Photo by Jacques Morin
The Cedar Ridge-Orange softball rivalry continues to go in ebbs and flows like you can’t imagine.
From 2021-2024, the Lady Panthers won nine in a row over the Red Wolves.
Now, Cedar Ridge has defeated Orange five straight times.
Their last meeting in the Central Conference Tournament was a walkoff win after a fielder’s choice hit by Laci Sykes last April.
On Friday night, the Red Wolves took drama to a new level.
Orange led 8-7 with two outs in the eighth inning and the bases empty. For a fleeting moment, it appeared the Red Wolves would go down in order when Ainsley Burklin sent a pop-up to the edge of the right field grass, but the ball was dropped by Orange.
As freshman Lorelei Lowry pinch-ran for Burklin, it was the opening Cedar Ridge needed.
Nonetheless, Madeline Galindo-Woodring was down to her last strike working against Orange reliever Lexi Bowes. Galindo-Woodring fouled off two potential pitches that could have ended the game, including a soft liner that was nearly caught by Orange third baseman Katie Carden. Galindo-Woodring sent a wormburner to the left side of the infield, past a diving Carden. Shortstop Hayleigh Hammond’s throw was late and Galindo-Woodring reached on an infield single, sending Lowry to second.
Raegan Remaly didn’t milk the suspense. She took the first fastball she saw from Bowes and sent it just a few paces shy of the left field fence. Lowry tied the game with east. Galindo-Woodring made tracks around third and got a face full of dirt and she slid safely into home plate without a throw, securing an 8-7 Cedar Ridge win.
The Red Wolves (10-3 overall, 5-1 in the Big 7 Conference) remain one game behind Seaforth for first place in the Big 7 Conference. Cedar Ridge will travel to Seaforth on Tuesday.
It was the latest crushing setback for Orange, who led 6-3 in the bottom of the sixth with two outs and the bases empty for Cedar Ridge. The Lady Panthers fall to 5-8 overall, 4-2 in the Big 7.
Cedar Ridge erased its three-run deficit in the sixth with Parker Kennedy roped a first-pitch fastball to the left field gap, scoring Sadie Morrow and Simone Cosentino, both courtesy runners. Burklin tied the game when dropped a single to centerfield in front of Addison Guentensberger, plating Kennedy to tie things up.
Hammond appeared to put Orange in position to win when she sent a two-out fastball over the left field fence in the eighth inning. It was her eighth home run of the season.
Carden, a senior, went 3-for-5. Hammond finished 3-for-5 with two RBIs.
Cedar Ridge senior Mia Best delivered her ninth win of the season, striking out six over eight innings. Best tacked on the opening run with a solo homer in the first inning.
The Red Wolves took a 3-0 lead in the fourth after Brittani Goodard doubled to right field to score Laci Sykes and Arianna McGraw.
Orange would take its first lead by scoring four runs in the fourth inning. Malynne Roemmich led off with a single to left field. With courtesy runner Mariah Cook replacing Roemmich, senior Natalie Roberson lined a double to centerfield. Cook and Roberson would both score after a single by Hammond led to a series of errors by the Red Wolves, cutting the Cedar Ridge lead to 3-2. Sophomore Kylee Allen evened the game with an infield single that plated Hammond. After a base hit by Carden sent Allen to third, Allen scored off a bases-loaded walk by Lily Ward.
Orange pushed its lead to 6-3 in the top of the sixth. Hammond delivered a double to left field. After Allen bunted Hammond to third, Carden would drive in another run off an infield single that bounced off Best’s glove. Carden wound up at second off an errant throw. Molly Kate Ollis extended the Orange lead to 6-3 off a double down the left field line to score Carden.
