Photo by Sam Sawyer
PITTSBORO–It would have been an injustice for Ryan Sawyer to throw the best game of his career and not get a win.
Fortunately, Kayden Bradsher delivered the hit that paved the way for an Orange win so justified, it would have made Raylan Givens proud.
Bradsher drove in Ben Knowles with an RBI single in the ninth inning as the Panthers defeated Seaforth 2-1 in nine innings at Hawks Baseball Field on Thursday night. In a game with plenty of seeding implications for next week’s 5A State Playoffs, the Panthers completed the regular season second in the Big 7 Conference with a 9-3 record.
Overall, Orange is 17-7, having won 13 of its last 14.
Sawyer, a senior who has committed to USC Sumter, struck out ten and allowed just four hits over eight-and-two-third innings, the longest stint of his career. It was Sawyer’s third straight double-digit strikeout game after he fanned 12 against Durham School of the Arts and 13 against J.F. Webb.
“It’s the best game I’ve ever seen him pitch,” said Orange coach Jason Knapp. “And we played some defense behind him. He competed his tail off tonight. It was good to see.”
Seaforth, which came into this season having won back-to-back Mid-Carolina Conference championships as a 2A team, fell to 15-9 overall, 8-4 in the Big 7. All four of the Hawks league losses have been by one run. They dropped both contests in the two-game series against Orange this week in extra innings by identical 2-1 scores.
Overall, five of Seaforth’s nine losses have been by one run.
It didn’t diminish gutsy efforts from both of Seaforth’s seniors, which comprised the starting battery.Catcher Colin Dorney injured his left knee after swinging at a pitch in the sixth and had to be helped off the field. Left fielder Shane Manz took warm-up tosses from reliever Anthony Landono leading up to the top of the seventh, but Dorney ran out of the dugout after a fast recovery and finished the game.
Seaforth starter Jaedyn Rader struck out seven in six innings, allowing only one run off seven hits.
Both teams had to battle the optics of a pale white press box directly behind home plate. Combined with a tough sky on a long night, it made for an inordinate amount of adventures on fly balls.
With the game tied 1-1 and one out in the top of the ninth, Knowles reached on a walk. Wren Hash had a pop-up to the shortstop, who couldn’t find the ball in the twilight. The ball landed on the edge of the infield dirt, allowing Knowles to take an all-important extra base in a pitcher’s dual.
Dorney caught a pop-up hit by Gary Miller behind home plate for the second out. Bradsher stepped up and sent a hard liner towards right field. The ball buzzed over the glove of second baseman Bryce Huneycutt, who narrowly mistimed his jump, and rolled into right field. Knowles’ ninth run of the year was the final one on this night.
The North Carolina High School Athletic Association sets a limit of 105 pitches for players. Sawyer finished the eighth inning with 99 pitches. Sawyer struck out Rader with a fastball on his final at-bat before handing the ball over to Cam Brown, leaving the game with a standing ovation from the visiting Orange fans.
After a walk to Jack Simpson, Brown got Huneycutt to line out to Oliver Van Tiem to end the game.
Orange got its opening run off a two-out rally in the first. Van Tiem extended his hitting streak to 18 consecutive games with a wormburner up the middle. After catcher Mason Bullard sent a grounder to left field, designated hitter D.J. Woods sent a soft liner into left for another hit, bringing in Van Tiem for the only Panther run of regulation.
Rader slammed a stand-up triple to deep center over Van Tiem’s head to lead off the fourth. Huneycutt delivered a soft liner that Miller backpedaled and played into the shallow right field grass, but Rader raced home to tie the game on a sacrifice fly. After Banks Elmore slammed a double with two out, Tristan Cooper nearly put the Hawks ahead with a line drive that barely faded foul down the right field line. Sawyer would strike out Cooper to end the inning.
