Orange Baseball

After being a mainstay in the Orange baseball pitching rotation for three years, Cross Clayton earned an accolade attained only for the elite hurlers in school history.

A Conference Pitcher of the Year award.

Like Bryse Wilson and Ryan Hench before him, Clayton was named the Central Conference Pitcher of the Year following a vote of the league’s coaches. Clayton, who graduated last month, led the Panthers to its fourth consecutive conference title this season after Orange tied Southern Alamance with a 9-3 record. In the 3A State Playoffs, the Panthers would have the deepest run of any Central team, reaching the third round after an incredible comeback win over Cedar Ridge and a rout of Eastern Alamance.

Clayton became the first pitcher since Bryse Wilson to win 20 career games. He reached the milestone against Eastern Alamance on April 30 in Hillsborough. Clayton is only the third pitcher from Hillsborough in the past decade to reach 20 career wins. Cedar Ridge’s Phillip Berger, who graduated in 2019, holds the school record with 21 games. Berger went on to pitch four years at Division III William Peace University.

In his senior season, Clayton finished 6-2 with a 1.49 ERA. He led the team with 79 strikeouts with just nine walks. Through his career, getting ahead in the count became Clayton’s trademark. In a 4-1 win over Person on April 16, 80% of Clayton’s first pitches went for strikes. He finished with eleven strikeouts in a 4-1 win.

Clayton’s best performance of the year came against Walter Williams on April 9, when he threw a three-hit shoutout with seven strikeouts on just 78 pitches. In that game. his first pitch strike percentage was 69%.

For his career, Clayton had 173 strikeouts with 22 walks. He could have easily reached 20 wins earlier in his career, but he battled injuries throughout his junior season which became the theme for the entire Orange team for the 2023 season. He was limited to 29 innings but still had 43 strikeout in six pitching appearances. He finished with a 5-0 record and a 1.19 ERA. That included a compete game win over Lee County on April 12, 2023, where he struck out eight in a 4-1 win. Clayton needed only 88 pitches to earn the win. Clayton threw six shutout innings against Person on April 25, 2023, striking out a career-best 13 batters. He allowed just three hits in a 3-0 Orange win.

After spending his freshman year on the junior varsity team, Clayton earned a spot in the rotation on the varsity squad his sophomore year in Wilson during a 13-0 loss to Perquimans, a game that Orange coaches now look back on and laugh because it represented a turning point for the 2022 squad. Perquimans went on to win the 1A State Championship. A month after that loss, Clayton threw a five-inning perfect game against Cedar Ridge, a 16-0 Orange win that ensured the Central Conference championship. Clayton struck out four Red Wolves and got a Gatorade bath afterwards.

Clayton was also a reliable bat when he wasn’t pitching. In his final at-bat at Orange High Field, Clayton hit a three-run homer in a 19-1 win over Eastern Alamance in the second round of the state playoffs. In his last game in Hillsborough, Clayton went 3-for-3 with four RBIs with a double.

In his final game against Cedar Ridge, Clayton came to back with Orange down 4-0 in the seventh inning with two out. He lined an RBI double to the left field gap to score Wyatt Hedrick to score the first of seven runs in a 7-4 win.

Clayton hit .267 with six doubles and eleven runs scored. When he wasn’t on the mound, Clayton played second base with a few starts at shortstop.

Clayton will attend Gaston Community College to play baseball this fall. He will join his former teammate Jackson Berini, who just finished his freshman year.

FAYETTEVILLE–There was already enough going against Orange baseball before they even arrived in Cumberland County on Thursday night.

There was Mother Nature, which caused its third round state playoff game against Terry Sanford to be postponed twice. On Tuesday, the team had driven to Sanford when they got word to turn around because thunderstorms would prevent them from playing. Orange’s bus made it all the way to Fayetteville on Wednesday, only to find the tarp was already on the field with rain falling down. They had no choice but to drive back to Hillsborough and try again on Thursday.

