Month: May 2018

Only a handful of baseball programs across the state can say they’ve won a game in the state playoffs for seven consecutive years. But Orange is one of them after Wednesday’s 6-2 victory over Jacksonville at Cardinals Stadium. Jaydin Poteat went 2-for-4 and scored in each of the first two innings. Jason Slaughter had three RBIs and also finished 2-for-4. Kaymin Matsko earned the win by throwing four innings, giving up only two runs. Dalton Brown singled, scored and threw two key innings of relief as the Panthers advanced to face Chapel Hill on Saturday night at 7, a game you can here on Hillsboroughsports.com

For the third time in four weeks, Caige Clayton came in from third base and pitched the final outs of a big Orange win. Clayton struck out the final two Jacksonville batters, with two men on base, to preserve Orange’s 6-2 win over the Cardinals. Clayton drove in the first run of the game with a double off the left field wall, scoring Jaydin Poteat. To prepare for a three-hour bus ride to Jacksonville, Clayton had a steady breakfast which included diligent attention to making his cereal, as he discusses in this interview. 

Matthew Kahn has been a revelation for Cedar Ridge’s push to its best record in 12 years, and he showed why on Wednesday.

Kahn, a sophomore, delivered a two-run triple, which proved to be the knockout blow during a six-run sixth inning as Cedar Ridge defeated Southern Alamance 10-2 in the first round of the 3A State Playoffs in Hillsborough.

The Red Wolves are now 18-5. They will face Terry Sanford in Fayetteville on Saturday at noon in the 2nd round.

Junior pitcher Phil Berger earned the win, though he was limited to three-and-a-third innings. Berger improved to 6-2 by giving up two runs off three hits. Kahn came in during the fourth inning and took the save by throwing three-and-two-thirds shutout innings. He allowed one hit and two walks for his first varsity save.

It’s the 2nd straight year where Cedar Ridge has won a playoff game. Last year, the Red Wolves defeated Nash Central in the opening round before losing to Eastern Alamance 3-0 in the 2nd round.

As anticimatic as the game ended, it certainly didn’t start that way. Southern Alamance (17-10) scored its only runs in the first inning. Cole Greyson lined the game’s second pitch to centerfield. Junior Kaleb Potts got on board after a dropped pop-up. Amren Strigo loaded the bases after a line drive single to left. Junior catcher Austin Gilley grounded into a fielder’s choice to Jake DeFranco, bringing in Greyson. Potts scored off another RBI groundout by Scottie Thompson.

Cedar Ridge scored the game’s final ten runs, starting in the bottom of the first when Chris Cox doubled to the left field gap to plate Berger, who led off the frame with a single.

The Red Wolves took the lead with a pair in the 2nd. Erik Zehnder led off with a double to centerfield. Zehnder was thrown out at the plate trying to score off a grounder by Cooper Lamb. With two out, Adam Chnupa singled to right, sending Lamb to third. Jake DeFranco sent a grounder to Thompson, the pitcher, who threw it away, allowing Lamb and Chnupa to score.

In the fourth, Dante DeFranco sent a one-out single to left, and Cox followed with another single. Sailor Ramos got his team-leading 23rd RBI of the year with a liner to left, bringing in DeFranco and increasing Cedar Ridge’s lead to 4-2.

During Cedar Ridge’s sixth, Jake DeFranco walked, and Berger doubled. Dante DeFranco slammed another double to right to score Jake. Ramos added two more RBIs to his total with a line drive double to left. Lamb hit a sacrifice fly to left, allowing Kahn to tag up.

On Saturday, Cedar Ridge will play to get into the third round of the state playoffs for the first time since 2006.

Rivers Andrews was one out away from her second perfect game of the season.

With 26 up and 26 down and two out in the 7th inning, she walked Southern Wayne’s Mackenzie Bryan.

Instead of a perfect game, Andrews had to be content with her eighth no-hitter of the season. And Cedar Ridge softball’s first state playoff win since 2006, at least.

Cedar Ridge stormed past Southern Wayne 9-0 in Hillsborough on Wednesday night in Hillsborough in the first round of the 3A state playoffs. The Red Wolves advance to face West Carteret in Hillsborough on Friday or Saturday.

West Carteret, the champions of the Coastal Conference, held off Southeast Guilford 2-1 on Wednesday in Morehead City.

There was no such drama in Hillsborough on Wednesday as the Red Wolves won its 13th straight game to improve to 16-1. Andrews struck out 19 Saints, pushing her season total to 177, compared to 12 walks.

