Mia Davidson: After being named the Gatorade North Carolina Softball Player of the Year in May, Mia Davidson has hit the ground running in her first weeks playing at Mississippi State. In her first college game (which was the Bulldogs’ season opener against Mississippi Valley State), Davidson caught a perfect game thrown by Holly Ward. Davidson was named the SEC Rookie of the Week on February 12th after hitting .667 on the opening weekend of the season. In the Bulldog Kickoff Classic, Davidson went 8-for-12 with two home runs, two doubles and a walk. She scored a team-leading six times over the first weekend of play with five RBIs. Over this past weekend, Mississippi State went 3-2 in the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic in Palm Springs, California. The Bulldogs lost the opener to #17 Arizona State 3-1, but rebounded later that night to beat #23 Nebraska 9-0 in five innings. On Friday, MSU defeated #16 Oklahoma State 9-4, a game where Davidson went 2-5 with two runs scored. On Saturday in a 6-4 victory over San Jose State, Davidson hit her fourth home run of the season during a four-run 5th inning. The Bulldogs ended the weekend with a 4-1 loss to Cal State Fullerton, where Davidson went 1-for-3. Overall, Davidson is leading the team with a .469 average, starting all 15 of the Bulldogs’ games. She leads the team with five doubles, four home runs and 13 RBIs.
Brad Debo: The N.C. State Baseball team swept Furman over the weekend at Doak Field in Raleigh to improve to 7-1. On Saturday, former Orange catcher Brad Debo went 1-for-4 with an RBI in a 9-2 Wolfpack victory. This season, Debo has started seven games, hitting .292 with five RBIs.
Jordan Toney: The former Orange pitcher now plays for UNC-Pembroke. He earned a victory on February 3rd in a 14-3 win over Shepherd. Toney threw five innings, striking out five while scattering four hits and yielding three runs. Toney has also appeared in two other games this season. He got a no-decision against Indiana University of Pennsylvania, tossing three-and-two-thirds innings, giving up eight hits and seven runs, all earned. On Sunday, Toney tossed two innings in relief, yielding four hits and three earned runs as the Braves won 13-11. UNC-Pembroke, which plays in the NCAA Division II Peach Belt Conference, is 11-1.
Brandon Andrews: A year after leading the Cedar Ridge baseball team to its first winning season since 2010, Andrews is now playing with Nicholls. Last Monday, Andrews made his debut in a 14-7 win over Stony Brooks, throwing two-and-a-third innings in relief. Andrews gave up two hits and an earned run.
Zach Wright: Now a sophomore attacker with the Mars Hill lacrosse team, Wright scored two goals as the Lions defeated Shorter 17-6 on Saturday in Rome, Georgia.
Quinlan Blackmon: Also a former Orange lacrosse star playing with Mars Hill, Blackmon collected three ground balls against Shorter. Blackmon is a Hurdle Mills native who is a long stick midfielder for the Lions.
Bowen Collins: A former Orange High lacrosse star, Bowen Collins is now a junior for Lenoir-Rhyne. He scored his first goal of the season last week in an 11-6 win over Malloy.
Rachel Peel: A former Orange softball star, Peel now plays for Meredith. She has appeared in four games this season, going 0-for-9 at the plate.