Then again, the rain has been a problem for Orange since the regular season ended after clinching a share of the Central Conference regular season championship. The Panthers were supposed to face Southern Alamance in a one-game tiebreaker to determine the #1 seed from the Central at Southeast Alamance. If Orange had won, they would have earned the #2 seed in the East Region. That meant no trips to Fayetteville, or anyplace else, if they simply kept winning through the first four rounds.

But that playoff was rained out at Southeast Alamance High. The Patriots got the #1 seed because they swept third-place Williams while Orange split the two-game series with the Bulldogs. That handed Orange a #12 seed instead.

Once the game finally started on Thursday, Orange’s problems were Josh Hart and Brent Smith.

Hart, a junior, struck out eleven over six innings. Smith drove in two runs, including a solo bomb in the fourth inning as Terry Sanford (25-5) defeated Orange 4-0 to advance to the 3A State Quarterfinals.

It was the first time this season that Orange was shutout. The Panthers end the year 19-6.

There was immediately a sense of deja vu for an Orange team that went 15-1 at home this year, but was 4-5 on the road. In each of its road losses, the Panthers gave up runs in the first inning. Sanford’s Josh Mozingo and Ryan Seagroves each reached on infield singles, both hitting balls deep in the 5-6 hole where shortstop Oliver Van Tiem was put through the paces early on a busy night. Orange starter Cross Clayton uncorked a wild pitch to Mason Walker, moving each runner up 90 feet. Walker grounded out to second baseman Kayden Bradsher, scoring Mozingo.

Smith, a senior who has committed to Elon University, started a big night with an RBI single to left field, and the Bulldogs took a 2-0 lead that they would sit on for most of the night.

Though Orange was blanked, they actually had more threats than Sanford. In the second, Orange loaded the bases when Van Tiem was hit by a pitch. Garrett Sawyer grounded a cue shot to third baseman Ethan Nobles, who threw it away, advancing Van Tiem to third. Clayton walked to load the bases, but Elijah Santos pop-up to shallow centerfield was caught by Smith at second base.

Senior Ryan Honeycutt, in his final Orange game, reached on an infield single with two out in the third. Ryan Horton stroked an opposite field liner that landed in front of Walker in right field. Horton and Henry Hoffman, running for Horton, advanced to second and third following a wild pitch. With two out, Hart got a strike out to end the threat.

After the bad start, Orange’s defense settled down. Clayton retired eight straight batters. A surprise bunt attempt by Mozingo to lead off the third was handled sublimely by third baseman Wyatt Hedrick, who threw him out at first. Sanford head coach Sam Guy was so impressed, he bumped fists with Hedrick while coaching third base.

It was Smith who almost single-handily added Sanford’s remaining insurance runs. He started the fourth by launching an 0-1 fastball over the left field wall, and over the adjacent team batting cage with an interlocking “TS” on the front, as well, to increase the Bulldogs lead to 3-0. In the sixth, Smith led off with a single, advanced to second on a groundout, went to third on a wild pitch, and scored off a sacrifice fly from catcher Willis Noon.

Orange had more opportunities. Horton singled to right field to lead off the sixth. Hedrick laid down a sacrifice bunt, but Hart threw the ball away. Hedrick, who collided with the first baseman, remained at first. With one out, Hart continued to hit the right corner of the strike zone like a punching bag, setting down Sawyer and Santos in order to squelch the threat.

Santos singled to left to open the seventh. Immediately, Guy replaced Hart with reliever Jack Reaves. Kayden Bradsher got aboard on an infield hit. Honeycutt sent a dangerous floater to the right that would have loaded the bases if it fell. But once again, Smith was there to chase it down. Horton’s flew out to Benny Whiteaker to end the game.

There were tears and hugs, as you would expect in the postgame in the Orange dugout. It was also the end of an prominent chapter of Orange baseball. Eight seniors who teamed together to win four consecutive conference championships played their final game together.

Cameron Guentensberger, the senior centerfielder, could even boast about being in the starting lineup when Orange beat Terry Sanford in the 2nd round of the state playoffs in 2022. It was head coach Jason Knapp’s most successful class of his six-year tenure.

