Month: March 2023

This week’s Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week is sophomore wrestler Ryan Rakouskas. Last month, Rakouskas qualified for the 3A State Wrestling Championships for the first time in his career. Rakouskas finished third at 145-pounds in the 3A Mideast Regionals at Cedar Ridge High School. This season, Rakouskas went 36-20. He ended the season wrestling inside the Greensboro Coliseum. In the Mideast Regionals, Rakouskas pinned Jose Ortiz of Westover in 4:54 to earn a spot in the state championships. Rakouskas took the third place match over Eastern Guilford’s Nasir Grant via injury forfeit. Rakouskas pinned Joseph Vrabcak of Union Pines in the opening round of regionals in 3:32. In the consolation rounds, Rakouskas defeated Daniel Edmonds of Fayetteville 71st in 1:48. In the consolation quarterfinals, Rakouskas pinned John Mewborn of Harnett Central in 35 seconds. Rakouskas’ older sister, Marlee, was a conference champion volleyball player for Cedar Ridge who is now in Florida at the University of Miami. Rakouskas is also a practitioner of ju-jitsu, which runs counter to his wrestling training. This spring, Rakouskas is playing lacrosse for the first time in his career after a successful wrestling season. 

GREENSBORO–In its final games before the Central Carolina Conference opener, the Orange baseball team is using the week to explore in several ways.

On Wednesday night, they journeyed to First National Bank Park, the home of the Greensboro Grasshoppers. For now, it’s the home of the Grimsley Whirlies, who were basically vacated from their longtime home field due to the opening of a new middle school.

Both teams had to feel likeLilliputians from Gulliver’s Travels playing with tall buildings surrounding them as the Greensboro skyline faded to darkness after first pitch. With the ACC Tournament a stone’s throw away at the Greensboro Coliseum, Orange jumped out to an early lead and tried out some new pitching arms along the way in a decisive win.

Catcher Ryan Honeycutt went 2-for-3 with three RBIs as the Panthers scored five runs in the opening inning to prevail 15-7. For the second time in five years, the Panthers are off to a 4-0 start.

Orange’s early runs prevented the Whirlies from seriously challenging for the lead despite some uncommon sloppiness from the Panther defense in the middle innings. Orange had a season-high three errors which accounted for three unearned runs.

Senior Ryan Hench earned his second win in two starts. He struck out six over three innings. Hench, gearing up to play in ballparks as big as the one he was in on Wednesday night, stroked a double in the first inning down the left field line to score David Waitt. Jackson Berini drew a leadoff walk and scored when Waitt lined a 1-2 fastball to left field, allowing Berini to score from second.

Cameron Guentensberger reached on an error, moving Hench to third. Honeycutt leveled the hardest hit ball of the night to the left field power alley for the Panthers’ first triple of the season, easily scoring Guentensberger and Hench. Cross Clayton knocked in Honeycutt on a fly ball to left field, the first of five sacrifice flies for Orange on the night.

Hench only allowed two hits over three innings. Grimsley’s Sebastian Rodriguez got a one-out double in the second, but was stranded at third when Hench struck out Levi Ponder to end the inning. Guentensberger replaced Hench after three innings.

Orange’s sacrifice parade resumed in the fourth when Clayton opened with a walk. With Joey Pounds at bat, Clayton went to second base on a wild pitch. Pounds bunted Clayton over to third, and Berini knocked him in on a fly ball to right field.

The Whirlies scored three runs in the fourth. Tai Richmond and Eli Coll each singled, while Rodriguez walked to load the bases. Chase Gurner grounded out to Clayton, which scored Richmond. Ponder reached on a throwing error with two out that scored Coll and Rodriguez to cut Orange’s six-run lead in half.

In the fifth, Clayton got his own sacrifice fly RBI when he scored Guentensberger, who reached on a one-out walk. Orange led 7-3.

The Whirlies scored another run when Clay Rosser reached on a one-out throwing error. Richmond knocked him in with a single to centerfield. Grimsley had runners at first and second with one out and Orange’s lead down to 7-4, but Honeycutt threw out J.T. Simmons at third base on a steal attempt to shut down the threat.

The Panthers added four more runs in the sixth. With Richmond on the mound, Neo Best hit a leadoff single. Berini also singled to right field and Best took third following a throwing error. Waitt walked to load the bases, and Connor Nordan scored Best off another sacrifice fly to right field. Nordan has an RBI in each of Orange’s four games.

Waitt came in off a wild pitch. Elijah Santos, who replaced Hench, walked and eventually scored off a sacrifice fly by Honeycutt.

In the seventh inning, Nordan laced a bases-loaded double down the third base line to score Berini, Waitt and Santos. Pounds started the frame with a leadoff walk and came in off a Berini single. Of Orange’s nine starters, eight scored runs. Berini has a team-high ten runs in four games.

Orange 6, Roxboro Community School 4: On Monday night, Orange used power pitching and hitting to beat Roxboro Community School.

On Wednesday, the Lady Panthers utilized its finesse to beat the Bulldogs again.

