Photo by Jacques Morin
Just one week removed from facing J.F. Webb in its final regular season home conference game, the Orange softball team will play the Warriors again to open the state playoffs.
On Tuesday, the North Carolina High School Athletic Association released its field of 48 for the 5A State Softball Tournament. Orange received a #16 seed and will play one final game in Hillsborough against #17 J.F. Webb on Tuesday night. First pitch will be at 6PM.
The winner of Orange-J.F. Webb will face top-seeded Southeast Alamance in the second round on Friday in Haw River. The Stallions won the Mid-Carolina Conference championship after an undefeated run through conference play, going 14-0 against local powers like Eastern Alamance, Western Alamance and Southern Alamance, all of whom have won 3A Eastern Regional Championships since 2021.
Orange finished 9-12 overall, 8-4 in the Big 7 Conference. It will be the third meeting between the Lady Panthers and the Warriors. Each of the meetings in the regular season had the game-winning runs scored in the 7th inning. In Oxford on March 27, the Lady Panthers squeaked out a 12-11 win. Orange led 12-6 in the seventh inning after Kylee Allen scored off an error on a ball hit by Payton Adams. The Warriors stormed back with five runs in the bottom of the seventh and climbed within 12-11 after a two-run home run by Terrie Thornton. Webb brought the game-winning run to the plate with one out after a single by Natalya Lewis. Brittany Mendoza grounded out to Orange second baseman Lily Ward for the final out.
Last Tuesday, Orange senior Hayeligh Hammond hit a walkoff, two-run home run as Orange won 7-5. Orange jumped out to a 4-0 lead before the Warriors scored four runs in the fifth inning. Orange senior Katie Carden went 3-for-4 with three runs scored.
The Lady Panthers ended the regular season with losses to Falls Lake and at Seaforth.
Orange hosted Southeast Alamance on March 19 in Hillsborough. The Stallions won 5-0.
