When Orange baseball started its season against Riverside, sophomore Tyler Thompson was on the junior varsity squad. On March 25, Thompson made his varsity debut and threw five shutout innings. He surrendered just two hits against Heritage, striking out seven. Thompson has started weekly ever since, earning his first win against Chapel Hill on March 30. On Tuesday night, Thomson earned a complete game victory over Apex Friendship, allowing just one run in five innings as the Panthers defeated the Patriots 11-1 in Hillsborough. Thompson is now 3-0 with a 1.14 earned run average. Last Friday, Thompson earned the victory in Orange’s 6-2 victory over South Granville in Hillsborough. It was the Vikings first loss in Big 7 Conference play this season. Thompson allowed just two hits against the Vikings in four innings. Cam Brown worked the final three innings to pick up the save. With six games remaining in the regular season, Orange had won seven of its last eight games. The Panthers are 11-7 overall, 4-3 in the Big 7. Coming up tonight (Friday), the Panthers will face Durham School of the Arts in Hillsborough. It will be Senior Night for six Orange players. The Panthers will have three games next week, including a two-game conference series against J.F. Webb. The Warriors will visit Hillsborough on Tuesday.
