Orange Baseball

Bryse Wilson: For the fourth time since July 21, Wilson earned a quality start for the Gwinnett Stripers of the AAA International League. On Friday, Wilson threw seven scoreless innings in Gwinnett’s 10-2 over the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders in Moosic, PA. It was his fourth straight win since being sent down by the Atlanta Braves on July 21. Against the RailRiders, Wilson conceded four hits and struck out nine. In his last four starts, Wilson is 4-0 with a league-best 0.33 ERA. In that span, opponents have hit .191 against Wilson. He has surrendered two runs (one earned) in the last 27 innings with six walks and 25 strikeouts. Wilson has helped Gwinnett take a two-and-a-half game lead over Durham for first place in the International League. He now has a 8-7 record in Gwinnett with a 3.58 ERA.

Training camp has started for college football teams across the country. Many former Orange High and Cedar Ridge High football players will be on the gridiron this season. In one notable case, it will be a notable return for a former Orange High All-State linebacker who hasn’t played a game in nearly two years.

Payton Wilson: A redshirt freshman for N.C. State, Wilson last played on October 27, 2017 against Cedar Ridge. He tore the ACL in his right knee on the opening kickoff, ending his high school career. After enrolling in Raleigh in January 2018, he tore the ACL in his same knee once again last summer. Now, Wilson is prepared to make an impact when N.C. State hosts East Carolina on August 31 at Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh.

Coach Dave Doeren was asked about Wilson during ACC Kickoff in Charlotte last month.

“He’s chomping at the bit,” Doeren said. “I’m going to tell you, Payton is an incredible competitor. He was a great wrestler, incredible player in high school. He hasn’t been able to play in a long time. He’s healthy. He’s fully cleared. Probably more excited to play in training camp than anybody on our football team.”

Trent Gill: A redshirt sophomore at N.C. State, Gill will look to see more action in Raleigh this season. Gill, who graduated from Cedar Ridge in 2017, has yet to play for the Wolfpack. He was an All-Big 8 Conference performer in football, and also played soccer and tennis.

Stone Edwards: The 2017 Orange graduate is now a redshirt sophomore at Vanderbilt. In 2018, Edwards played in 12 games for the Commodores. He made seven tackles, one tackle for loss and one sack as Vanderbilt reached the Texas Bowl. They finished 6-7.

Kevin Wright Jr.: A sophomore at N.C. Wesleyan, Wright is gearing up to start at cornerback for the Battling Bishops this season. In 2018, Wright played in two games for Wesleyan, making two tackles and a tackle for loss. Wright is a history major in Rocky Mount.

Jackson Schmid: Now playing at Division III Wheaton College, Schmid is entering his junior season with the Thunder. After starting as Orange’s quarterback, Schmid is now a safety. In 2018, he played three games, making one tackle.

Colin Guentensberger: After suiting up for the East/West All-Star Game last month in Greensboro, Guentensberger will attempt to walk-on at Appalachian State. Guentensberger was the Orange High Player of the Year in 2018.

Francisco McKinley: A four-year starter as Orange’s placekicker, McKinley is also at Appalachian State. He will try to walk-on to the football team. In McKinley’s tenure at Orange, he’s probably best remembered for kicking the game-winning field goal against Southern Durham with less than a minute remaining on September 29, 2017, which paved the way for the Panthers to win its third consecutive Big 8 Conference Championship.

Orange linebacker Colin Guentensberger became the first Panther since Garrett Cloer to play in the East/West All-Star football game at Jamieson Stadium in Greensboro on Wednesday night. Early in the third quarter, Guentensberger recovered a fumble to give East possession. Guentensberger played regularly for the East defense, which held the West offense without a first down in the second half. The East earned a 20-8 win. After winning the final game of his high school career, Guentensberger now will focus on walking on to the Appalachian State football team. He starts classes in Boone next month. 

After three years of manning the left side of Orange’s infield, Joey Berini’s hard work has paid off.

Berini has committed to East Carolina. he made the official announcement on Twitter last month. Since his freshman season, Berini had also been recruited by UNC Asheville, Western Carolina and North Carolina Central.

“I’ve always wanted to play baseball at East Carolina,” Berini said. “It is just a great school to go to.”

Berini was the 2019 Big 8 Conference Player of the Year. He led the team in five offensive categories, including a .541 batting average. Berini also led the team in hits (33), runs scored (35), doubles (12) and triples (4).

Berini reached the decision to attend East Carolina following a face-to-face meeting with Pirates head coach Cliff Godwin in Greenville.

“We had a great time on their campus tour,” Berini said. “I also talked with North Carolina last week. I talked to East Carolina a couple of times last fall and started talking to them again after the State Games.”

Berini has started at shortstop since his freshman year in 2017, a year of transition for the Orange baseball program. Bryse Wilson, now with the Atlanta Braves, had graduated the previous spring after setting the school record with 33 career wins. Wilson’s longtime catcher, Brad Debo, had also graduated and left for N.C. State.

Together, the two led Orange to four consecutive Big 8 Conference Championships.

In 2017, Berini hit .274. Orange, which was 9-11 on April 22, finished the season with a surprising run in the playoffs with road wins at West Johnston and South Johnston. They were two outs away from the state quarterfinals before West Brunswick’s Garrison Gause hit a game-tying homer in the 7th inning, the second home run hit inside the Trojans ballpark that season. Gause’s father died the previous week from cancer. West Brunswick went on to win 2-1 in nine innings. Berini hit safely in four of the last five games in 2017.

In 2018, Berini led Orange with a .369 batting average as Orange finished 13-11. He tied Jaydin Poteat and Jason Slaughter for the team-lead with 24 hits. Berini also had a team-high nine doubles as Orange defeated Jacksonville 6-2 in the opening round of the 3A state playoffs.

