Postseason baseball can be cruel.
It can also make no sense.
Last week, Cedar Ridge scored 24 runs in two games against South Granville, sweeping a two-game series from the Vikings en route to its first conference championship in 19 years.
None of that mattered on Friday night when the Vikings returned to Red Wolves Baseball Field for the 2nd round of the 5A State Playoffs.
Evan Olson-Thornburg, who was chased after giving up five runs in just one-and-one-third inning against Croatan on Tuesday night, befuddled Cedar Ridge on Friday. He threw six shutout innings with five strikeouts.
It ended Cedar Ridge’s dream season.
South Granville upended the Red Wolves 3-0 in Hillsborough. Cedar Ridge, which went 12-0 against Big 7 Conference opponents in the regular season, was shutout for the first time this season which included games against D.H. Conley and Terry Sanford.
The Vikings, which trailed Croatan 11-7 going into the sixth inning in Creedmoor on Monday night and needed four runs in the seventh just to advance to the second round, will face C.B. Aycock on the third round on Tuesday.
The Red Wolves were going for its first playoff win since 2018, when they defeated Southern Alamance in the opening round.
“Baseball teaches you so much about life,” said Cedar Ridge head coach Bryson Massey said. “Sometimes you can be doing so much right in your life and you just can’t figure out why you don’t get what you want. And you just have to continue to push.”
The Red Wolves earned a 19-5 record in the regular season by playing strong fundamental baseball. It carried through in the opening inning as the Red Wolves shut down the Vikings; first threat with third baseman Ian McGuffey turning a double play on a grounder hit by Cole Freeland. McGuffey turned another double play to end the Vikings second inning.
South Granville (14-11) broke through in the third when Jayden Cearnel lined a double to left field with one out. On the next at-bat, Vani Hernandez stroked a liner to the same spot, scoring Cearnel for the opening run.
Olson-Thornburg, who gave up six runs to Cedar Ridge in a 8-2 Red Wolf win last week, used his power to shut down the Red Wolves’ biggest threat in the fourth. After Jesus Velazquez delivered a leadoff singe, Aiden Ryan walked. Hudson Kelly loaded the bases with an infield single. Olson-Thornburg struck out Dominic Sena and Carter Warren to end the frame. The Red Wolves didn’t get a runner to third base again.
Ryan threw five-plus innings in his final game for Cedar Ridge. He struck out four before being replaced by sophomore Jesus Velazquez in the sixth inning.
With South Granville still leading 1-0 in the sixth, Freeland reached on an error to leadoff the frame. Greyson Vacher lined a single to centerfield. After Noah Edwards laid down a sacrifice bunt to move Freeland to third and Vacher to second, Cris Ovando delivered a two-run single to right field for precious insurance runs.
Austin Dethmers came in to get the final out and earn the save after Olson-Thornburg surpassed 105 pitches.
It was a crushing disappointment for a Cedar Ridge team that achieved so much during the course of a season where they finally claimed a conference championship. They went undefeated in league play for the first time ever.
Yet a win in the state playoffs remains elusive.
“I told the guys this night will go away,” Massey said. “The impact these guys had on this program for the future of this school is what they can look back on. This night was tough. But these guys impacted this program and me as a coach more than this program ever could.”
