In the years ahead, there will be many stories told about the current Cedar Ridge baseball team.
They’re already on the verge of a share of the conference championship, which is special enough. The dramatic nature of their wins has put them in a class of their own.
On Wednesday night, the Red Wolves pulled off another memorable seventh inning rally against Burlington Christian Academy to remain undefeated at home.
Trailing 7-4 going into the seventh inning, Carter Warren scored the game-winning run off an error on a dropped ball by the first baseman as the Red Wolves won 8-7. Junior John Grove reached on an infield single on a ball hit to the shortstop, which led to Leo Moehring scoring the game-tying run. The throw to first base was mishandled, paving the way for the Red Wolves’ fifth win in its final at-bat this season.
The Red Wolves were down to its last strike twice while trailing 7-4. It appeared all was lost when Cedar Ridge lined into a double play when Dominic Sena flew out to left field and Hudson Kelly was thrown out trying to score. It left Wil Ebron at second and Brody Tapper at first.
Jesus Velazquez, faced with a 1-2 count, singled to left field to load the bases. Carter Warren, who was behind 0-2, swatted a fastball to centerfield to score Ebron and Tapper. Moehring reported in for Velazquez as a pinch-runner. Senior Aiden Ryan drew a walk to load the bases, which set up Grove’s infield single and subsequent error.
Velazquez earned his second win of the season. He also earned the victory at Carrboro last week.
The final run was Cedar Ridge’s only lead of the game. Burlington Christian Academy (9-9) scored six runs in the second inning. Senior Cohen Payne, who was the starting pitcher, drilled a three-run home run over the right field to put the Royals ahead 6-0. BCA’s Tanner Aycock drove in the initial run for the Royals on a single to left field to score Patrick Triolo.
Cedar Ridge fought back with four runs in the bottom of the second. After Sena drew a one-out walk, Warren reached on a throwing error that led to Sena scoring. With Ryan at the plate, Warren stole second. Warren broke for third, which led to an errant throw by the Royals’ catcher into left field, which put Warren across the plate. Ryan lined a single to centerfield, followed by a double by Grove that rolled to the left field fence. Ryan would score off a wild pitch to cut the BCA lead to 6-3. Grove went to third, then scored with Hudson Kelly at the plate off a passed ball.
Yet the Royals would add another run in the fifth after Aycock drove in Anthony Valdez off a liner to left field. Valden singled to lead off the inning.
On Tuesday, Cedar Ridge took another step towards winning the Big 7 Conference championship with a 10-0 win over Durham School of the Arts in five innings. The Red Wolves are 9-0 in conference play. They lead South Granville and Seaforth, who are both 7-2 in the Big 7.
Seniors Ian McGuffey, Grant McGuffey, Walker Holmes, Sena and Ryan were all honored before the game.
Against the Bulldogs, Ryan took a no-hitter into the fifth inning before it was broken up by a single from Lucas Bartosik.
The Red Wolves scored five times in the second inning. Carter Warren had a two-run, inside-the-park home run, his first career dinger. Warren finished with three RBIs.
Cedar Ridge is 16-4, the most wins they’ve had since Bryson Massey became the head coach in 2020. The Red Wolves will travel to South Granville on Tuesday to start its final Big 7 Conference series. The Red Wolves will host the Vikings on Thursday. Cedar Ridge will also host Terry Sanford next Wednesday.
