Cedar Ridge Softball

Cedar Ridge captured its first conference softball championship in school history on Tuesday with a 22-0 win over Southern Durham. Left fielder Amy Stutzer scored two runs after walking twice. Going into the regular season finale on Thursday, Stutzer is hitting .250. On top of winning the conference championship on Tuesday, Stutzer celebrated her birthday on Wednesday. Her mother made sure the occasion was equipped with the right refreshments.

Cedar Ridge LF Amy Stutzer Discusses Winning a Conference Championship on her Birthday

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The Cedar Ridge softball team was supposed to play Hillside on Tuesday, but they were rained out. Rain has been the only thing that has stopped the Red Wolves this season. After sweeping the two-game series against East Chapel Hill last week, the Red Wolves are 10-1 overall, 9-0 in the Big 8. In Friday’s 8-1 win, sophomore 1st baseman Tori Dalehite went 2-for-4 with 3 RBIs, including a triple. Dalehite, playing her first varsity season, leads the team with a .529 batting average. She leads the team in hits (18), runs scored (17), RBIs (16), triples (5) and on-base percentage (.579). 

Cedar Ridge 1st Baseman Tori Dalehite talks Sweeping East Chapel Hill & the State Playoffs

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Mia Davidson: For the 3rd time this season, Davidson was named the SEC Rookie of the Week after Mississippi State took two-of-three games from archrival Ole Miss. On April 16, Davidson hit her 15th home run on a 7-6 loss to the Rebels, tying her with Georgia’s Alyssa DiCarlo for the SEC lead. Against Ole Miss, Davidson went 6-for-10 with a double, a home run and three RBI. On Friday, Davidson hit her 16th homer against #5 Florida in a 8-3 loss. Mississippi State is now 33-15 overall, 6-12 in the SEC. Davidson was also named a Top 25 Finalist for the National Freshman of the Year by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association. Davidson has started all 48 games for the Bulldogs, leading the team with a .413 batting average with 16 home runs and 41 RBIs (team lead in the latter two categories). She also leads the team with 13 doubles, 127 total bases and a .480 on base percentage. Davidson is two home runs away from tying Iyhia McMichael for the school single-season record.

Rachel Peel: The Meredith Softball team ended its season over the weekend with a four-game, non-conference road series. Pfeiffer swept the Avenging Angles 8-0 and 4-3. Meredith defeated Guilford 9-0 to end the season 28-17. Against the Quakers, former Orange catcher Rachel Peel went 2-for-4 with 4 RBI and a double. In the first inning, Peel knocked in Alyssa Drake on an RBI fielder’s choice. In the next frame, Peel laced an RBI single to right, scoring Kelsey Mabe. In the 6th, Peel doubled to left field to bring in Drake and Mabe. In the 4-3 loss to Pfeiffer, Peel went 1-for-4 with a run scored. In 23 games this season, Peel hit .323 with 21 hits, five doubles and eleven RBI. Peel was named to the USA South Conference East Division first team, one of eight Avenging Angels honored.

Bryse Wilson: The 2016 Orange graduate got a no-decision on Saturday afternoon as the Florida Fire Frogs defeated the Lakeland Flying Tigers 7-5 at Osceola County Stadium. Wilson gave up four hits and four runs, only one earned, through four-and-two-thirds innings, striking out five and walking two. On April 15, Wilson earned his first win of the season against the Palm Beach Cardinals, throwing five shutout innings and yielding only one hit. Wilson struck out five and walked none. Through three games, Wilson is 1-0 with a 0.68 ERA with 15 strikeouts and three walks.

Mackenzie Cates: Lenoir-Rhyne Softball captured the South Atlantic Conference regular season championship outright on April 14 after sweeping a doubleheader from Carson-Newman in Jefferson City, Tennessee. The Bears captured the nightcap 7-5 in eight innings. In that game, former Orange catcher Mackenzie Cates hit her team-record 12th home run of the season in the 7th inning. On Wednesday, Lenoir-Rhyne swept another doubleheader from Newberry, 11-0 and 6-3. In the opener, Cates hit a three-run homer. On Friday, King College ended Lenoir-Rhyne’s 16-game winning streak with a 2-1 defeat of the Bears. The Tornado went on to capture game two 4-3. Lenoir Rhyne will be the top seed in the South Atlantic Conference Softball Championship starting Saturday in Anderson, S.C. Cates leads Lenoir-Rhyne with 12 home runs and 42 RBIs. She also hitting .347.

