Cedar Ridge High School

It didn’t take Crash Davis to bust into a ballpark in the wee hours of the morning to create a rainout for the Hilltop Invitational’s planned tripleheader at Durham Bulls Athletic Park on Saturday.

All that was needed was the latest forecast for rain—and more snow.

Originally, Orange and Cedar Ridge were supposed to conclude the Hilltop Invitational on Saturday at Durham Bulls Athletic Park, the famed home of the Durham Bulls during its days as the Carolina League affiliate of the Atlanta Braves from 1980-1996. Those plans changed on Tuesday night when forecasts of wet snowflakes began circulating locally with predicted lows below freezing.

Instead of a three-day event, the annual Hilltop Invitational will be two days at Orange, Cedar Ridge, East Chapel Hill and Chapel Hill High Schools.

On Thursday at Orange High School, Panther Creek will face Orange at 1 to start a tripleheader. East Chapel Hill meets Panther Creek in the sandwich game at 4. Orange faces Wake County HomeSchools in the nightcap at 7.

Chapel Hill will host the other tripleheader on Thursday. Starting at 1, Cedar Ridge faces Jordan. The Red Wolves turn right back around to face First Colonial (out of Virginia Beach, Virginia) at 4. Jordan takes on Chapel Hill in the nightcap at 7.

On Friday, play continues at three separate locations. Cedar Ridge, East Chapel Hill and Chapel Hill all host doubleheaders.

At Cedar Ridge, Orange hosts First Colonial at 1. Wake County Homeschools faces Cedar Ridge at 5.

At East Chapel Hill, the Wildcats will play both ends of a twinbill: they face Wake County at 1, followed by Jordan.

At Chapel Hill, the Tigers will also play two consecutive games. They host First Colonial at 5, followed by a game with Panther Creek at 7.

Unlike other Easter tournaments around the state, the Hilltop doesn’t follow a standard knockout tournament format. It’s simply a way for teams to get three nonconference games in during the crunch of conference season.

But these are not inconsequential games for Orange and Cedar Ridge. After the two crosstown rivals split their series last week, Orange is 6-5 overall and 4-2 in the Big 8 Conference, tied for 3rd with Northern Durham. After playing three games in two days in the Hilltop, Orange faces defending Big 8 Champion Northwood in a two-game set next week, starting with a home game on Tuesday.

Cedar Ridge, after beating Orange 7-3 on Thursday, is 5-3 overall, 3-3 in the Big 8. The Red Wolves are tied with Northwood for 5th in the Big 8. The good news for Cedar Ridge is the most intense part of its conference schedule is over, having faced the top three teams from the Big 8 from 2017 last month.

Cedar Ridge returns to Big 8 play against Northern Durham on Tuesday at Red Wolves Territory. It’s the first time ever that the Red Wolves and the Knights have meet on the baseball diamond as conference rivals.

First Colonial comes into the Hilltop Invitational with a 3-1 mark. Wake County HomeSchools is 10-4 and already has wins over Lee County and New Bern. They lost to J.H. Rose 7-2 last week.

Panther Creek, from the 4-A Triangle 6 Conference that is essentially the remains of the old PAC-6 Conference, is 4-6. After dropping three of its previous four games, the Catamounts defeted Sanderson 9-4 last week for its first conference win of the season.

We’ll be broadcasting Orange’s doubleheader on Thursday live here on HillsboroughSports.com.

For a sophomore, Matthew Kahn has grown up quite quickly.

Two weeks ago in a vital Big 8 Conference game against Northwood, Kahn took over on the mound in the 7th inning for starting pitcher Eric Zehnder with the game tied 2-2. He got the final two outs before Cooper Lamb laced the game-winning hit in the bottom of the inning as the Red Wolves won 3-2, avenging an embarrassing 17-6 loss in the conference opener from three days beforehand.

On Friday night, Kahn’s challenge was even steeper.

He entered Thursday’s game against Orange with the Red Wolves down 3-1 in the bottom of the third with the bases loaded and two out. The night before at OHS, Orange dominated the Red Wolves 8-0 behind a three-hit shutout from senior ace Will White. Another conference loss would have put the Red Wolves conference record to 2-4 and left them in sixth place in the Big 8 going into Easter break.

In other words, their chances for the state playoffs would be iffy, at best.

Yet Kahn was undeterred. He struck out Dayne Watkins to end the inning and Cedar Ridge proceeded to take over the game quickly.