Together, they dominated the Central Conference for the past three years and compiled a home record of 45-7.

It’s something that not even Mother Nature can take away from them.

After a stunning win over Cedar Ridge in the opening round of the 3A State Playoffs last week, the Orange baseball team didn’t have any time for drama against Eastern Alamance in the second round. The Panthers scored seven runs in the opening inning and rolled to a 19-1 win over the Eagles on Friday night to advance to the third round of the state playoffs for the third straight year. Senior third baseman Wyatt Hedrick drove in a career-high seven runs as he finished 4-for-4. That included a two-run single to left field in the third and a high fly ball that bounced off the 2008 2A State Championship banner in right field that plated Ryan Honeycutt and Henry Hoffman. Senior pitcher Josiah Gibbs earned his 18th career win, throwing five innings to improve to 8-0 on the season. Gibbs struck out three and finished the night with 68 pitches. The Panthers now have to win their way back into another home game. They will venture to Fayetteville on Wednesday night to face the Terry Sanford Bulldogs, the co-champions of the All-Americans Conference. The Bulldogs have only one loss since the end of March, which happened against 4A power D.H. Conley. The winner of Orange-Terry Sanford will move into the state quarterfinals.

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For most of Tuesday night, some of the Orange baseball seniors didn’t think they would reach the second round of the state playoffs, much less host another home game.

After a miraculous rally against Cedar Ridge, the Panthers didn’t leave drama against Eastern Alamance on Friday night.

The Panthers exploded for seven runs in the first inning, keyed by a two-run single by Wyatt Hedrick, and easily defeated the Eagles 19-1 in five innings to advance to the Round of 16 in the 3A State Playoffs on Friday night. Orange (19-5) will travel to Terry Sanford for the third round on Tuesday. The Bulldogs hammered Walter Williams 19-3 in Fayetteville Friday night.

Senior pitcher Josiah Gibbs tossed a five-inning complete game, surrendering only two hits for his 18th career win. Gibbs improved to 8-0 with a 2.07 ERA.

It was Orange’s third run-rule win of the season, its second against the Eagles in ten days. Last week, Orange beat the Eagles 11-0 where Cross Clayton won his 20th career game.

“Gibbs commanded the strike zone well,” said Orange coach Jason Knapp. When you put seven runs in the bottom of the first, you know that a kid is going to pitch to contract. He’s not going to give up a bunch of walks.”

On the drama scale, it was the polar opposite of Orange’s playoff opener against Cedar Ridge on Tuesday. The Panthers were down four runs in the seventh inning with the bases empty and two outs before pulling off a stunning rally capped by Ryan Honeycutt’s three-run homer to win 7-4.

“I told the team it was like a batter who pops a ball up in foul ground, and the fielder drops it,” Knapp said. “Then that batter gets a new life. That’s what we got. We got a new life after that rally on Tuesday. We know that and we’re playing with house money. So the guys were a lot looser tonight. They’re not scared of the end.”

Facing Eastern Alamance (9-16) starter Conner Horner, Orange’s first six batters reached base and eventually scored. With the bases loaded, Ryan Horton blooped a curveball that fell down between three fielders, bringing in Cameron Guentensberger. Oliver Van Tiem tapped a fastball in front of the plate where Horner slipped on the wet grass that had been soaked from a pregame shower, delaying the game for 40 minutes.  Kayden Bradsher came in to score.

Wyatt Hedrick drove in two runs when he sent a high fly ball off the 2008 2A State Championship banner in right field to score Honeycutt and Henry Hoffman, running for Horton. Cross Clayton drove a fastball to the 395-foot ally in right centerfield to score Van Tiem. Elijah Santos lined a single up the middle to score Hedrick. In his second plate appearance of the inning, Guentensberger plated Clayton off a sacrifice fly to Tyler Westbrooks.

Eastern catcher Kasen McGinnis whacked a solo home run to left field to start the second inning, scoring the Eagles only run.

