Similarities between baseball’s regular season and the state playoffs are strictly coincidental.
An Orange team that completed the regular season winning 14 of its last 16 games couldn’t find the offense when it mattered most against a longtime rival on Friday night. It led to the end of its season.
Person, who lost four of its last five games in April, opened with seven unanswered runs and cruised to a 10-6 win over the Panthers in the 2nd round of the 5A State Playoffs in Hillsborough. Senior pitcher Ethan Norris attacked Orange from both ends, delivering a solo homer to trigger a five-run third inning that the Panthers never recovered from.
Norris also retired the Panthers in order three times and allowed just one earned run in the first six innings.
Person (15-7), who defeated Southern Guilford in the opening round, will travel to Rockingham County for the round of 16 on Tuesday night.
Orange ends the year 17-8. It’s the first time since 2021 that the Panthers didn’t win a postseason game.
Sophomore Tyler Thompson, who was called up from the junior varsity team at midseason when Orange started 3-5, got the start in his first postseason game. After starting the year 5-0, Thompson walked six batters in two-and-two-thirds innings, allowing six earned runs.
“We were really trying to keep a rhythm as we were preparing for tonight,” said Orange head coach Jason Knapp. “I think keeping a routine is important in this game. We tried to do the best we can to keep a routine. I thought Tyler came out and competed. It just didn’t go his way. Person swings the sticks. They have all year and we knew we were going to have to negotiate a tough lineup.”
From the start, things felt awry for Orange. It appeared Thompson would escape a jam in the opening inning after Dylan Leograndge flew out to Cam Brown in right field. But Thompson was called for a balk before the pitch, allowing Troy Davis, who walked earlier, to score the opening run.
Orange was poised to make Person’s lead short-lived. Kayden Bradsher was hit by a pitch, followed by a single from J.P. Rodio over second base. After Bradsher and Rodio each moved up 90 feet after a groundout by Oliver Van Tiem, Mason Bullard bounced a ball back to Norris on the mound. Norris forced Bradsher into a rundown with catcher Carter Hodgin tagging him out.
Norris led off the third with a classic Orange High porch shot over the left field fence. The Rockets forced Thompson to work for his outs. Berry drew a bases-loaded walk to score Davis with two outs. On the next pitch, Sam Norris was hit by a pitch to bring in Gavin Dodson to push the Rockets lead to 3-0. Wyatt Carden delivered the biggest blow, a two-run single down scoreboard alley in right centerfield to bring in Hodgin and Berry.
Person would push its lead to 7-0 after a one-out home run by Brady Holmes to lead off the fourth inning, the first ball to go over the right field fence at Orange High field all year.
Norris retired seven in a row before Van Tiem singled to open the fourth inning. Van Tiem ended the season on a 19-game hitting streak.
D.J. Woods delivered a double to centerfield. Cam Brown drove in the final run of his Orange career with a single.
Person pushed its lead to 10-1 before Orange made things interesting in the seventh. Wren Hash led off with a double. After Gary Miller walked, Bradsher delivered a courageous at-bat where he fouled a pitch off his left knee. Bradsher limped heavily but stayed in the game, ultimately drilling a single to centerfield to score Hash. After Rodio walked, Mason Bullard ended a solid season with a two-run single to right field. Bullard wound up at third base after a throwing error. Courtesy runner Allen Flores scored after Carden was called for a balk to make it 10-6.