Jordan Toney: The former Orange pitcher has seen increased action for Division II UNC Pembroke recently. Toney started against Flagler on Saturday, throwing six-and-a-third innings, giving up six hits, three runs. He took a no decision as Pembroke won 5-3. On April 18th, Toney threw an inning of mop-up duty as Pembroke put away Coker 15-9. Toney struck out two while giving up one run and two hits. Against North Georgia in April 14th, Toney threw a season-high eight innings, giving up eight hits, four runs (two earned), while striking out two in a no decision. The Nighthawks defeated the Braves 5-4 in eleven innings. Toney took his third win of the season in an 8-4 win over Francis Marion. Toney tossed seven shutout innings, scattering six hits

Stephen Tanner: The former Cedar Ridge goalkeeper ended the season over the weekend with Greensboro College. The Pride lost to Huntingdon 12-5 in the USA South Athletic Conference Tournament in Lagrange, GA on April 14. Tanner made eight saves in the loss. Tanner, a senior, 8-9 with a 9.12 Goals Against Average.

Cole Churchill: Churchill saw action as a defenseman for Randolph-Macon in the Yellow Jackets 25-4 win over Randolph on Saturday.

Bowen Collins: Lenoir-Rhyne capture the South Atlantic Conference regular season championship after beating Coker 15-7 on Saturday. Collins played in the game late for the Bears.

Zach Wright: The former Orange attacker fired two shots as Mars Hill defeated Newberry 10-9 on Saturday. It was the Lions 2nd win of the season.

The Cedar Ridge Softball team took control of the Big 8 Conference on Tuesday afternoon with a 5-1 victory at East Chapel Hill. The Red Wolves are now the only undefeated team remaining in Big 8 play at 8-0, while East suffered its first conference loss. Catcher Kymberlie Thacker hit her team-leading 4th home run of the season in the 5th. Thacker played through pain in the 7th when her glove hand was accidentally hit by a bat. Thacker received treatment for her index finger, but finished the game. Cedar Ridge will host the Wildcats in Hillsborough on Friday as the Red Wolves search for its first conference championship in softball this decade. 

Cedar Ridge Softball Catcher Kymberlie Thacker Discusses Homer vs. East Chapel HIll

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In a stretch of three games in four days, the Cedar Ridge softball team hasn’t shown any signs of relenting from its dominant ways.

On Friday, the Red Wolves defeated Northern Durham 5-1 to remain atop the Big 8 Conference with a 5-1 win over the Knights in Durham. Cedar Ridge, now 8-1 overall and 7-0 in the Big 8. The Red Wolves are tied with East Chapel Hill for first place with a showdown series against the Wildcats set for next week, starting Tuesday at East.

Once again, Cedar Ridge senior pitcher Rivers Andrews overwhelmed batters over the course of a sweep of Northern Durham and a victory over 15-0 Chapel Hill on Wednesday.

In Tuesday’s 11-1 win over Northern, Andrews threw her second no-hitter of the season, striking out eight. Junior shortstop Tionna Carter laced two doubles, racking up two RBIs. Sophomore Tori Dalehite, hitting leadoff, went 2-for-4 with a double and a triple. Junior Taylor Ruhl set the pace with a home run in the first inning, her first dinger of the season.

Catcher Kymberlie Thacker ripped two triples and had two RBIs.

On Wednesday against Chapel Hill, Thacker belted two home runs, each two-run blasts. Dalehite scored three times, while Ruhl added another triple in a game shortened to three innings.

Friday’s 5-1 win over Northern was the closest anyone in the Big 8 has come to beating the Red Wolves. But Andrews was the common denominator, striking out 18 and throwing a two-hitter.

In the first, Dalehite drew a leadoff walk, and circled the bases during an at-bat by Ruhl. Dalehite stole 2nd, went to third on a passed ball and scored on a passed ball.

Carter followed with a triple to center, and scored on another passed ball as Andrews was at the plate. Northern came back in the bottom of the first with a solo homer from McKenzie McCullen, the first home run Andrews has surrendered this season.

The Red Wolves scored the final five runs of the game, starting in the third inning. After Dalehite drew a leadoff walk, Carter was hit by a pitch. With Andrews hitting, Dalehite and Carter each moved up a base after a passed ball. On the next pitch, Dalehite scored off another passed ball. With two out, Thacker plated Carter with an RBI double to put Cedar Ridge ahead 4-1.

In the top of the fourth, juniors Kara Wagoner and Taylor Barnes hit consecutive singles. Wagoner came in on a wild pitch.

After McCullen’s homer, Northern only had four batters reach base in the final six innings. The Knights had just one hit the rest of the way and no one touched third base.