Hedrick blooped a double down the left field line to score Hoffman in the second to increase Orange’s lead to 8-1. In the third, Hedrick knocked in Honeycutt and Van Tiem with a line drive to left field.

Orange sent 14 batters to the plate in the fourth inning, where they scored nine runs. It included Hedrick driving in two more runs with a liner to right and a three-run home run by Clayton to left field.

Hedrick finished 4-for-4 with seven RBIs and two runs scored. Horton was 4-for-4, allowing Hoffman to score three times. Clayton was 3-for-4 with four RBIs. Guentensberger scored three runs and was 2-for-3. Every Panther in the starting lineup scored a run.

By this point, it shouldn’t be shocking when Orange baseball rallies past Cedar Ridge.

Except on Tuesday night, it was shocking. Because Cedar Ridge had played so well, by the time the seventh inning had rolled around, it felt like their night, finally.

They had not beaten Orange at Panther Field since 2012. They hadn’t beaten its crosstown rivals at all since 2018, a span of ten games.

But the Red Wolves’ performance on Tuesday night had been so crisp, flawless and balanced, even a few of Orange’s coaches were ready to admit its season was over in the first round of the 3A state playoffs.

It was baseball, after all, the sport where the better team doesn’t always win. But on this night, Cedar Ridge was clearly the better team.

Throughout the course of winning nine conference championships in everything from volleyball to women’s track & field this year, Orange baseball coach Jason Knapp has received several congratulatory phone calls from his counterpart at Cedar Ridge, Andy Simmons.

On Tuesday night, Knapp stood helplessly in his third base coach’s box as Cedar Ridge second baseman Grant McGuffey easily handled a soft pop-up lofted by Oliver Van Tiem. That made it two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning with Cedar Ridge leading 4-0. The bases were empty.

With Simmons standing and watching in the Cedar Ridge dugout as the Red Wolves were one out away from its first playoff win in six years, Knapp figured it was only appropriate that he walk over and congratulate him on his team’s upcoming playoff win.

And Knapp would do that after Cedar Ridge got one more out.

History has shown that the last out is always the hardest for Cedar Ridge against Orange, but even on this night it didn’t feel like the light at the end of the tunnel would be a freight train.

On April 2 against Orange, Cedar Ridge starter Quinn Finnegan had been perfect through four innings. Through six innings on Tuesday night, he wasn’t perfect, just more efficient. He had allowed only three singles and one walk. Not one Panther touched third base in the first six innings.

Following Van Tiem’s pop-out, Wyatt Hedrick rolled a grounder over to McGuffey, who bobbled the ball into right field. Designated hitter Garrett Sawyer became the first Panther to come down to his final strike when he grounded a 1-2 pitch to shortstop Nick Aitkin, who ran down the ball before it could reach left field and threw a dart across his body to second.

It appeared to be a perfect throw to end a perfect Cedar Ridge night.

Except the throw was dropped and Hedrick slid in safely.

That was the spark that ignited an inferno.

Finnegan had a 3-2 count to senior Cross Clayton, who was hitting to keep his career going. With the Red Wolves again one strike away, Clayton unleashed a laser to the left field gap, Orange’s first extra base hit of the game. Hedrick scored and Sawyer advanced to third.

At the time, all Orange had accomplished was simply avoiding getting shutout for the first time this year. Cedar Ridge head coach Bryson Massey replaced Finnegan, who had thrown 96 pitches (pitchers are allowed 105 pitches by the North Carolina High School Athletic Association). It appeared that Finnegan tried to talk his coach into letting him finish out the game. Instead, Massey went with Ian McGuffey.

For the third time, Orange was down to its last strike when Elijah Santos fouled off a 3-1 fastball. McGuffey went with a breaking ball that barely dipped below the strike zone. Santos loaded the bases with a walk.

Cameron Guentensberger sent a bouncer over to Hudson Kelly at third base. Playing two steps in front of the bag, Kelly looked back as Clayton ran across from second. Instead of backtracking, Kelly opted for first base. The throw one-hopped Mason Cates. Guentensberger beat it out to score Sawyer and cut the Red Wolf lead to 4-2.