Cedar Ridge broke open a scoreless tie with four runs in the third. Taylor Ruhl and Tionna Carter started the inning with consecutive singles. Andrews knocked in the game’s first run, bringing in Ruhl on a sacrifice fly. Kymberlie Thacker had an RBI groundout to second, scoring Carter and giving Cedar Ridge a 2-0 lead. With two out, Emma Roby singled, and then Kara Wagoner drilled a two-run homer to left field. It was Wagoner’s first dinger of the year.

It remained 4-0 until the bottom of the sixth, when Cedar Ridge poured in five more runs. Taylor Barnes, Amy Stutzer and Tori Dalehite each had infield singles. Stutzer was thrown out at second. Ruhl grounded into a fielder’s choice with the bases loaded as Cailyn Thornton, running for Barnes, was thrown out at home trying to score. Carter lined a single to center to bring in Dalehite. Ruhl scored off an RBI single from Andrews, pushing Cedar Ridge’s lead to 6-0. As Thacker was at bat, Carter scored off a wild pitch. Thacker doubled on a liner to left field which reached the wall, plating Shili Quade, who was running for Andrews. Reagan Ruhl, running for Thacker, scored the final run off Roby’s infield single.

Roby finished 3-for-4 with an RBI. Wagoner went 2-for-4 following the homer. Dalehite, batting leadoff, finished 2-for-4, pushing her team-best average to .583. She also leads the team with 28 hits, five triples and 28 RBI.

Cedar Ridge’s win ended a mixed night for the Big 8 in the opening round of the state playoffs. Conference runner-up East Chapel Hill defeated Gray’s Creek 8-5 in Hope Mills. The Wildcats advance to face Western Alamance in the 2nd round.

However, the other two teams from the Big 8 were decisively eliminated. 11th-seeded Topsail pulled away from defending 3A state champion Orange 16-7 in Hampstead. Cape Fear remained undefeated, improving to 25-0 after shutting out Northern Durham 7-0 in Fayetteville.

This was one trip away from Morehead City that P.J. Michaelson could enjoy.

As a player at South Central High in Winterville, Michaelson was 0-8 against Coastal Conference rival West Carteret.

He also managed the girls team for four years. They never defeated the Patriots, either.

“I used to dread going there,” said Michaelson.

So when the NCHSAA announced the girls soccer playoff brackets on Monday morning, Michaelson had a case of deja vu. Cedar Ridge, the team he has coached for the past five years, would travel to face, you guessed it, West Carteret.

But Michaelson didn’t feel dread. He got a jolt of optimism.

“I told the girls we were prepared,” said Michaelson. “Their 11-seed was just a number. It doesn’t matter what their rank is. We’re ready to go.”

On Wednesday night, his players proved him right.

Freshmen Emerson Talley and Ivy Garner each scored goals in the first half, while Geri Messinger scored in the 2nd to finally give Michaelson his long-awaited win at West Carteret 3-0 in the first round of the 3A State Playoffs.

Not only did the Red Wolves advance to the 2nd round to face D.H. Conley on Saturday, they also became the first team to shut out the Patriots this season. West Carteret, the 11th seed, finished runner-up in the Coastal Conference behind Jacksonville.

It was Cedar Ridge’s first win in the state playoffs since 2005, when the Red Wolves defeated Durham School of the Arts 3-1 in the 2A/1A state championship tournament (the NCHSAA crowned three state champions in women’s soccer in those days).

Senior Taylin Jean and junior Grace Davies shared goalkeeping duties. Jean played in the first half, then moved to right cornerback in the second half as Michaelson shifted formations. Starting in a 4-4-2, Michaelson adjusted to a 3-5-2 and finished with a 4-5-1.

“I was shocked because I didn’t think it would work so well,” said Michaelson. “The backline kept them in front of them so they couldn’t use their speed. We played perfectly.”

Talley and Garner assisted on each other’s goals. Garner, who was All-Big 8 in women’s tennis, leads the team with 18 goals. Talley has 15 goals and 14 assists.

Messinger notched her third goal as Cedar Ridge improved to 11-3-5.

The win was gratifying for Jean, a senior who had been to the state playoffs the past two years only to come away with first-round losses. Last year, Cedar Ridge lost a 2-1 heart breaker to West Brunswick with the game-winning goal coming in the last ten minutes. It made for a long four-and-a-half hour bus ride back from Shallotte.