Senior Carson Bradsher score three runs, aided by four stolen bases, as Orange defeated Roxboro Community 6-4 in Oak Grove on Wednesday night. Orange opened with two runs in the first and two more in the second inning to improve to 3-0 on the season.

Senior Serenity McPherson opened the game with a single to left field. McPherson rounded the bases when Bradsher grounded to the Roxboro Community shortstop, who threw the ball away. Bradsher eventually scored off a groundout by pitcher Caden Robinson. Katie Carden doubled for Orange in the first but was stranded at second.

Sadie Cecil led off the second inning with a triple that went to the centerfield wall. Savannah Wynne reached on a bunt to the pitcher. Cecil would score off a fielder’s choice by McPherson. With Bradsher at bat, McPherson advanced to third on a passed ball and would score off a wild pitch to increase Orange’s lead to 4-0.

Robinson, who struck out eleven against the Bulldogs in an 8-1 Orange win on Monday, threw the opening two innings in the rematch. Brianne Foster finished the game to earn her first career win. She gave up four runs on nine hits with two strikeouts.

Leading 4-1, Orange added a run in the fifth inning when Bradsher singled to left field, stole second, went to third on a wild pitch and scored after Hayleigh Hammond reached on an error. Robinson, who moved to right field after Foster was inserted as pitcher, singled in Bradsher in the seventh inning.

McPherson finished 2-for-4. Robinson went 1-for-3 with two RBIs.

Orange is scheduled to travel to Burlington to face Water Williams for its Central Carolina Conference opener on Friday night.

Cedar Ridge 9, Cardinal Gibbons 7

Sophomore catcher Reagan Simmons went 3-for-3 as the Red Wolves scored seven runs in the opening two innings to beat Cardinal Gibbons for the second time in two days in Hillsborough on Tuesday night.

Senior Anaya Carter went 3-for-4 as the Red Wolves improved to 3-1 during a week where they have no CCC games scheduled. Freshman Mia Best earned her first varsity win inside the circle as she threw the opening three innings.

After Best retired the Crusaders in order to open the game, Simmons and freshman Laci Sykes each hit singles in the bottom of the first inning. Simmons moved over to third after a flyout by Carter, when scored off an error on a ball hit by sophomore Charlotte Lowry. Sophomore Kimber Shambley reached on an infield single to score Sykes and Cedar Ridge led 2-0 at the end of the first inning.

Gibbons tied the game with two runs in the top of the second, but Cedar Ridge responded with five runs in the bottom of the frame. Tori Carden and Grace Young each reached on singles to open the inning. Best singled to right field to bring in Carden and the Red Wolves didn’t trail again. Simmons singled to right field to plate Young. Carter knocked in Carter after an error by Gibbons first baseman Miriam Carey. Lowry delivered the big blow with a double on a line drive to centerfield to score Sykes and Carter.

The Red Wolves increased its lead to 8-4 in the fourth inning when Carter scored off a wild pitch. Carter led off the inning with a single. Carter knocked in Best in the fifth inning after Best drew a one-out walk.

The Red Wolves (3-1) will travel to Northern Durham on Thursday night. They will return to CCC action with a road trip to Person on Tuesday.

In the midst of a howling wins and plunging temperatures, the Cedar Ridge baseball team won its home opener on Tuesday night. Senior B.J. Thornton earned the win as the Red Wolves defeated Walter Williams 6-2 in its Central Carolina Conference opener. The Red Wolves got a two-run single from Mason Cates in the second inning to take a 4-0 lead. Landon Dalehite led off the inning with a double down the right field line. Quinn Finnegan followed with a double to knock in Dalehite. In the third inning, the Bulldogs got a runner at second base with one out. Dalehite made a sliding catch down the left field line that kept the Bulldogs scoreless. Thornton earned the win after he gave up only four hits in five-and-two-thirds innings. He struck put five. Dalehite went 2-for-3 with a double and an RBI. It was the start of three games over three days for the Red Wolves. Cedar Ridge will travel to Siler City this afternoonto face Jordan-Matthews. On Thursday, the Red Wolves will go to Burlington to finish its two-game series against Walter Williams. Cedar Ridge won its conference opener for the second time in three years.

The Orange softball team faced a stiff challenge when they hosted Roxboro Community School on Monday night. The Bulldogs had defeated Bartlett Yancey and Granville Central in the opening week of the season, both run-rule wins. Orange wasn’t phased and rolled to an 8-1 win over the Bulldogs in Hillsborough. Junior pitcher Caden Robinson struck out eleven for her second win of the season. Robinson also went 1-for-3 with an RBI. Freshman Katie Carden finished 2-for-3 with three RBIs and two doubles. Senior Carson Bradsher went 1-for-3 with a run scored. Bradsher, who has committed to USC-Upstate, is back in her familiar spot in the Panthers lineup after missing most of last season with an injury. As far as her Orange stint goes, Bradsher’s best season was her sophomore year where Orange’s regular season was limited due to COVID-19. Bradsher was named All-Big 8 Conference as a sophomore. She’s ready to help Orange try to return to the top of conference play. The Lady Panthers will travel to Roxboro tonight to face Roxboro Community School. Orange was supposed to face Western Alamance last week but the game was rained out. 