By this point, the Cedar Ridge fans were two-thirds of the way through a movie they had seen before—and hated.

Freshman Kayden Bradsher, who was Orange’s player of the game, grounded a single dead up the middle. Santos and Guentensbergber each scored without a throw to the plate to tie the game at 4-4 in front of an exhilarated group of Orange fans whose season had new life.

Bradsher, who had shown up to school before first period on Tuesday to help Knapp prepare the field, finished 3-for-4, the only Panther with multiple hits.

“That was a huge at-bat for a freshman,” Knapp said. “Stepping up in that moment to tie that ballgame speaks volumes. It was a huge at-bat. I’m glad he’s going to be around for the next three years.”

There was still a chance for Cedar Ridge to reach extra innings. Ryan Honeycutt had fouled off two pitches. Then McGuffey went with a fastball where Honeycutt launched it to deep right field. Carter Warren backed up to the fence and tried to reach over it. But the ball cleared his glove and fell just short the scoreboard.

It was the first home run this year at Orange High Field that went over the right field wall.

Bedlam ensued in the Orange dugout. When the inning started, Honeycutt felt like his career was about to end. Not only had he just extended it, but he would get another playoff home game this Friday night. Across the county line in Graham, Eastern Alamance had stunned 5th-seeded Southern Alamance 13-8.

But in a crosstown rivalry game that ends so dramatically, the natural question is how did the other team feel?

Cedar Ridge seniors Landon Dalehite, Mason Cates, Kevin Jones, Joel Davis and Rayshawn Page held a group hug down the left field line. Obviously, there were tears in player’s eyes, a unwanted but familiar feeling. Several Cedar Ridge coaches stared at the ground in dejection. What could be said?

The Red Wolves spent the entire night dominating their archrival–and it all came apart in five batters.

Cates, in particular, was a man on a mission in his final game against Orange. In the second inning, after Nick Aitkin reached on a throwing error, Cates blasted a fastball from Cross Clayton over the centerfield fence. Cedar Ridge led 2-0 and stayed ahead for almost the entire night.

Finnegan cut through the Orange lineup without putting many miles on his odometer. He allowed just one hit through the first three innings on 29 pitches. When Bradsher became the first Orange leadoff man to reach off a line drive to centerfield in the fourth, Finnegan promptly shut down the threat when Horton grounded into a 1-6-3 double play.

Freshman John Grove led off the fourth with a walk. After Caden Thompson replaced him on the base paths, Cates blooped a single that fell between Honeycutt, Santos and Henry Hoffman, sending Thompson to third. After Cates stole second, Grant McGuffey stroked a line drive to left that buzzed over Bradsher’s outstretched glove and rolled to the fence. Thompson and Cates scored easily to give Cedar Ridge a 4-0 lead.

Cates, who has committed to play at Catawba Valley Community College, finished 3-for-3 in his final game.

Even the plays that Cedar Ridge would ordinarily have a hard time making against Orange were handled with ease. Van Tiem became the first Panther to reach second base in the fifth inning after he drew a walk and advanced on a groundout to Finnegan by Hedrick. Sawyer lofted a dangerous floater to McGuffey, who made an over-the-shoulder catch before it could reach centerfield. Finnegan struck out Clayton to end the frame and keep Orange fans in stunned silence.

In hindsight, what turned out to be a crucial call came back to haunt the Red Wolves in the seventh. Finnegan was hit by a pitch from Sawyer, who had relieved Clayton. Finnegan was so pumped with joy, he gave a double thumbs up to his teammates before trotting to first. Landon Dalehite reached on an error at first base, Orange’s third error. Finnegan stole third before he was replaced by Dominic Sena. After Grove walked with one out, Aitkin sent a ground ball to Van Tiem, who threw to Clayton to retire Thompson (on as a courtesy runner again) at second. Sena appeared to have scored to put the Red Wolves ahead 5-0, but after an appeal by Knapp, it was ruled that Thompson slid past second base and interfered with Clayton’s attempt for a double play, thus Aitkin was out and the inning was over. It nullified a precious insurance run.

