Jeff Hamlin

Photo by Angie Carden Hurdle

In terms of adversity, it’s already been a long season for Orange softball.

And they just finished their second game.

Before the Lady Panthers started workouts this year, they had already lost their top pitcher, their starting first baseman, their backup pitcher and their starting shortstop for the entire year.

Then again, things are tough all over Hillsborough softball as winter draws to a close. Across town, Cedar Ridge lost second baseman Tori Dalehite, the most accomplished player of the class of 2020, with a torn ACL suffered just as practice was about to start.

In November, Orange’s coaches knew that Jaden Hurdle, a freshman who was the starting first baseman for the 2017 3A State Championship team, would be unlikely to play her senior season. Hurdle tore the ACL in her left knee for the second time in her high school career last summer during travel ball.

The news grew more grim in the winter. Sophomore shortstop Mary Moss Wirt was injured playing basketball at Carrboro on December 12. Wirt, who played 20 games as a freshman, tore her ACL trying to return to action.

On top of that, sophomore pitcher Gracie Walker suffered a torn labrum in her throwing shoulder. She underwent surgery last month and watched Orange’s game against Roxboro Community School with her arm in a sling Thursday night.

In her freshman year, Walker led Orange with eight wins in the circle, including a victory over Jacksonville in the opening round of the 3A State Playoffs. She finished 8-5 with a 2.90 ERA, along with a .414 batting average.

“It put us behind the eight ball,” said Orange Softball Coach Henry Horn. “We’re trying to do all the little things now. We’re giving a lot of kids opportunities. We’re just very young and inexperienced on the mound.”

The silver lining was Orange returned Kelly “Maddy” Bartlett, an all-Big 8 Conference infielder. Naturally, Bartlett was injured while tagging out Roxboro Community School’s Maci Clark at 2nd base in the penultimate out of Thursday night’s game in Hillsborough. Bartlett had to leave the game, forcing Orange to get the last out with four freshmen on the field.

Orange managed to get that last out to beat the Bulldogs 8-5 for its first win of the season. The Lady Panthers trailed 5-4 going into the bottom of the sixth inning, but scored four runs in their final at-bat. Sophomore catcher Lauren Jackson and freshman Serenity McPherson were hit by pitches to open the sixth. Grace Andrews had a critical RBI single to score courtesy runner Brianna Wilkins.

If there is a positive for Orange, it’s that the five freshmen who are already on the varsity roster have plenty of experience winning. McPherson, Carson Bradsher, Savannah Wynne, Briane Foster and Kelsey Tackett were all members of Stanford Middle School’s Orange Person Athletic Conference Championship team from last May.

Bradsher, who hit leadoff for Orange on Thursday, finished 3-for-5 with two runs scored.

“Carson is someone we can play anywhere,” Horn said. “She’s a utility player. Very talented lady.”

Foster earned the save for Orange by retiring the final two Bulldogs.

Hurdle’s absence means that senior first baseman Grace Andrews is the final player remaining from Orange’s State title team. Three years ago, Andrews was a freshman whose insertion into the starting lineup by coach Eddy Davidson required senior Abby Hamlett to move to shortstop, a combination that led Orange to Raleigh and eventually glory.

“We’ve asked her to be a leader,” Horn said. “We need her to get over this hill for us this year. She’s done a really good job to helping the younger players.”

After a rocky start to the season with a 7-1 loss to Holly Springs on Wednesday, Orange’s youth came through on Thursday against a Roxboro Community School team that topped the Panthers twice last season.

“This is nice because they got us twice last year,” Horn said. “This year, I want to get them twice.”

The Orange softball team rallied to defeat Roxboro Community School 6-4 at Orange Softball Field on Thursday night. Puckett went 3-for-3 with two RBIs, including a crucial hit during a four-run sixth inning that led the Lady Panthers to its first win of the season. Sophomore pitcher Courtney Watkins earned her first victory by throwing two-and-one thirds innings. She threw two strikeouts and two runs, neither one earned. Orange trailed 5-4 going into the bottom of the sixth inning before scoring four runs in the sixth. Jackson, who started as a freshman at catcher last year, hit .439 last season with 25 hits and 21 RBIs. On Tuesday, Orange will open Big 8 Conference play at East Chapel Hill. First pitch will be at 4. The Lady Panthers are 1-1.

Considering only 13 miles separate Orange and Eastern Alamance High Schools, it’s somewhat surprising that the last time they played in baseball was 2015.

Back then, Bryse Wilson and Brad Debo were sophomores and Jordan Toney was winding down his stint at Orange en route to pitching at UNC Pembroke.

On Wednesday night, the Panthers made up for lost time in Mebane.

