Month: April 2023

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.”

Baseball: Cedar Ridge 11, Eastern Alamance 5:  After a gallant but disappointing loss to Orange last week, the Cedar Ridge baseball team got a big effort from senior B.J. Thornton on the mound and at the plate to roll past Eastern Alamance.

Thornton earned his third win of the season with a season-best ten strikeouts over five-and-two-thirds innings. At the plate, Thornton went 3-for-5 with five RBI as Cedar Ridge (7-6, 4-5 in the Central Carolina Conference) scored four runs in the first inning to take control early.

Thornton also knocked in the first run off a sacrifice fly to score Issac Anderson, who opened the game with a single to centerfield. Mason Cats, who reached on an infield single, scored off a base hit by Landon Dalehite to left field. Nick Aitkin drove a single up the middle to bring in Dalehite and Grant McGuffey.

Cedar Ridge loaded the bases to open the second. Cates and Quinn Finnegan each walked. Thornton lined a single to left field to bring in Tippin.

Eastern Alamance reduced its deficit to 5-3 at the end of the third inning, but Cedar Ridge recovered in the top of the fourth. Tippin walked and Anderson got aboard off a single to left field. Thornton looped a single to right field to score Tippin to put Cedar Ridge ahead 6-3.

Thornton set the Eagles down in order in the fourth. Aitkin lined a one-out double to right field to start the fifth. With two out and Tippin at bat, Aitkin scored off a passed ball. Tippin went on to single on a hard grounder to centerfield. Anderson and Cates walked to load the bases. Finnegan lined a single to centerfield to bring in Tippin and Anderson.

The Red Wolves added two more runs in the seventh. Anderson was hit by a pitch. Cates reached on an infield single. With two out, Thornton sent a double that one-hopped the left field wall that brought in Anderson and Cates.

Cedar Ridge put up 12 hits. Aitkin, a sophomore, went 2-for-4 with two RBIs and a double. Anderson, hitting leadoff, scored three runs. He finished 2-for-2 with a walk.

It’s the second straight year that the Red Wolves have won at Eastern Alamance. Last year, the Red Wolves opened a doubleheader against the Eagles by rallying from a 5-2 deficit in the seventh inning The Red Wolves scored six runs in the final inning to pull away with a 8-5 win. Quinn Finnegan earned the save as Cedar Ridge eventually earned the sweep of the doubleheader, which helped them reach the state playoffs for the first time since 2018.

Softball: Falls Lake 14, Cedar Ridge 4: For the second straight night, the Falls Lake Firebirds came to Hillsborough and emerged victorious.

On Monday, Falls Lake defeated Orange. On Tuesday, they puled up 19 hits in a win over Cedar Ridge. Freshman Mia Best hit an inside-the-park home run to lead off the first inning. Sophomore Kimber Shambley went 2-for-2 with a triple. Senior Anaya Carter, playing centerfield, went 2-for-4 with a run scoresd.

Reagan Simmons finished 2-for-4 with an RBI.

Falls Lake’s Kennedy Teasley. who hit two home runs against Orange, had two doubles. Ashbee Standrige homered for the Firebirds, who improved to 7-5.

Men’s Tennis: Northwood 5, Cedar Ridge 4: In a tight match in Pittsboro, the Chargers held off the Red Wolves.

Cedar Ridge senior Josh Mayhew improved to 9-1 on the season with a 6-0, 6-0 win. In doubles, Mayhew teamed with Bowen Wood to win 8-2, which put the Red Wolves ahead in the dual match 4-3.

Mayhew, who played for the 3A State Singles championship last year, was the CCC Men’s Tennis Player of the Year in 2022.

Senior Walker Richards-Baker also won at #3 singles 6-4, 6-4. Sophomore Colin Fulcher defeated Northwood’s Colt Tudor 4-6, 6-1, 10-8 in a 10-point tiebreaker.

The Red Wolves are 3-7 overall, 2-5 in the CCC.

The Orange softball team was able to match the Falls Lake offense, but they couldn’t match their power.

Senior Kennedy Teasley hit two home runs, including a two-run blast in the third inning that put Falls Lake ahead for good as the Firebirds defeated Orange 7-4 on Monday night at Orange Softball Field.

It was a disappointing return from Spring Break for Orange, who defeated Person 4-2 in Roxboro on March 24. The Panthers outhit the Firebirds 11-9, led by Senior Carson Bradsher and freshman Katie Carden each picking up three singles.

