CREEDMOOR–This is next year.
For years, Cedar Ridge baseball had to wait for brighter days after they suffered a tough loss in the opening round of the state playoffs. Or let one get away against their crosstown rival Orange, which happened often enough to the point it bordered on cruelty.
Instead of waiting for next year, the time is now for Cedar Ridge baseball.
For the first time in 19 years, they are conference champions.
The Red Wolves cemented the point with a convincing 8-2 win over South Granville on Tuesday night, though the pennant chase drama actually ended in the third inning in Hillsborough.
The team that helped Cedar Ridge win the league title was their archival Orange. As the opening two innings dragged on for over 50 minutes in Creedmoor, the Panthers defeated Seaforth 2-1 in eight innings thanks to a walkoff single from Mason Bullard. Seaforth, the last team that could tie Cedar Ridge, was officially eliminated from playoff contention.
Cedar Ridge head coach Bryson Massey was informed of the Orange final as soon as it leaked on GameChanger. He just didn’t tell his team until after the game.
“These guys have been through it all,” Massey said. “Throughout this season, we’ve won a lot of close games. I think it goes back to the leadership of this group. This championship isn’t just about me. It’s about a lot of guys when I got here that believed in the mission, what we were trying to build and a lot of guys that I hope will be there on Thursday that helped build this program back to where we want it.”
Sophomore Jesus Velazquez earned his third win in the last four games, coming on in relief of Aiden Ryan in the second innings. Velazquez retired the first eleven Vikings he faced, striking out seven. Velazquez also belted an RBI double in the fourth to put across Hudson Kelly, putting the Red Wolves ahead 3-1.
“This thing about Jesus is that we know what we’re going to get,” Massey said. “I always say that Jesus has a slow heartbeat. He wants the ball in the big situations. We had him start at the end of the year last year and he won some really big games for us. He’s been more of a bullpen piece for us this year and tonight we needed him.”
With its aggressive base running, Cedar Ridge left no room for error, but South Granville committed plenty of them, anyway. Junior catcher John Grove scored the opening run from second base after a throwing error off a flyout by Ian McGuffey to centerfield. South Granville’s Vani Hernandez made the catch and hit cutoff man Noah Edwards. For some reason, Edwards threw to second in an attempt to nab Grove, but the ball wound up in the Vikings’ spacious right field foul territory, allowing Grove to score with ease.
Grant McGuffey added a second Red Wolf run in the first after he reached on an infield error, then swiped second base on a patented delayed steal. Freshman Wil Ebron belted a 2-2 fastball to the makeshift fence at Vikings Stadium, allowing McGuffey to score.
South Granville loaded the bases with no one out in its side of the first, but only scratched across one run. After Hernandez led off with a triple to right field, Greyson Vacher and Evan Olson-Thornburg walked. Cole Freehand sent a sacrifice fly to Carter Warren in centerfield to cut the Cedar Ridge lead in half. Ryan recovered to strikeout Noah Edwards. Velazquez, playing second, caught a pop-up from Jayden Cearnel to end the inning.
Ryan needed 38 pitches to get out of the first inning. The Vikings loaded the bases again in the second inning, but Velazquez replaced Ryan with one out. Olson-Velazquez flew out to Ryan, who went to right field. Edwards skied one to Warren to keep Cedar Ridge ahead 2-1.
Leading 3-1, Cedar Ridge added three runs in the fifth. Grove, who lined a one-out single to right field, stole third base. Ebron drove him in with a sacrifice fly to left fielder Jayden Cearnel. Ian McGuffey was hit by a pitch, which was followed by a walk of Grant McGuffey. After Hudson Kelly walked to load the bases, Dominic Sena sent a pop-up to second base that was dropped. Ian and Grant McGuffey both scored to increase the Cedar Ridge lead to 6-1.
After going three innings without a hit, the Vikings got a solo home run from Freehand to lead off the sixth inning.
The Red Wolves added two more runs in the seventh. Kelly drove a single to centerfield to bring in Ebron, who easily beat a throw to the plate. Kelly moved over to second on the throw, then stole third. Sena hit a check swing that was called strike three, but it rolled away from catcher Derek Hamelinck. Sena raced down the line off the wild pitch and beat the throw to first, allowing Kelly to score.
It’s a championship for a group that won Orange Person Athletic Conference titles at Stanback Middle School years ago. But it’s also a championship for Red Wolves of the past like Quinn Finnegan, Mason Cates, Landon Dalehite, Kevin Jones, Cristian Macias, B.J. Thornton, Aidan McAllister, Garrett Ray, Bryan Flores and Nick Nolan. Players who had to endure tough times and heartbreaking losses while waiting for a time where the hardships of yesterday would make the taste of victory that much sweeter.
It’s certainly sweet now.