It finally felt like a baseball conference opener.

Cedar Ridge baseball coach Bryson Massey played tennis on Wednesday afternoon with highs reaching the lower-70s. It was several hours before his Red Wolves were set to face Walter Williams in both teams’ Central Carolina Conference opener.

He also knew by the time first pitch rolled around, the early spring conditions would yield to more familiar weather that’s typical for early March. Sure enough, temperatures dipped to 55 degrees by game time and wind gusts were at 35 miles-per-hour by the time the sixth inning rolled around.

Fortunately, senior pitcher B.J. Thornton had enough blood flowing through his body that the cold weather didn’t seem to matter.

In his first start of the season, Thornton allowed only four hits in five-plus innings. Another senior, Mason Cates, had a two-run single in the third inning to propel the Red Wolves past Walter Williams 6-2 on Tuesday night at Red Wolves Stadium.

Cedar Ridge (2-0, 1-0 in the Central Carolina Conference) avenged a bitter loss to the Bulldogs last season when Williams came back from an 8-5 deficit with an inside the park grand slam in the seventh inning.

It’s the first time the Red Wolves won won its conference opener since 2021 when they defeated Northwood in Pittsboro.

Thornton got the starting nod to start a busy week for the Red Wolves.

“Going into the conference, we knew we wanted to hand the ball to a senior,” Massey said. “B.J.’s been through this. He’s played with me for four years and he knows what my expectations are. He told me before the game ‘Coach, I got you.’ I knew he was locked in and ready to go.”

Cedar Ridge stormed out to a 6-0 lead starting with a run in the first inning. Isaac Anderson reached on an infield hit, Thornton was hit by a pitch and Cates walked to load the bases. Junior Kevin Jones was hit by a pitch to bring in Anderson.

With one out in the second inning, Landon Dalehite launched a double to the gap. Quinn Finnegan, who hit a fastball deep into the teeth of a brisk wind that was caught in the first inning, sent an 0-1 curveball over the right fielder’s head to the wall. Dalehite scored easily to make it 2-0. After Thornton was beaned again, Cates lined a single to right centerfield to score Finnegan and Thornton.

Williams, led by former Cedar Ridge coach Jamie Athas, had early chances to score but failed. Tate Jones was stranded at third base in the first inning after Ethan George flew out to Anderson in centerfield. Jones singled and stole second in the third inning. With one out, Dan Mahan sent a flair down the left field line where Dalehite made a sprawling catch to save a run. That started a string of Thornton setting down eight consecutive Bulldogs.

The Red Wolves tacked on two more in the fifth. Jones was hit by a pitch and moved over to second after a sacrifice bunt by Nicholas Aitkin. Grant McGuffey sent a fly ball down the right field line that fell in front of a Bulldog. Jones came home and McGuffey advanced to third base after a throwing error. Dalehite stroked a single up the middle to plate McGuffey.

Jones scored the Bulldogs first run when he led off the sixth with a dribbler up the middle for a single. Ethan George reached on an error. Vince Coker singled in Jones. Coleman Mahan knocked in George with a single to left field.

Joe Garbee replaced Thornton with two out in the sixth inning and finished the game on the hill to secure the win.

Williams (2-2, 0-1) was coming off a victory over Southern Alamance in Burlington, its first win over the Patriots in ten years.

It was the first of three games in three days for the Red Wolves. Cedar Ridge will travel to Jordan-Matthews on Wednesday, then go to Burlington to face Williams to complete the two-game conference series on Thursday.

“We’re a young team and this is a challenge,” Massey said. “Three games in a row is a challenge and we’ll find out what we’re made of against two good teams. We’ll be ready tomorrow and go down to Siler City and see what team shows up.”

The Orange baseball team’s pitching depth was on full display in a tight 2-1 win over Jordan on Monday night. With senior Joey Pounds on the hill, the Panthers held the Falcons to a season-low with one run. For comparison’s sake, Jordan was held to one run to less just once last season. Pounds earned the win throwing the opening two innings. The revelation of the night was junior Coltin Hedrick, who threw four relief innings and allowed just one run. Hedrick struck out four. He also had help from his defense. Shortstop Jackson Berini turned a double play that ended the third inning. Hedrick ended a Jordan threat in the fifth when he struck out Andrew Davis with runners at second and third. Hedrick set the Falcons down in order in the sixth inning. Orange junior Josiah Gibbs earned his first career save in the seventh. The Panthers got all of its runs in the first inning off RBI singles by Connor Nordan and Ryan Honeycutt. Jackson Berini and Ryan Hench scored both of Orange’s runs. All three of Orange’s wins have come against 4A teams from the DAC-VII Conference. Orange will go to Greensboro on Wednesday to face Grimsely at First National Bank Field.