Orange (18-5) won a state playoff game for the third straight year. They will host Eastern Alamance, the 28th seed, on Friday night. Last week, the Panthers swept a two-games series from the Eagles.

Cedar Ridge (12-10), seeded 21st, suffered a new level of heartbreak that has extended well beyond the point of cruelty for the seniors for several years now. They can take pride in the fact that a Cedar Ridge team down the line will have their time of triumph come at some point. And when it does, it will make the sweet times sweeter.

There wasn’t a Central Conference Baseball Tournament this year because the coaches didn’t want to wear out their pitcher’s arms going into the state playoffs.

It was just as well. Turns out, the opening two rounds of the 3A State Playoffs will essentially be a mini-Central Conference Tournament with the winner advancing to the round of 16. And the biggest grudge match imaginable will comprise one end of the bracket in Hillsborough.

On Monday, the North Carolina High School Athletic Association released the field of 64 in the 3A State Playoffs. Orange received a #12 seed and will face crosstown rival Cedar Ridge at Panther Field on Tuesday night. The winner will face either Southern Alamance, who received a #5 seed, or Eastern Alamance on Friday.

Orange, who claimed a share of the Central Conference championship with Southern Alamance after they each finished with a 9-3 league record, was supposed to face the Patriots on Saturday to determine the league’s #1 seed. Once both teams showed up to Southeast Alamance to play, the rain started coming down and didn’t really ease up. It was determined that Southern Alamance had earned the #1 seed after they swept a two-game series from Williams, who finished third in the conference. Orange split the series with Williams.

The loss to the Bulldogs on April 12 turned out to be costly. The Panthers finished #2 in the 3A East Region RPI, behind only J.H. Rose. Instead of a #2 seed in the East Region, Orange got a #12.

And they will face a Cedar Ridge team playing its best baseball of the season and craving a win over Orange. The Red Wolves have lost ten in a row to the Panthers. They haven’t won at Orange High Field since 2012.

That’s enough to make the matchup juicy as it is. Then there was the matter of the April 2nd game that Orange won 10-4 at Cedar Ridge that left plenty of hard feelings on both sides. It led to coaches from both teams being suspended, complaints by parents to the county administrative offices and more spice to a rivalry that already has plenty of animosity.

It may also be the last time that Cedar Ridge and Orange meet in the state playoffs in any sport. In August 2025, the NCHSAA will expand from four classifications to eight. If realignment is based on enrollment, it’s possible that Cedar Ridge and Orange will be in the same conference, but it looks unlikely they will be in the same classification.

Currently, Orange has 1,272 students. Cedar Ridge has 1,141.

That won’t be the only wrinkle of finality. It will almost certainly be the final home game for eight Orange seniors, including pitcher Cross Clayton, who earned his 20th career win last week. He became the first Panther with 20 wins since Bryse Wilson in 2016. Orange regularly starts six seniors, including centerfielder Cameron Guentensberger, who has become the team’s closer with four saves in its last six games. There’s also first baseman Ryan Honeycutt, who missed the first six games of the season after breaking his right thumb playing Cedar Ridge in basketball last February.

Cedar Ridge arrives into the state playoffs under head coach Bryson Massey with six straight wins. The Red Wolves started April with six straight losses, then started a rebound with a victory over Eastern Alamance in Mebane. Junior Quinn Finnegan has won his last two starts, including a 3-2 victory over Chapel Hill on April 24. Last week, Cedar Ridge senior Mason Cates earned the win in his final home game in an 8-2 victory over Knightsdale. The Red Wolves swept a two-game series from Western Alamance to conclude the regular season.

It’s the third straight year that Cedar Ridge has reached the state playoffs.

Cedar Ridge will go for its first postseason win since 2019, when they defeated Southern Alamance 10-2 in Hillsborough.

MEBANE–Orange baseball had to win Friday to get to Saturday.

