The Orange baseball team will play for the Central Carolina Conference Tournament championship on Thursday night. The Panthers defeated Cedar Ridge 8-5 in the CCC semifinals behind a three-run homer from senior Ryan Hench in the sixth inning. Hench also earned the win on the mound, his first victory since March 8, when he suffered an injury against Grimsley in Greensboro. Hench threw four-plus innings and yielded just two runs off two hits. Senior right fielder David Waitt went 2-for-4 to extend his hitting streak to six games, which leads the team. Waitt had an RBI single during a 5-run second inning. Waitt also scored in the sixth when Hench launched a three-run homer. It was Hench’s third homer this season and his first in Hillsborough. The Panthers are now 21-2 as they gear up to face Walter Williams on Thursday night in Hillsborough. Orange has won 14 in a row. The Bulldogs handed the Panthers its last loss on March 21, a 1-0 defeat in Burlington. On March 24, Orange defeated Williams 1-0. The Panthers have won ten straight games against CCC opponents. The nine Orange seniors will be playing for its fourth championship on Thursday night. They won a share of the 2021 Big 8 Conference regular season championship, and captured the 2022 and 2023 CCC regular season championships.