th of his career. The last Orange pitcher to earn 20 wins in his career was Bryse Wilson, now with the Milwaukee Brewers. Wilson graduated in 2016.

Clayton has worked to recover from an injury that ended his junior season prematurely last May and caused him to miss all of travel ball last summer. He made his second start against the Whirlies and appeared in midseason form, retiring the first eight batters and giving up a scant single to Grimsley’s Will Rainwater on a meager dribbler over second base.

It was another game that Bradsher, a freshman, proved his worth as a leadoff batter. He was hit by a pitch by Grimsley starter Levi Ponder. Wyatt Hedrick lined a single to right. Bradsher didn’t skip a beat as he rounded for third base. Guentensberger scored Bradsher on a groundout to Grimsley second baseman Holden Barnwell. Following a walk to Clayton, catcher Ryan Horton laced a line drive to the left field gap that rolled to the fence, scoring Hedrick. Freshman Oliver Van Tiem hit a grounder to first baseman Max Snyder, who tried to throw out Clayton at the plate. Clayton slid under the tag of catcher J.T. Simmons for Orange’s third run.

Orange broke it open with eight runs in the third inning, sending 13 batters to the plate. Wyatt Hedrick started with a single to left field. Later, he would tag a two-run triple down the right field line to score Wren Hash and Bradsher. Van Tiem had a RBI single to score Guentensberger, who walked to conclude a 13-pitch at-bat. Horton walked with the bases-loaded for his second RBI. Hash earned his first career RBI with another bases-loaded walk.

Orange will travel to Western Alamance for its conference opener on Tuesday night.