This week’s Orange Panther of the Week is pitcher Ryan Sawyer. Last May, Sawyer threw a four-hitter as Orange defeated Seaforth 2-1 in Pittsboro. It was the final regular season game of Sawyer’s career and possibly the finest game of his career. He struck out ten Hawks on 108 pitches. Orange swept a two-game series against a Seaforth team that would go on to win the 5A Eastern Regional championship. In his senior season, Sawyer went 4-2 with a 4.07 ERA for an Orange team that finished second in the Big 7 Conference. He had a team-high 13 pitching appearances. Sawyer earned his first win of the season against Carrboro on March 24 at Jaguars Field, where he struck out four over five innings. In his final three starts of the regular season, Sawyer had double-digit strikeouts. He fanned 12 in a 12-1 win over Durham School of the Arts on Senior Night in Hillsborough on April 14. On April 21, Sawyer struck out 13 in a 21-0 victory over J.F. Webb in Oxford. Sawyer was called up to the varsity midway through his sophomore season and remained a consistent starter for the rest of his career. Later this month, he will leave for South Carolina, where he will pitch for USC Sumter next winter.