“Without that loss, we wouldn’t have won tonight,” said Jean. “It really helped us. It motivated us. We really wanted to win tonight. It definitely feels good to win this one. Not winning in the playoffs had definitely been bugging me the last couple of years.”

The bus ride home for Cedar Ridge on Wednesday night was four hours. Michaelson started the day at 6:30 AM and didn’t get home until midnight. He had another day of school ahead Thursday, but he was too happy to care.

“I’m going to stay up all night just like I did in college,” said Michaelson.

En route to winning its first softball state championship last year, it’s easy to forget that Orange nearly lost in the second round.

Last May, Topsail had a 2-1 lead against the Lady Panthers in the 8th inning in Hillsborough. In the bottom of the inning, Abby Hamlett, Jaden Hurdle and Hayley Funk all reached, loaded the bases for All-State catcher Mia Davidson.

What followed has lived on through word of mouth across Hillsborough ever since. Topsail Coach Eric Phillips opted to walk Davidson with the bases loaded, surrendering the Pirates’ lead with the season on the line. Pitcher Christina Givens promptly lined to center to score the winning run.  Two weeks later, the Lady Panthers were celebrating a state title at N.C. State.

There will be no celebration this year. Topsail made sure of that.

The Pirates defeated the Panthers 16-7 in Hampstead in the first round of the 3A State Playoffs on Wednesday night. Orange scored three runs in the top of the second inning to take a 3-1 lead, but the Pirates reeled off five consecutive runs to advance to the 2nd round.

Orange ends the season 11-8.

With one out In the top of the second, Rachel Tilley reached on an error and Olivia Ruff walked. Sophomore Gracie Ducharme, pinch-hitting for Jala Rainey, singled to center to load the bases. Grace Andrews drew a bases-loaded walk to tie the game. Pitcher Jaden Hurdle lined a single to left to score Ducharme and Tilley.

After that, the Pirates had its way, totaling 15 hits. Topsail scored twice runs in the second inning. Lauren Labelle, running for Annalee Hart, scored on a wild pitch. Tanesha Williams laced an RBI single to bring in Tyesha Williams, tying the game 3-3.

Topsail added three more in the fourth. Tanesha Williams lined a single to centerfield to score Tyesha Williams once again to give the Pirates the lead. Sydney Hartgrove stroked a single to center to bring in Williams and Aneshia Jordan.

With Orange trailing 11-4 in the 5th, Hurdle drilled a single to right to score Ruff. With the bases loaded, Funk was hit by a pitch, plating Alisha Pettiford. Allyson Lloyd, in her final game at Orange, hit a sacrifice fly to center, allowing Andrews to touch home and narrow the Topsail lead to 11-7.

Topsail responded with five runs in the fifth and five more in the sixth.

Hurdle finished 2-for-5 with 3 RBI. Andrews was 1-for-2 with an RBI and a run scored. Ruff went 1-for-3.

Hurdle, a sophomore pitcher who started at first last season, ended the season as the team’s leading hitter with a .483 batting average. She also led the team in hits (18), home runs (3), and RBIs (24). Lloyd had seven doubles to pace the squad.

Hurdle also led the team with 68.2 innings pitched, going 7-7 with a 4.28 ERA.

Along with Lloyd, it was the final game for Orange seniors Olivia Latta-Harshaw, Alyssa Hellman and Kaitlyn Torain.

When the NCHSAA released its pairings on Monday, many around Cedar Ridge softball anticipated getting a high seed.

But when the Red Wolves received an 8-seed, despite finishing 15-1 overall, it left a sour taste in the mouths of Red Wolves coaches.

The 8-seed means Cedar Ridge could face the #1 seeded West Brunswick Trojans in the third round in Shallotte next week, if the Red Wolves advance that far. First, they have to get past Southern Wayne (9-11) on Wednesday in Hillsborough. In the second round, Cedar Ridge could face Coastal Conference Champions West Carteret, who went 10-0 in league play.

So why did Cedar Ridge get such a low seed? Why did teams with more losses like #2 seed Western Alamance (20-3), #4 Southern Alamance (20-4) and #6 C.B. Aycock (16-6) get a better seed?

First, understand teams are seeded based on their MaxPreps rankings. Since Cedar Ridge won their conference, the lowest they could be seeded was #9. Cedar Ridge’s MaxPrep ranking was #66. West Brunswick, the top overall seed in the East, had a #3 ranking. Western Alamance was #23. Southern Alamance was #36.

Why?