Coming off a disappointing nine-inning loss to Western Alamance in the season opener, Orange jumped out to a 6-0 lead and went on to defeat the Eagles 6-2.

In his first start of the season, Orange starter Jordan Underwood went three innings for the win. Underwood didn’t allow any hits and surrendered two hits, striking out three.

Orange, which didn’t have a hit until the fifth inning against Western Alamance, had five of its six hits in the opening three innings against the Eagles.

Senior shortstop Joey Berini and first baseman Will Walker each finished 1-for-3 with a double.

Orange put the leadoff batter aboard in all seven innings. In the second, sophomore right fielder Connor Funk singled to right field and took second off a error. After catcher Ethan Guentensberger bunted Funk over to third on a sacrifice, Funk scored off a wild pitch while Tucker Miller was at bat.

With two out in the second, Jaren Sikes doubled to right field. In the subsequent at-bat, Bryce Clark sent a bloop to centerfield to bring in Sikes. Later, Sikes advanced to third in the middle of Berini’s second plate appearance, which ended in a walk. Sikes scored off a wild pitch as Cooper Hench was at the plate to put Orange’s lead at 3-0.

Walker opened the third with a double to the left field fence. Underwood, batting cleanup for the first time in his career, knocked in Walker with a sacrifice fly to right field. Underwood, who had only three plate appearances in his varsity career going into Wednesday, picked up his first RBI as a Panther.

Orange broke the game open with two runs in the fourth. Berini drew a leadoff walk and went to second as Hench grounded out to Eastern second baseman Gavin Hughes. Walker was hit by a pitch. With one out, Underwood sent a bouncer back to pitcher Kasen McCawley, who tried but failed to throw Walker out at second. With the bases loaded, Funk was hit by a pitch, which scored Berini. Walker advanced to third and eventually scored off another Eastern wild pitch.

Eastern’s only runs came in the sixth inning. Trevor Moore, who started on the mount. sent a one-out double to left field. Joey Teixeira singled in Moore and eventually wound up a third after an error in the outfield. Eastern’s Wes Barrow singled in Teixeira with a liner to left field.

Orange sophomore Mason Thompson replaced Underwood in the top of the fourth inning. He allowed three hits and two runs with two strikeouts and no walks.

Freshman Ryan Hench threw the final one-and-two-thirds innings. He surrendered only one hit with one strikeout.

Orange will host Northern Guilford on Saturday afternoon at 1 o’clock. You can hear the game on Hillsboroughsports.com starting at 12:55.

On Wednesday night, the Cedar Ridge softball team started its season with an 11-7 win over Cardinal Gibbons in Hillsborough. A year after Takia Nichols hit eight home runs in her freshman year, she started her sophomore season with two more dingers. Nichols finished 3-for-4 with 4 RBIs and three runs scored. Freshman Anaya Carter, whose older sister Tionna played shortstop for the Red Wolves the past three seasons, went 3-for-4 in her first varsity game, scoring twice. Sophomore Olivia Aitkin took the win inside the circle for the Red Wolves. On Friday night, Cedar Ridge will face West Johnston in a playoff rematch. In May, the Red Wolves won a marathon 11-inning game when Tionna Carter got the game-winning hit to send the Red Wolves home with a 4-3 win and into the second round of the state playoffs. Hillsboroughsports.com will broadcast Cedar Ridge vs. West Johnston, which will be played in Hillsborough, on Friday night starting at 6:25. Listen in on the website.

The Orange baseball team got its first win of the season against Eastern Alamance on Wednesday night. Will Walker went 1-for-3 with two runs scored as the Panthers defeated the Eagles 6-2 in the first matchup between the two nearby schools since 2015. Walker had a double to lead off the 3rd inning, and scored off a sacrifice fly from Jordan Underwood. Walker added Orange’s final run in the fourth inning after getting hit by a pitch. He scored off a wild pitch while Tucker Miller was at bat. In the season opener on Monday night, Western Alamance defeated Orange 9-7 in nine innings. Walker had two doubles against the Warriors, including knocking home Joey Berini in the fifth inning. Orange will face Northern Guilford on Saturday in Hillsborough. It will be their third game this week. It’s the Panthers’ final game before they open Big 8 Conference play against East Chapel Hill at home on Tuesday.

There were plenty of Orange Panthers learning on the job to open the 2020 baseball season.

On Monday night, they had plenty of time to get used to life at the varsity level.

In a game that dragged for over three hours and 15 minutes, Western Alamance defeated Orange 9-7 in nine innings. The Warriors appeared to be set to fall after the Panthers loaded the bases in the seventh and eighth innings, each time with less than two out needing only one to win. Each time, the Warrior defense came up with a big play to escape the jam.