Cedar Ridge plays at East Chapel Hill on Tuesday, then welcomes the Wildcats to Hillsborough on Friday. In addition, Cedar Ridge will play a nonconference game at Eastern Guilford on Wednesday.

Bryse Wilson: 2016 Orange graduate Bryse Wilson was assigned by the Atlanta Braves organization to the Florida Fire Frogs of the Class A Florida State League to start his 2nd full professional season. Wilson was supposed to make his Florida debut on Friday against the Daytona Tortugas, but the game was rained out. The Florida State League is High-A baseball in the minor league structure, a step up from the South Atlantic League, where Wilson played with the Rome Braves in 2017. Last year, Wilson went 11-8 with a 2.20 ERA through 32 starts. Wilson had 168 strikeouts with 45 walks.

Mia Davidson: In the last two weeks, the Mississippi State Bulldogs have faced #10 Texas A&M and #6 Georgia. MSU, ranked #22 as of last week, went combined for a 1-5 record against the Bulldogs and the Aggies. Davidson, a freshman catcher, hit .263 against Georgia and Texas A&M with two doubles and a home run. Davidson currently leads the SEC in slugging percentage (.843), is 2nd in home runs (13), 3rd in hits (52), 5th in runs scored (38), 5th in doubles (12), 9th in batting average (.409) and tied for 12th in RBIs (34). The Bulldogs are currently 29-11 with an 4-8 SEC record.

Mackenzie Cates: Lenoir-Rhyne swept a doubleheader against Mars Hill on Sunday, winning 6-5 and 10-1. It was the Bears Senior Day. Former Orange High catcher Mackenzie Cates combined to go 2-for-6 in the doubleheader with a double, a triple, two runs scored and an RBI. Cates is hitting .353 with nine home runs (3rd in the South Atlantic Conference) and 30 RBIs (9th in the SAC). The Bears are ranked #12 in Division II, has won ten in a row and is 20-0 at home this year. The Bears have also won 34 of their last 36 contests and maintained their four-game lead in the SAC.

Brad Debo: The former Orange catcher appeared as a pinch-hitter on Friday and Saturday in the Wolfpack’s series against Louisville. This season, Debo has played in 25 games and is hitting .264 with one home run and 13 RBIs. N.C. State, 25-6, has reached #2 in the country in the Baseball America, Perfect Game and Collegiate Baseball polls, matching the highest ranking in school history.

Brandon Andrews: The 2017 Cedar Ridge graduate threw an inning of mop up duty against #17 LSU on April 3rd, giving up only one hit. So far in his freshman season, Andrews has pitched in eight games, throwing nine innings with a 7.00 ERA. Andrews has struck out five and walked two.

Rachel Peel: The Meredith catcher went 1-for-3 against Ferrum in sweeping a first-round USA Conference Series on Friday. Meredith advanced to face Covenant on Friday. In 19 games this season, Peel has hit .280 with one home run and seven RBIs.

Stephen Tanner: The former Cedar Ridge goalkeeper earned the win on Sunday as Greensboro College defeated Randolph College 9-7. Tanner made nine saves. Tanner is 8-8 for the Pride this season. Tanner is third in the USA South Atlantic Conference (Division III) with 150 saves and is 5th with an 8.96 goals against average.

Cole Churchill: Now a junior defenseman with Randolph-Macon, Churchill has seen action in nine games. Last week, Churchill got the start in the Yellow Jackets’ 10-7 at Bridgewater, Virginia.

Bowen Collins: The former Orange High midfielder fired two shots as Lenoir-Rhyne defeated Lincoln Memorial 14-11 on Saturday. The Bears are now 12-1, ranked #3 in Division II. They lead the South Atlantic Conference with a 5-0 league mark. This season in eight games, Collins has scored four goals and two assists.

Zack Wright: The former Orange attacker started and got off two shots in Mars Hill’s 19-7 loss at Queens. This season, Wright has played in three games and scored two goals.

Normally, we at HillsboroughSports.com don’t like to repeat too many of the same winners for the athlete of the week in too short of a time frame. But a perfect game is a perfect game, which is what Rivers Andrews threw against Orange last week. She struck out 20. Orange batters when Cedar Ridge defeated Orange 4-0 on Wednesday. The next night, Andrews earned another win against the Lady Panthers, striking out eight. It was the first time that Cedar Ridge has swept Orange this decade. Through six games so far this season, Andrews is 5-1 with a whopping 78 strikeouts and just four walks.

Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week: Rivers Andrews

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Seven innings, three hits, four runs and six strikeouts.