With an important conference game against Eastern Alamance slated for Tuesday, Orange coach Rachel Peel opted to limit starter Caden Robinson to three innings. Falls Lake catcher Ashbee Standridge lined a single to right field with one out in the third inning. Madison Primm followed with a double that got past a diving Serenity McPherson, who got up limping and eventually left the game. Strandridge came in to score and tied the game. Teasley followed with a home run that landed just before the scoreboard in left field.

Orange, who scored in the opening inning when McPherson slid in safely on a double steal with Bradsher, struck back with two in the third to tie the game. McPherson reached on a single to centerfield. Robinson slammed a fastball off the left field wall to bring in McPherson. After Delaney Shaffer concluded an 11-pitch at-bat with a walk, Carden lined a single up the middle to score Robinson and tie the game.

Brianne Foster entered the game as Orange pitcher in the fourth. Reagan Yancey, the 9th-batter in the Firebirds order, blooped a two-out single to right field that appeared harmless at the time. That changed when Standridge sent a double off the centerfield wall, bringing in Yancey. Primm launched a double off the fence in right field for another RBI, scoring Strandrige and increasing the Firebird lead to 6-3.

Bradsher had two leadoff singles in the latter innings. In the fifth, she legged out an infield single. She reached third after a groundout by Delaney Shaffer. Carden lined a comebacker to pitcher Jolie Sensenig, who couldn’t throw Carden out. Bradsher never stopped running and slid into home plate safely.

Teasley canceled out that run with her second home run, a solo blast to centerfield aided by the wind that was blowing out toward the wall all night.

Teasley threw the final two innings to earn the save.

Orange (6-3) will travel to Eastern Alamance tonight.

Men’s Tennis: Williams 5, Orange 4

In Burlington, the Orange men’s tennis team’s dual match against Walter Williams came down to doubles before the Bulldogs secured a victory.

Orange’s Nathan Pavalonis won at #3 singles in the only match of the night that went three sets. Pavalonis defeated Andrew Brasington 6-4, 0-6, 10-2.

Orange senior Brendon Kassler and freshman Quincy Stanley also won their singles matches to even the dual match 3-3 going into the three doubles matches.

Kassler and Stanley won the only doubles match for Orange, prevailing 8-3. Orange is now 5-5 overall, 1-4 in the CCC.

Men’s Golf: The second CCC dual meet of the season was held at Occoneechee Golf Course in Hillsborugh on Monday afternoon. Walter Williams came in first as a team with a collective score of 154.

Cedar Ridge finished third as a team with 172 strokes. Brad Monschein and Dylan Frochling each shot an 88 over 18-holes. Frochling had a 40 on the front nine. Ward Mann, Rowarn Baker, Eric Swanson and Bryson Koehler also competed for Cedar Ridge.

Orange finished fourth in the team standings. Senior Thomas Loch was the top finisher for Orange with an 83, including a 40 on the front nine. Cooper Zinn carded an 87. Josh Roberts had an 89. Connor McMurtry, R.J.Roemmich and Logan Scarantino also competed for the Panthers.

Christos Katsoudas of Walter Williams was the top individual finisher with a 75.

Through the first half of the season, Jason Knapp has had two Orange baseball teams.

The one he envisioned since the end of last season. And the one he’s had since since March 9.

Knapp knew that the top two pitchers in his rotation from 2022, Ryan Hench and Cross Clayton, would return for 2023. And that’s the way it was—for the first week.

Then Clayton suffered an injury to his pitching hand after his opening day win over East Chapel Hill on February 27 and didn’t resume pitching again until nearly a month later. Hench started his senior season in style with a dominant 11-3 win over Northern Durham, which included nine strikeouts and a powerful two-run homer in the fifth.

A week later, Hench was injured against Grimsley in Greensboro and hasn’t played since.

That impacted Knapp on several levels. First, it took the most powerful bat out of his order. Hench led Orange with five home runs and 26 RBIs in 2022. Secondly, his top two starting pitchers were sidelined for the start of the conference schedule. That meant some younger pitchers that Knapp had in mind for occasional starts during staff days would soon find themselves out there every week for games that would decide Orange’s fate for the state playoffs.

“When you lose a Ryan Hench, you aren’t just losing a quality arm and a quality bat,” Knapp said. “You’re losing an emotional leader. He brings some swag in the lineup. We had to find ourselves for a little bit.”

