This week’s Orange Panther of the Week is junior pitcher Cross Clayton. Last week, Clayton earned his 11th career win os the Panthers defeated Lee County 4-1 in the Hilltop Invitational at Orange High School. It was his first complete game of the season. Following the win, Orange rose to #2 in the 3A East RPI Rankings, trailing only J.H. Rose. On April 3, Clayton struck out a career-high 13 batters against Person in Hillsborough. In a scoreless game, Clayton broke it open with a home run to left field in the bottom of the fifth, which turned out to be the game-winning run. Last year, Clayton led Orange with eight wins as the Panthers won the Central Carolina Conference regular season championship. At one point in the 2022 season, Clayton had 23 consecutive scoreless innings. He was named the 2022 CCC Pitcher of the Year. In 2022, he finished with an 8-3 record and a 2.59 ERA. It was the most wins by a first-year Orange pitcher in a season since Bryse Wilson, now with the Milwaukee Brewers, went 11-0 in his freshman year. Clayton had battled injury to return to the mound, but has regularly played second base throughout this season. Orange will continue its season tonight against Northwood in Hillsborough. Then the Panthers will travel to Southwestern Randolph on Wednesday.