In the 9th, Austin St. Laurent opened with a double in the right field gap. He scored off a single from Cody Acosta. Later, Harris Moss scored Acosta on a sacrifice fly for insurance.

On a night where five Orange players made their varsity debut, the Panthers came back from three separate deficits to tie. The Panthers took its only lead of the game when third baseman Cooper Hench blooped a two-out, two-run single to centerfield to score Joey Berini and Jaren Sikes in the bottom of the sixth inning, putting Orange ahead 6-5.

It didn’t last long. In the 7th, Western first baseman Kaden Smith blasted a two-run homer after Acosta drew a leadoff walk.

Trailing 7-6, Orange loaded the bases in the bottom of the seventh. Ryan Hench, in his varsity debut, scored off a balk to tie the game. The bases were still loaded with no out after Hench’s run, but the Warriors got a strikeout from pitcher Cole Huff, followed by a 1-2-3 double play to send the game to extra innings.

In the eighth, Cooper Hench drew a one-out walk, followed by a double down the left field line by Will Walker to send Hench to third. After Ryan Hench was intentionally waked, Huff got another clutch strikeout (on a 3-2 pitch when a walk would have ended the game) and a groundout to send the game into the ninth.

Orange’s entire outfield played its first varsity game. Berini’s younger brother, Jackson, entered the game in the fourth inning after playing for Stanford last year.

With Cooper Porter’s transfer to Wilson Fike, Orange only had four starters from last year in the lineup. One of those, senior designated hitter Dayne Watkins, was injured in the fifth inning running out a ground ball and didn’t return.

“It was a character game for us,” said Orange coach Jason Knapp. “I think we’re going to grow leaps and bounds from this game. We learned a lot about ourselves as individuals and baseball players. We fought. It just didn’t go our way at the end of the day.”

It was Orange’s longest game since the May 16, 2017 state playoff game against West Brunswick. The Trojans won 2-1 in nine innings to advance to the state quarterfinals after tying the game in the seventh inning.

At times, Orange’s youth was painfully apparent. Playing on a blustery night that made fly balls tricky, the Panthers finished with seven errors. Orange left 13 men on base.

Orange trailed 2-0 at the end of a half inning. Joey Berini, who finished 2-for-5 with three runs scored, scored in the bottom of the first inning off a bases loaded walk from Watkins. Connor Funk knocked in Cooper Hench off a fielder’s choice ground out to even the game.

“The team has a lot of character,” Knapp said. “They work hard in the offseason. They play hard together. We did ourselves in a whole with errors. At the end of the day, this team fought hard and as a coach that’s all you can ask for.”

High school baseball coaches plan their schedules and Mother Nature laughs.

Often, she’ll also have a high likelihood of rain in the forecast for opening day whenever the Orange Panthers are concerned.

That was the situation last year when Orange was slated to face Ragsdale in Hillsborough for Jason Knapp’s first game as the coach of the Panthers. So instead of playing in Hillsborough, the Panthers cruised to an 18-1 win in Jamestown.

Originally, Orange was supposed to start the 2020 season against Western Alamance at Panther Field on Tuesday. But with a 50% chance of rain, the game was rescheduled over the weekend to Monday night.

Knapp started last season without his top two pitchers from the previous season. He will open his second season the same way.

Luke Riley, his opening day starter who went 4-4 with a 4.12 ERA last season, graduated last June. Cooper Porter, who started at Orange since his freshman year at six different positions, went 3-0 in 12 appearances last season. In January, Porter transferred to Wilson Fike.

Porter’s departure leaves Orange a much younger team that will be anchored by shortstop Joey Berini, a four-year starter who committed to East Carolina last year. Berini, who hit .541 with 33 hits and 26 RBIs with a team-high 35 runs scores, was the Big 8 Player of the Year in 2019.

After the graduations of Riley, Porter, Dante DeFranco, Colin Guentensberger, and Tucker Joseph, the Panthers are left with four returning starters.

Berini, first baseman Dayne Watkins, left fielder Tucker Miller and third baseman Cooper Hench were all regular starters in 2019.

In 20 games last year, Watkins hit .339 with 19 hits, 17 runs and eight doubles. Miller, a rotation player for the Orange men’s basketball team the past two seasons, hit .280 last year.

Hench split time between third base and on the mound in 2019. He hit .500 in 76 plate appearances. He was tied for second on the team with 31 hits. Hench also earned a critical win in Orange’s Big 8 Conference opener against East Chapel Hill, which was the only league loss for the Wildcats the whole year.

As for pitching, Hench and junior Jordan Underwood are the most experienced arms still on the roster. Underwood earned wins against Hillside, Cedar Ridge and Northern Durham last season. He made eight appearances on the hill in 2019, the longest coming in the 13-2 win over the Hornets on March 22 in Durham. Underwood went five innings and surrendered four hits, two runs and two walks with five strikeouts. It was his first varsity win.