If you’re thinking about going to the FAQ section on MaxPreps seeding on the NCHSAA website, here’s a word of advice: don’t.

Based on help from Raleigh News and Observer High School Sports Editor J. Mike Blake, we got help in understanding what happened.

There are several factors:

The weather: It was a rainy and snowy spring across Orange County. Cedar Ridge had two nonconference games canceled because of weather. Both of them were against teams that won their respective conferences. In the first week of March, Cedar Ridge was scheduled to travel to Western Alamance, but there was enough snow that week to cancel the game. Western Alamance captured the Mid-State Conference Championship with a 11-3 league record. Roxboro Community, who is the only team to beat Cedar Ridge this season, won the 1A North Central Championship last week, taking a tiebreaker from Vance Charter School. According to Blake, if Cedar Ridge had played those games (not win them, simply play them) against the Warriors and Bulldogs, their MaxPreps rankings would have increased, perhaps substantially.

Not Enough Games: Cedar Ridge only played 16 games, the least of any team in the entire 3A State Tournament. Again, the weather was a factor. The Red Wolves missed opportunities to play good teams and boost their MaxPreps ranking.

The Schedule: As Blake points out, Cedar Ridge played one team with less than five losses. That was Roxboro Community School, who beat CRHS. Cedar Ridge couldn’t overcome the damage to its schedule done by the bottom feeders of the Big 8 Conference. Of Cedar Ridge’s 16 wins, six came against Hillside, Southern Durham and Chapel Hill. East Chapel Hill, Orange, Northwood, and Northern Durham all had less wins this season than in 2017.

Cedar Ridge outscored opposition 145-9 this season and won the first softball conference championship in school history. They have the talent to win a state championship against a loaded field. They’ll just have a tougher climb to get there than anticipated.

The most successful coach in Orange Men’s Basketball history is leaving.

On Monday, Greg Motley completed an agreement to become the post-graduate head coach at Mt. Zion Christian Academy in Durham. He will depart Orange at the end of the academic year.

“It’s been a great place,” said Motley via text message on Monday night. “I will miss coaching there but excited about the new opportunity, as well. So there are mixed emotions.”

Orange won three conference championships during Motley’s run. In 2016, behind Connor Crabtree, the Panthers captured the Big 8 Tournament Championship, beating Southern Durham 68-65 in an emotional title game at Chapel Hill High. It was Orange’s first tournament conference championship since 1998.

The 2016-17 season was Motley’s best Orange team. They finished 23-7, winning the Big 8 regular season championship. Along the way, they won the Eastern Guilford Holiday Hoops Championship, beating Eastern Guilford 74-60 for the title in its own gym.

In the 3A state playoffs, Orange cruised past Gray’s Creek and Southern Guilford. In the third round against Triton, Orange looked like a team of destiny. Behind Crabtree and Logan Vosburg, Orange surged to a 28-2 lead just six minutes into the game. Late in the first quarter, Crabtree tore a ligament in his right ankle while going for a defensive rebound. He never played for Orange again. While the Panthers would defeat Triton 67-47, they fell to Northern Guilford in the state quarterfinals 56-48 three nights later. The same Eastern Guilford team that Orange defeated in December wound up playing for the 3A state championship.

Motley replaced Frank Meadows at Orange in 1997. He took over a dormant program that failed to have a winning season since the early 1980s. His first season, Orange won the PAC-6 Tournament and defeated Lee County in the 4A state playoffs during an emotional time for the school. Longtime assistant coach Bob Lewis had been diagnosed with cancer. At the time, it was thought to be terminal. 20 years later, Lewis is still living.

Suddenly, Orange had a winning basketball team. The student section was rebranded “Motley’s Crew.”

Many things changed during Motley’s tenure in Hillsborough. Orange went from 4A to 2A to 3A. He started when East Chapel Hill High School had just opened as Orange County’s third high school. Now, there are five.

As successful as 2016-17 was for Motley, this past season was tumultuous on and off the floor. They finished 9-16. Motley’s final game was a 74-29 loss to Hillside in the Big 8 Tournament.

In the end, Motley demanded loyalty from his players. More often than not, he received it.

The night after Motley’s final game at Orange, he received a text message from a player. It read, in part: “Thanks for the opportunity. I would probably be in trouble or in jail. You brought me through so many tough times with my problems and the passing of my grandma. I will always have your back.”

Having the most wins of any coach in Orange history will be a point of pride for Motley to live on the rest of his life.

But those types of texts are his legacy.