The Red Wolves (5-3, 3-3 in the Big 8) scored the final seven runs of the game to beat Orange 7-3. It was the second year in a row that Cedar Ridge defeated the Panthers at Red Wolves Territory. Kahn earned the win after he surrendered one hit in the final 4-and-a-third innings, walking two and striking out three.

Cedar Ridge shortstop Dante DeFranco started the rally by getting hit by a pitch to leadoff the 4th. After stealing 2nd, DeFranco scored on a wild pitch. Red Wolves left fielder Sailor Ramos looped a single to right field to score Chris Cox. Erik Zehnder gave the Red Wolves the lead with a two-run homer to left field to conclude a 4-run 4th inning.

Ramos came up huge again in the 5th inning, when Cedar Ridge struck for three more runs. Ramos laced a two-out double to left field to score Jake DeFranco and Phillip Berger, both of whom reached on walks.

Orange jumped out to a 3-0 lead behind two runs in the first inning. Shortstop Joey Berini ripped a double off the left field wall, which was followed by a two-run homer by Jason Slaughter, which hugged the third-base fair pole but faded well into the trees. The Panthers loaded the bases with one out after Slaughter’s homer after a single by pitcher Dalton Brown and walked to Caige Clayton and Cooper Porter, but Dante DeFranco started a 6-4-3 double play to get the Red Wolves off the field.

In the third inning, Berini hit a leadoff single to center and moved to second after a pickoff throwing error. Clayton smashed a RBI single down the left field line to give Orange a 3-0 lead.

Orange (6-5, 4-2) is now tied with Northern Durham for third place in the Big 8.

Both Orange and Cedar Ridge will start play in the Hilltop Invitational on Thursday. Orange will host Wake County Home School on Thursday night at 7. Cedar Ridge will host First Colonial, based out of Virginia Beach, VA, on Thursday afternoon at 4:30.

Sailor Ramos is starting to get used to big games against Orange. Last season, he went 2-for-2 with an RBI double as Cedar Ridge defeated Orange 6-0, its first win over the Panthers since 2012. Last night against Orange, Ramos had a two-run double and an RBI single as the Red Wolves scored seven consecutive runs to defeat Orange 7-3 at Red Wolves Territory. Cedar Ridge goes into spring break 5-3, 3-3 in the Big 8.

To say Matthew Kahn left Cedar Ridge’s game against Orange in a better place than he found it on Thursday night would be an understatement. Kahn entered in the bottom of the third inning with Cedar Ridge down 3-0. In the subsequent four-and-a-third innings, Kahn gave up just one hit and two walks as Cedar Ridge defeated Orange 7-3 to split the series with the Panthers. Cedar Ridge is now 3-3 in the Big 8 and enters spring break right in the thick of a tight Big 8 playoff chase.

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.

For the sixth straight year, the Orange baseball team defended its home field against their crosstown rivals, and they have their senior pitcher to thank for it.

The Panthers defeated Cedar Ridge 8-0 on Wednesday night in front of over 300 fans at Panther Field behind a three-hit shutout from Will  White, who earned his third straight win. White has now thrown 12 consecutive scoreless innings.

Orange pounded out ten hits, including Mark Willms going 2-for-3 with an RBI double. Sophomore shortstop Joey Berini also went 2-for-3 with a double, while first baseman Dalton Brown went 2-for-4 with 2 RBI.

Every player in the Orange lineup got on base. Catcher Caige Clayton, who slugged a two-run homer against East Chapel Hill two weeks ago, had a sacrifice fly RBI.

Cooper Porter, Colin Guentensberger and Cooper Hench also had doubles as Orange remained tied with Chapel Hill for first place in the Big 8 with a 4-1 record.

Cedar Ridge (4-3, 2-3) dropped its second straight. The Red Wolves were held to a season-low in hits and shut out for the first time this season. Cedar Ridge is now in sixth place in the Big 8 with a 2-3 record, which makes Thursday’s rematch with the Panthers all the more urgent.

Phil Berger took the loss for the Red Wolves.

Hillsborough Sports.com will broadcast the Orange-Cedar Ridge game live starting at 6.

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.

Through the first five games of the year, Cedar Ridge junior midfielder Tyler Coleman leads the Red Wolves with six goals and eight points. Coleman added to that total on Wednesday night when the Red Wolves defeated J.F. Webb 15-1 in the home opener at Red Wolves Stadium. After Michael Mullenix opened the scoring with a goal only 19 seconds into the game, Coleman followed with a man-advantage goal on a pass from Colin Davis. Coleman ended the first half assisting on a goal from Noah Upchurch with :2.6 seconds remaining in the second quarter. Cedar Ridge is now 3-2, having won three in a row.