While Colin Guentensberger graduated and is braving the final days of winter at Appalachian State, his younger brother Ethan is a senior with the Panthers. He may replace Joseph as the starter behind the plate.

New to Orange this season is freshman Jackson Berini, Joey’s younger brother who started at shortstop for Stanford Middle School last season. Jackson was also the leadoff batter for a Chargers team that won the Orange-Person Athletic Conference Northern Division Championship, and fell to Smith Middle School in the OPAC title game.

While rain is forecast throughout the week, Orange has a road trip to Eastern Alamance scheduled for Thursday, followed by a home game against Northern Guilford on Saturday.

Hillsboroughsports.com will broadcast the Orange-Western Alamance game tonight starting at 6:50pm. First pitch is at 7.

Brandon Homsey: As a sophomore, Homsey has qualified for the NCAA Division III Wrestling Tournament. Competing for Ferrum College, Homsey finished third in the NCAA Southeast Regional at Messiah College in Mechanicsburg, PA over the weekend. On Friday, Homsey lost his opening match to Washington & Jefferson’s Alex Donahue 3-1 in overtime. That left Homsey needing to win four matches to qualify for the national championships. He started Saturday by pinning Waynesboro University’s Adam Rigney. Homsey earned a 3-0 decision over Jack Bauer of Wilkes University, then rolled past Michael Reinhart of York University 7-1. Homsey received a medical forfeit against McDaniel College’s Anthony Wuest, then won a rematch over Donahue with a 10-0 decision in the third-place match. Homsey is 33-10 with four pins this season.

Landon Riley: The Liberty baseball team combined for its first no-hitter in 20 years when they defeated Marist 6-4 at Worthington Field on Saturday afternoon. Three pitchers participated in the no-no and Riley earned his first victory of the season in relief as the Flames won its fifth straight game. In two innings, Riley faced six batters and struck out three of them. Marist scored four runs on eight walks, three hit batters and an error, but no hits. On Friday, Riley earned his third save as the Flames defeated the Red Foxes 4-3. Riley retired four batters, striking out two and walked one. Liberty has won six in a row. They’re scheduled to host Elon on Tuesday in Lynchburg, VA.

Brad Debo: The #8 N.C. State baseball team swept all three games in the CambriaCollegeClassic at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis over the weekend. On Saturday, the Wolfpack defeated Purdue 6-0. Debo went 1-for-2 with a run scored. It was his only action of the weekend. N.C. State is 11-0.

Phillip Berger: Berger suffered his first loss at William Peace University against Greensboro College on Saturday. The Pride defeated the Pacers 11-8 at Ted Leonard Park in Greensboro. Berger threw two-and-two-thirds innings. He surrendered eight runs on six hits. He walked three and struck out three. Peace falls to 9-3, 1-2 in the USA South Athletic Conference after dropping two of three against the Pride.

Montana Davidson: The Mississippi State softball team won the Alex Wilson Memorial Tournament over the weekend, finishing 5-0 against UAB, Alcorn State, and UT Martin. On Sunday, the Bulldogs swept a doubleheader, beating Alcorn State 9-1 and UT Martin 6-1. Montana went 3-for-5 on the day, including going 2-for-3 against the Skyhawks. It was her second multi-hit game of the year. She tied her career high with four assists against the Braves. She went 1-for-3 with a run scored against UAB in a 16=6 win over the Blazers on Friday.

Mia Davidson: Mia made her first start of the season at third base during Mississippi State’s win over Alcorn State on Saturday. She eventually moved across the diamond to first base for the first time in her college career. Mia went 1-for-4 in Saturday’s game against the Braves, which extended her hitting streak to eight, the longest by any Bulldog this season. The streak was snapped the following day in Sunday’s win over the Braves when Mia went 0-for-3 with two runs scored and an RBI. On Friday, Mia went 1-for-4 with a double in the win over UAB. Mississippi State is 18-3 . They will host UT Martin on Monday afternoon.

Lauren Cates: The Wake Tech Community College women’s basketball team surprised Louisburg College 87-73 in its regular season finale on Saturday at the Taylor Center in Louisburg. Lauren Cates, a freshman for the Eagles, returned to the starting lineup and scored 16 points off 5-of-9 shooting from the field. Cates was 4-of-6 from three-point range. She also had eight rebounds and three assists as Wake Tech avenged a 14-point loss from January. Wake Tech completed the regular season 18-7. They will travel to the Region 10 Tournament in Martinsville, VA, where they will open against USC Salkehatchie on Thursday night at 6 PM.