ROXBORO–Jason Knapp didn’t need to tell his team about the stakes on the line as the baseball bus ventured down Highway 157 into Person County.
Everyone aboard knew that first place in the Central Carolina Conference was on the line Tuesday night when they faced the Person Rockets. Not to mention their hopes of a better seed for the state playoffs and the inside track for the CCC regular season championship.
In a season that’s been defined by players growing up in pressure situations, juniors Josiah Gibbs and Coltin Hedrick proved the Baptism by fire has been taught well.
Gibbs, who had just three career starts coming into this season, earned his team-high fourth win of the season as the Panthers held on to defeat Person 4-3 on Tuesday night. Orange (12-2, 5-2 in the CCC) is now in sole possession of first place going into the second game of the series, which will be played tonight (Wednesday) in Hillsborough.
Hedrick, in his first year at varsity, retired the final seven Rockets in order to earn his second save in as many weeks.
With senior Ryan Hench out for the tenth straight game, the Panthers were also missing right fielder David Waitt, who was ill. Waitt leads Orange with 18 hits and a .400 batting average.
For an Orange team that hasn’t had its full array of players since the second week of the season, Waitt’s absence may have hurt, but it didn’t make the difference in winning and losing.
Junior centerfielder Cameron Guentensberger went 2-for-4 with an RBI and a double, stepping up biggest during a two-run third inning that left the Rockets playing catch-up all night.
“David has been sick for a few days now and our thoughts are with him,” said Orange coach Jason Knapp. “It was another chance for someone to step up and that is what (this season) has been.”
On the first pitch of the game, senior leadoff batter Jackson Berini grooved a fastball to centerfield that one-hopped the fence for a double. Connor Nordan took a 1-2 fastball and laced it down the spacious left field line, allowing Berini to score the opening run.
Nordan leads Orange with 22 RBIs.
Orange increased its lead in the third inning when Nordan drove a one-out single to centerfield. Ryan Honeycutt sent a pop-fly that hugged the first base line and was dropped, but Person second baseman Brady Blackwell threw to Keegahan Holmes to retire Nordan at second. Honeycutt usually is a catcher and has a courtesy runner whenever he gets on base, but on Tuesday he was the designated hitter, meaning he had to run for himself.
Guentensberger took a fastball and drove it to the gap in left field that landed near the fence. The relay throw missed the cutoff man, allowing Honeycutt to score from first base and increased Orange’s lead to 2-0. Catcher Ryan Horton lined a single to right field, scoring Guentensberger.
In the bottom of the third, Person centerfielder Carter Stacey looped a single to centerfield. After stealing second, Stacey went to third when Dylan England grounded out to Gibbs. It appeared that Gibbs would escape the inning when he struck out Seth Oakley for the second out, but catcher Tyler White lined a RBIt hit to centerfield, decreasing Orange’s lead to 3-1.
With two out in the fifth, Guentensberger grounded a single into left field. As Horton was at the plate, Person pitcher Ian Downey sent a errant pickoff throw below the glove of first baseman Brennan Kiser, allowing Guentensberger to advance to third. Horton followed with another RBI single to left field for another insurance run.
“Cameron has turned into a seasoned veteran out there,” Knapp said. “He’s a mainstay in centerfield, a solid bat and obviously, a reliever when we need him. Very proud of that young man.”
As nightfall descended along Madison Boulevard in Roxboro off in the distance beyond the right field fence, the Rockets increased the drama in the fifth. England drew a leadoff walk. Hedrick replaced Gibbs after pinch-hitter Braden Clayton flew out to Guentensberger.
“We put Coltin in a spot there,” Knapp said. “They had a little momentum going and they capitalized a little bit. (Coltin) is another young man who blossomed over this half of the season. He gathered himself and we played some good defense behind him.”
White sent a grounder to Hedrick, who threw out England at second base for the second out. Kiser threw a walk, while Camden Shaw reached on an infield hit on a ball that third baseball Neo Best tracked down kicking up dirt, but unable to throw him out. With the bases loaded, Levi Strader sent a hard grounder up the middle to score Dalton Langford, running for White. Kiser followed and just beat a relay throw to the plate by Berini and Orange’s lead was down to 4-3.
That’s as close as the Rockets would get. Hedrick struck out Holmes to end the inning, then retired the final six Person batters in the sixth and seventh. He struck out four of the last seven batters he faced.
There’s not to much time to enjoy it. Person will visit Orange on Wednesday night. The Rockets upset the Panthers in Hillsborugh last year in the semifinals of the CCC Tournament.
“We got off the bus and felt this was a statement game,” Knapp said. “For both teams. Either team has a chance to put their stamp on the season. Tomorrow is another big one. We’re looking forward to it at Orange.”