Though it wasn’t overwhelming, Orange did precisely that to win a share of the Central Conference championship.

Senior Josiah Gibbs struck out seven to improve to 7-0 on the season as the Panthers held off Eastern Alamance 5-2 to close out the regular season at Eagles Field on Friday night. Cameron Guentensberger was called in from centerfield to get the final out, earning his fourth save in six games. The Panthers finished tied with Southern Alamance for first place in the Central at 9-3.

The Patriots and the Panthers are slated to have a one-game playoff to determine the #1 seed from the Central Conference going into the 3A State Tournament on Saturday afternoon at 5 at Southeast Alamance High School in Haw River. It comes after the Panthers and the Patriots split its two-game series last week with the Patriots winning the opener in Graham.

A young Eastern Alamance team solely consisting of freshmen and sophomores committed six errors, which directly led to the opening three Panther runs that proved to be enough. Wyatt Hedrick, one of six Orange senior starters, lined a double off the right field fence to lead off the second. Designated hitter Garrett Sawyer stroked a grounder through the heart of the 5-6 hole for a single, moving Hedrick to third. With Cross Clayton at the plate, Eagles starter James Wellons picked off Sawyer trying to steal, but first baseman Conner Horner’s throw went off the back of Sawyer’s leg as he slid head-first into second. Hedrick scored the opening run as the ball rolled into right field.

Gibbs retired the first seven Eagles in order until Wellons singled to centerfield, the first hit of the two-game series for the Eagles.

Orange freshman Oliver Van Tiem was beaned to open the third inning and Hedrick laid down a bunt to get him over to second. After Sawyer walked, Cross Clayton sent a grounder that appeared to set up a double play, but the throw to second wound up in right field. Van Tiem scored off the error and Sawyer went to third as right fielder Jarrett Newell had trouble picking up the ball in foul territory. That extra base proved crucial as Elijah Santos lined a fastball to Newell, scoring Sawyer off a sacrifice fly to increase Orange’s lead to 3-0.

Eastern’s Zach Merchel provided the first Eagles run of the series solely from his legs. He beat out a throw by Van Tiem for an infield single, stole second, stole third, and scored off a wild pitch by Gibbs, the only run he conceded in five innings.

Clayton sent a fly ball to centerfield where a diving attempt by Tyler Westbrooks came up short and it one-hopped the fence for a double. Santos lined a fastball tight down the left field line to score Clayton. Santos would advance to third off a wild pitch. With Kayden Bradsher at the plate, Merchel uncorked another wild pitch, allowing Santos to score.

There were nervous moments for Orange late, where the final two innings felt like pulling teeth. Newell and Horner drew walks in the sixth, which paved the way for Sawyer to come in from the bullpen. After Kasen McGinnis reached on a fielder’s choice where Van Tiem threw out Newell at second, Horner walked. McGinnis would score from third after Tate Yount grounded out to Ryan Honeycutt at first to cut the Orange lead to 5-2.

In the seventh, the tying run got to first base for Eastern. Sawyer struck out pinch-hitter Christian Vieau, but Rett Page got plunked on the back on a 3-2 pitch. Sawyer struck out Westbrooks, which prompted Orange coach Jason Knapp to call in Guentensberger to close it out. Braxton Ballard sent a bouncer to Clayton at second, but the ball eluded Clayton. Newell loaded the bases after another infield single where Van Tiem did everything he could just to chase it down. McGinnis grounded out to Van Tiem to clinch Orange’s fourth straight conference title.

On Saturday, Orange and Southern Alamance will play in a game that will determine playoff seeding. If Orange wins, they will likely get the #2 seed in the East Region, which means every game will be at home as long as the Panthers keep winning until the Eastern Regional Championship series. If they lose, Orange will likely receive a #12 seed, which means a first-round home game against a more formidable opponent.

There are some things out of Orange’s hands, namely the weather. There’s a 30% chance of rain early Saturday night, which would put the tiebreaker game at Southeast Alamance in question.

But for now, Orange has taken care of what they can control.

They are conference champions. Again.