Photo by Jacques Morin
PITTSBORO–Another night, another game where a Cedar Ridge pinch-hitter delivers in the clutch.
On a brisk Tuesday night in Pittsboro, Brody Tapper wasn’t sure if he had delivered the go-ahead hit in the seventh inning with the game tied 2-2 against Seaforth. All he knew was he had sent a ball to right field that Seaforth centerfielder Bauer Bowling was in hot pursuit of.
Since there were two outs, Cedar Ridge’s Hudson Kelly was already in motion around third waiting to score. He just wanted to see if his effort would be in vain.
Bowling was parallel with the ground as he dove for Tapper’s line drive. A few Seaforth infielders, sensing a shoestring snag, rose their arms in triumph.
It was a great catch that almost was.
As Bowling’s body fell onto the chilly outfield grass, the ball rolled off the webbing of his glove.
The fact that Kelly scored the game-winning run was fitting as Cedar Ridge defeated Seaforth 3-2 in the Red Wolves’ first-ever trip to Hawks Field. On the mound, the junior threw the game of his life.
With first place at stake in the Big 7 Conference, Kelly threw a compete game in earning his second win of the season. Kelly struck out seven in seven innings.
Cedar Ridge snapped Seaforth’s 13-game conference winning streak, extending back to 2025 when the Hawks’ played in the Mid-Carolina Conference, which they captured with a 13-1 mark. Northwood defeated Seaforth 6-3 on March 28, 2025.
Last Friday, the Red Wolves Carter Warren, also hitting ninth, hit a walkoff hit to beat Orange 6-5 in eight innings.
Cedar Ridge is now tied with South Granville atop the Big 7 Conference with a 3-0 record. The Red Wolves (5-1) will host Seaforth on Friday in Hillsborough.
By the time the 7th inning rolled around, the wind chill made the temperature feel like it was 35-degrees. Cedar Ridge coach Bryson Massey had a full array of experienced arms to choose from, but he opted to rely on Kelly’s arm to protect the 3-2 lead. Kelly responded by retiring the Hawks in order for the second time to secure the complete game.
“I felt like he was dominating the whole time,” Massey said. “He’s got a little bit of deception and hitters weren’t squaring him up. We just rolled with him and we were confident in him in the end.”
In the end, the game boiled down to two fly balls. Seaforth took the lead in the third with two runs. It could have easily been more. With Banks Elmore at second base running for pitcher Bryce Huneycutt, Easton Sykes sent a liner to the left field gap. Cedar Ridge’s Aidan Ryan and Carter Warren converged on the ball and collided. Warren took out Ryan’s legs as the ball disappeared.
At first, the field umpire signaled the ball hit the ground, but it was actually’s Ryan sunglasses that fell to the turf. Ryan somehow made the catch for the third out and limped into the dugout with the Red Wolves only trailing 2-1.
Huneycutt, in his first start since a season-opening 2-1 win against Southern Alamance on February 25, set down ten consecutive Red Wolves after the first inning. Sophomore Jesus Velazquez ended the drought with a leadoff single in the fifth, then immediately took second off an errant pickoff throw. With one out, Ryan sent a line drive off the arm of Sykes, the Hawks shortstop, and into centerfield to plate the game-tying run.
The Red Wolves jumped on Huneycutt early. Senior Grant McGuffey, who has hit safely in all six of Cedar Ridge’s games, delivered a leadoff single to left to start the day. Freshman Will Ebron sent McGuffey to third with another single to left field. Ian McGuffey grounded to third baseman Jaedyn Rader, who tagged out Grant McGuffey for the opening out. Catcher John Grove delivered a hard grounder that rolled into left field for a single, easily scoring Ebron.
With the game even 2-2, Seaforth appeared set to get a leadoff double in the bottom of the sixth. Sykes knocked a ball over the head of Ryan to the left field fence. The cutoff throw rolled away from Grant McGuffey, but it was a bounce that wound up benefitting the Red Wolves. Sykes tried to reach third, but Ian McGuffey picked up the ball, chased down Sykes and tagged him out. That was Seaforth’s last baserunner.