Ordnarily, Orange’s Jaden Hurdle’s pitching line would be more than enough for victory.

But not on Wednesday night, because no one can beat perfect.

That’s what Cedar Ridge’s Rivers Andrews was against Orange. Not only perfect, but untouchable.

Andrews struck out 20 Panthers out of 21 batters she faced. Only Alysann Lloyd was able to put the ball in fair play, grounding out to second. Every other Lady Panther went down on strikes.

Cedar Ridge defeated Orange 4-0. Sophomore Tori Daltehite went 2-for-3 with an RBI single in the 2nd iinning. Tionna Carter had the only CRHS hit, and scored off a sacrifice fly from Taylor Ruhl.

It was a performance reminiscent of the last time Cedar Ridge defeated Orange on April 26, 2016. Andrews struck out 14 Lady Panthers, including Mia and Montana Davidson, to propel the Red Wolves to an 8-2 win. That night, the Orange batters walked six times and collected two hits.

The Red Wolves remain tied for 1st place with East Chapel Hill in the Big 8 Conference with a 3-0 record, 4-1 overall. Orange, who was swept by East Chapel Hill in a doubleheader two weeks ago, falls to 4-4 overall, 2-3 in the Big 8.

Cedar Ridge will host Orange on Thursday at 6:30 to conclude the two-game series. The Red Wolves will go for its first season sweep of the Panthers this decade.

A year ago, the gap between Orange and Cedar Ridge softball seemed wider than ever.

Orange had the North Carolina Gatorade Player of the Year in catcher Mia Davidson, now starting for Mississippi State. The Lady Panthers swept the Red Wolves, including a game at OHS that ended 15-0 in just three innings. A month later, Orange would claim the 3A state championship, long after the Red Wolves had ended a 6-12 campaign.

When the crosstown rivals start a two-game series tonight at Orange, things figure to be considerably different. Of course, Orange lost Davidson, shortstop Abby Hamlett and pitcher Christina Givens to graduation. Those departures were a foregone conclusion.

What Orange parents and fans didn’t expec at the end of lose season would be to lose head coach Eddie Davidson just days before the season opener against Eastern Alamance on March 7th. Henry Horn, who left softball coaching after a stint at Northern Durham and didn’t have any intention to return until Mia Davidson persuaded him back into it, is now the interim head coach.

With all the changes, Orange is 3-3, already as many losses as they had in all of 2017. They’re 2-2 in the Big 8, two games behind conference leader East Chapel Hill.

On the other end of town, Cedar Ridge stormed out of the gates 3-0, including a resounding sweep of Northwood to open the Big 8 campaign. Despite losing to Roxboro Community School on Monday night to drop to 3-1, the Red Wolves will have confidence agains the Lady Panthers because of two players who didn’t play last season.

Senior pitcher Rivers Andrews is 3-1 with a 0.58 ERA. he has 50 strikeouts and four walks. A third-year varsity starter, Andrews has had past success against Orange. In her sophomore season, with Mia and Montana Davidson in the starting lineup, Andrews struck out 14 in an 8-2 Cedar Ridge win. Three nights later, she fanned 13 Panthers, but Orange won 3-1 behind a two-run single from Mia Davidson. Andrews went 14-6 her sophomore season with 243 strikeouts.

Just as Cedar Ridge struggled to find a replacement for Andrews last seaosn, Orange has been hard pressed to find a replacement for Davidson, which was hardly unpredictable since she was the most accomplished female athlete in school history. Yet both of the catchers on Orange’s roster played at Stanford Middle School last year. Originally, freshman Hunter Balog was penciled into Davidson’s spot, but she was hit in the head by a practice ball the night before the season opener against Eastern Alamance. Alaysia Sanford, who was supposed to play junior varsity, was rushed to the main roster as the emergency replacement.

Another factor for Cedar Ridge has been the emergence of sophomore Tori Dalehite, who missed last season after tearing her ACL in the first high school basketball game she ever played in. While going hitless on Monday against RCS, Dalehite is still hitting .615 with seven RBIs through her first four varsity games. In fact, she homered in her first high school game against Eastern Alamance.

Kymberlie Thacker is hitting .357 for Cedar Ridge, while junior Tionna Carter is hitting .287.

Orange has depth of its own. Alisha Pettiford hit two home runs during a doubleheader with East Chapel Hill. Freshman shortstop Emma Puckett went 3-for-4 in her first varsity game, also against Eastern Alamance.

The first game of the two-game series will be tonight at Orange starting at 6:30. Cedar Ridge will host Thursday night’s game also at 6:30.