At the beginning of Tuesday night, the Cedar Ridge softball team wasn’t in the Central Carolina Conference Tournament, which had been narrowed down to four teams.
By the end of the night, they were in the tournament, thanks largely to sophomore pitcher Charlotte Lowry.
With its game against Person tied 2-2, Lowry lifted a two-run homer to deep centerfield for the game-winning runs. Lowry, the Red Wolves pitcher, then protected the lead that she had provided her team by throwing a clean seventh inning to lift Cedar Ridge past Person 4-2 at Red Wolves Field.
Cedar Ridge officially surpassed Person for fourth place in the Central Carolina Conference and earned a spot in the league tournament. On Wednesday night, the Red Wolves will face CCC regular season champion Western Alamance in Elon.
Lowry threw a two-hitter to earn her sixth win of the season. She struck out six over seven innings. It was her seventh complete game of 2023.
Cedar Ridge catcher Reagan Simmons hit her seventh home run of the season to tie the game in the sixth inning. Grace Young reached on an error to begin the frame on a dropped ball at second base. Simmons drove a 1-1 fastball over the fence in centerfield, which is no small task at Cedar Ridge softball park where the centerfield fence is 228 feet, deeper than many college stadiums.
The runs had barely been posted to Cedar Ridge’s left field scoreboard before senior Anaya Carter stroked a triple to right centerfield with one out. That led to Lowry’s game-winning homer.
Person (9-9, 4-7), who lost 1-0 to Western Alamance last week, took the lead in the top of the fifth. Allie Carden led off with an infield single. Carden stole second, then advanced to third on an error. She scored when Camryn Clarke grounded to Carter at shortstop. Carter threw to the plate, but Carden beat it out. Clarke scored when Lindsey Melton laid down a squeeze play. Tori Carden threw to Kimber Shambley to retire Melton. Josey Harris, who reached earlier on a walk, was thrown out when Shambley threw to Carter, who was covering third for a double play.
The game was a defensive struggle most until the fifth inning. Lowry retired Person in order in two of the first three innings. Simmons’ leadoff single in the fourth was the Red Wolves only hit through the first five innings.
Orange 9, Eastern Alamance 4
As a prelude to their matchup in the CCC Tournament, Orange sophomore Sadie Cecil hit her first career home run to propel the Lady Panthers past the defending 3A State Champions.
With the win, Orange ties Eastern Alamance for second place to conclude the regular season. Tonight (Wednesday), the Lady Panthers will travel to Mebane to face the Eagles again for the semifinals of the CCC Tournament.
Senior Brianne “Breezy” Foster earned the win, throwing the final four innings in place of junior Caden Robinson. Foster allowed only two runs off five hits.
On April 4, Eastern Alamance pitcher Delani Straughan held Orange to five hits over seven innings as the Eagles defeated the Lady Panthers 10-3 in Mebane. On Tuesday, Orange connected for 12 hits off Sraughan in seven innings.
Orange struck for two runs in the third when Carson Bradsher lined a single to centerfield. Robinson stroked a liner to left for a double, easily scoring the speedy Bradsher. Freshman Katie Carden hit a sacrifice fly to centerfield to bring in Robinson.
Eastern Alamance freshman Rachel Byrd blasted a solo homer to left field to cut the Orange lead in half in the top of the fourth. Destiny Carriero tied the game with another homer that went over the centerfield wall.
Serenity McPherson put Orange ahead for good when she led off the bottom of the fifth with a single. With Cecil at bat, McPherson stole second. Bradsher slapped a single to center to bring in McPherson and put Orange ahead 3-2. Robinson followed with a grounder to left field, plating Bradsher. Following another hit by Katie Carden, Savannah Wynne lined a double to centerfield, bringing in Carden and Robinson.
Cecil hit a deep fly to centerfield in the sixth inning for a solo home run. Foster retired the Eagles in order in the sixth inning.
In addition to tying Eastern Alamance for second place, Orange also helped its RPI in the 3A East Region. Going into Tuesday night, Orange was #10 while Eastern Alamance was #11.