Any trip to Western Alamance is long enough for a team from Hillsborough.
It’s about a 35 minute trip and baseball games usually start at 7PM. On a decent night, coaches drive the team bus back to the Orange Transportation Garage at around 10.
It wasn’t a decent night on Tuesday. It was nine innings long. Cedar Ridge worked well into the night for what turned out to be a rewarding win in Elon.
Sophomore Nick Aitkin threw three-and-one-thirds innings of relief to earn the victory as the Red Wolves defeated the Warriors 2-1 in nine innings. Caden Thompson, serving as a pinch runner for freshman Hudson Kelly, scored the game-winning run off a passed ball in the top of the ninth. With one out, Kelly got a board off an error by Western shortstop Cooper Marks. After Landon Dalehite drew a walk against Western’s Eli Abbott, Thompson replaced Kelly and immediately stole third.
The Warriors mounted a threat in the bottom of the ninth when Noah Huffine drew a leadoff walk. Following a fly out by Jackson Rippy to Mason Cates in right field, Fred Harrelson walked sending Colton McCoy (replacing Huffine as a pinch runner) to second. Aitkin struck out a Warrior for the second outlet. Ian McGuffey took a grounder at third base and chunked it to first for the final out.
It was a long wait between runs for the Red Wolves, who scored in the first. McGuffey sliced a single to left field, then stole second with John Grove at the plate. Aitkin, who started the game at shortstop, slammed a hard grounder up the middle to bring in McGuffey.
McGuffey started as pitcher and threw five-and-one-thirds innings. He allowed just four hits and struck out six.
The Warriors only run was unearned. In the bottom of the fifth inning, Harrelson started with a single to left field. Bryce Renner laid down a sacrifice bunt to third base. Harrelson went to third off the bunt, then scored off a passed ball with William Patillo at bat.
The Warriors threatened to take the lead in the sixth when Marks hit a leadoff single. Huffine walked with one out, which led to Aitkin replacing McGuffey on the mound. Rippy grounded into a double play with Kelly throwing to Grant McGuffey at second. McGuffey threw to Quinn Finnegan for the double play.
On Wednesday night, the Red Wolves won a pitcher’s dual with a 3-2 win over Chapel Hill at Tiger Stadium. Cedar Ridge junior Quinn Finnegan earned the win by throwing four shutout innings. Mason Cates picked up his first save of the season, blanking the Tigers in the final two-and-two-thirds innings, striking out three.
Finnegan helped his own cause in the third inning with a double that went over the head of right fielder Sam Elston. After Ian McGuffey walked, John Grove stroked a grounder to shortstop that reached shallow left field. McGuffey, who stole second, scored along with Finnegan.
Dalehite walked to open the fifth inning. Ian McGuffey lined a double across the third base line, scoring Dalehite from second base.
Chapel Hill made a threat with two runs in the bottom of the fifth. Teagan Coynesmith and Bryan Castevens each drew walks. Then Tyler Oliaro was hit by a pitch, loading the bases. Asher Harward, running for Castevens, scored off a passed ball. James Staats grounded out to Grant McGuffey, which scored Conyesmith to trim the Red Wolf lead to 3-2. Mason Cates struck out Austin Campos, while Oliaro was tagged out at the plate trying to score on a wild pitch to end the inning.
Cates retired the final six Tigers in order in the sixth and seventh inning.
Cedar Ridge will host Western Alamance tonight for Senior Night in Hillsborough. Seniors Landon Dalehite, Mason Cates, Rayshawn Page, Joel Davis and Kevin Jones will be honored.