Despite the injuries and some offensive inconsistency, Orange will enter its two-game series against Person tonight tied with the Rockets for first place in the Central Carolina Conference with a 4-2 record. The Panthers are 11-2 overall and #3 in the 3A East RPI rankings.

Part of the reason why the Panthers have endured is pitching depth. Eight different hurlers have won games this season. That includes junior Coltin Hedrick, who earned his first win against Walter Willams in a 1-0 win on March 26. Hedrick also threw four scoreless relief innings in his first varsity appearance, a 2-1 win over Jordan on March 6. He had his first career save against Cedar Ridge last Thursday.

“Coltin pitched his tail off,” Knapp said after the Williams victory. “He’s been a real pleasant surprise.”

Junior Josiah Gibbs has stepped in as Orange’s Tuesday starter. In his second year on the varsity, Gibbs currently leads the team with three wins and 21.1 innings pitched. His ERA is 2.30.

Knapp’s vision of Utopia for the second half of the season would be to merge the younger players who have stepped up in emergency roles over the past month with a healthy Hench and Clayton back in their regular roles.

Clayton has returned to the rotation and was in midseason form against Cedar Ridge last Thursday, striking out ten over five innings in a 3-1 win.

Regardless of whose pitching, he has a reliable infield around him. Senior shortstop Jackson Berini and senior third baseman Neo Best anchor an infield that has allowed five-or-less runs in eleven of its 13 games.

“Neo found himself at third base later in the season,” Knapp said. “He’s just solid defensively. He’s a leader on the field right beside Berini. He’s always communicating and he’s always talking. He’s doesn’t get enough credit. And Berini is our field general. We expect him to make big plays. They’ve all stepped their game up.”

Person had to deal with some adversity of its own last week. After dropping a 1-0 loss to Northwood in Pittsboro last Tuesday, it appeared the Chargers would complete a two-game sweep on Friday in Roxboro. After playing a scoreless tie through seven innings, Northwood took a 2-0 lead in the tenth inning. With two outs and the bases empty, the Rockets were down to their last strike before Levi Strader stroked a double to centerfield to score Dylan England and Colin Kennedy to tie the game.

In the eleventh, England stroke a walkoff double to centerfield to score Brady Blackwell.If it wasn’t for that, Orange would be in first place in the CCC right now.

Of course, the last time the Rockets face Orange, Person upset the Panthers in the semifinals of the CCC Tournament in Hillsborough. The Rockets went on to win the championship.

The second game of the two-game set has been rescheduled for Wednesday night at Orange. Originally, it was set for Thursday but changed due to rain in the forecast.

The Orange softball team went into Spring Break with real momentum after a come-from-behind win over Person on March 24. Sophomore Rhiley Crabtree hit the game-winning single as the Lady Panthers twice in the sixth inning to defeat the Rockets 4-2. Earlier in the inning, Savannah Wynn knocked in Sadie Cecil with a line drive to left field. It was another big game for junior Caden Robinson, who homered in the seventh inning for insurance. Robinson also had eleven strikeouts. She threw a complete-game four-hitter as Orange improved to 6-2 overall, 3-2 in the Central Carolina Conference. Senior Carson Bradsher, who has committed to play at USC-Upstate, finished 1-for-4. Freshman Katie Carden has become a regular starter at third base as Orange continues to battle some of the best teams in the state in their own conference. On March 20, Orange battled Western Alamance to ten innings in Hillsborough. The Warriors wound up winning 6-2, but Orange had the game-winning run just 60 feet away in the seventh inning. Orange will have a busy week coming up. They will face Falls Lake on Monday night at 6, then travel to Mebane on Tuesday to face Eastern Alamance, the defending 3A State Champions.

The Cedar Ridge women’s soccer team played through the rain to defeat Northern Durham 3-1 on March 17. Lily Dyslin scored the game-winning goal early in the second half as the Red Wolves defeated the Knights for the second time this season. It was the fourth goal this season for Dyslin and the second time she scored against Northern Durham. Sophomore Fleury Nicholson got the insurance goal for Cedar Ridge. Nicholson also had an assist against Northern. Last season as a freshman, Nicholson led Cedar Ridge with 12 goals. This season, she has scored eight goals, including one at Northwood on March 20. Sophomore Celine Galla scored the game-tying goal against the Knights. It was her second goal of the season. Cedar Ridge is 4-5, 1-3 in the Central Carolina Conference. They will resume its season on Monday night against Walter Williams at Red Wolves Stadium. Kickoff is at 6:45.