Berini is the 2nd player from Orange’s Class of 2020 to commit to play at a four-year college. In 2017, Cooper Porter announced he would attend N.C. State, which may lead to several head-to-head matchups with Berini in the future.

After the Wolfpack and the Pirates faced each other in the Greenville Regional of the NCAA Baseball Tournament last month, there was considerable discussion within the college baseball community about why the two rivals don’t play each other during the regular season. Perhaps in response, Godwin tweeted that N.C. State coach Elliott Avent had reached out about scheduling the Pirates.

Godwin said the two school would do their best to play in 2020, but if it didn’t happen next year, it would happen in 2021.

Berini is the son of Joe and Kim Berini, who live in Rougemont. His younger brother, Jackson, fittingly played shortstop for the Stanford Middle School Chargers last spring.

After being saddled with a no-decision in his return to Atlanta last week, there was no demotion to Gwinnett of the International League for Bryse Wilson this time.

Atlanta manager Brian Snitker kept him around for another trip in the rotation for Wednesday night’s game against Philadelphia, and Wilson responded with his best Major League outing yet.

Atlanta defeated Philadelphia 9-2 to extend its lead to five-and-a-half games in the National League East. Wilson earned his 2nd career Major League win, throwing a career-high six innings. He gave up two runs, both earned, on five hits and two walks. Wilson struck out five in his third Major League start of 2019.

Wilson is 1-0 with a 6.14 ERA for the Braves this season.

“Just to come out and be able to trust my stuff and throw a lot of strikes. Trust my defense behind me and trust the bats to get that lead. That was huge,” Wilson said.

In his previous three appearances with Atlanta this season, Wilson only saw the fifth inning once. That came in his first outing of 2019 against Philadelphia, where he surrendered six runs and six hits in four-and-one-thirds innings.

Wilson also had his first Major League hit with a two-out single to centerfield in the bottom of the third, which sent the Atlanta bench into hysteria. Wilson could have easily had his first hit in his Major League debut at Pittsburgh on August 21, but was thrown out by Gregory Polanco at first base from right field.

Wilson surrendered walks in the first and second inning, but the Phillies never threatened. Bryce Harper grounded into a 6-5-3 double play where Jean Segura was tagged out at second in a rundown. After catcher J.T. Realmuto drew a one-out walk in the 3rd, Wilson set down Jay Bruce and Cesar Hernandez to end the third scoreless.

Realmuto lined a two-out single to right for Philadelphia’s first base hit in the fourth, but Bruce flew out to right to end the inning. Atlanta struck for three runs in the bottom of the fourth, starting with Josh Donaldson’s three-run blast to centerfield.

Wilson surrendered two runs in the sixth, including a solo homer by Harper to left field. After Rhys Harper’s two-out double, Realmuto slammed an RBI single to left to reduce Atlanta’s lead to 3-2.

The Braves responded with six runs in the sixth inning. Austin Riley, who was a teammate of Wilson’s with the Gwinnett Stripers of the AAA International League, starting the frame with a three-run homer to center.

“I got to watch him (Riley) when he was on his run down in Triple-A,” Wilson said. “It was incredible. He had something like 12 homers in 20 games. I think everybody expected him to do well up here. I don’t know if everyone expected him to do this well, but all of his teammates did.”

After Atlanta took a 9-2 lead into the seventh inning, he left the game.

Wilson was promoted from Gwinnett last week to make a start against the Chicago Cubs in Wrigley Field. He threw four-and-one-thirds innings against Chicago. Wilson surrendered six runs off four hits as the Cubs defeated Atlanta 9-7 in the final regular season meeting between the two teams. Atlanta went 6-2 against the Cubs this season.

For the third time in less than a year, former Orange pitcher Bryse Wilson has been called up by the Atlanta Braves.

On Thursday afternoon, Wilson will pitch against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field. He will take the spot of Mike Foltynewicz, who was demoted to Gwinnett of the AAA International League last weekend.

Wilson’s promotion had been rumored since Foltynewicz was sent down on Sunday, but was confirmed by Atlanta manager Brian Snitker on Wednesday.

In his last start, Wilson threw six shutout innings for the Gwinnett Stripers in a 2-0 victory over Syracuse on Saturday. He struck out seven and walked two. It was Wilson’s first win since May 26.

Wilson started the season with Atlanta. On March 30, Wilson started against Philadelphia at Citizens Bank Park. Wilson scattered five hits over three-and-one-thirds innings, yielding four runs. He struck out three and walked one in a no decision. The Phillies went on to win 8-6.

On April 26, Wilson worked a shutout inning of relief against the Colorado Rockies at SunTrust Bank in Atlanta. He has been in Gwinnett ever since, making a homecoming trip to Durham Bulls Athletic Park on May 5.

Wilson is 4-6 with a 3.79 ERA with Gwinnett this season, but has thrown six innings in four of his last five starts.

Wilson became the first Orange Panther to reach the Major Leagues on August 20, 2018 when he was called up to pitch against the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park. He pitched five scoreless innings with three hits allowed, winning his Atlanta debut 1-0. Wilson struck out five and walked three.

He also nearly had a base hit, but was thrown out at first from right field by Gregory Polanco.

Wilson was 20 years and 243 days old when he made his debut last summer, the youngest player to appear in a Major League game in 2018. He returned to Gwinnett after the game.

Wilson was promoted to Atlanta when the Major League rosters expanded on September 1. He appeared in two more games, both relief appearances, in the final weeks of the regular season. On September 3 against Boston, Wilson gave up three runs off two hits in one innings. In another relief appearance against St. Louis on September 18, Wilson threw one inning. He surrendered two runs off three hits with one strike out. Wilson was left off Atlanta’s postseason roster as the Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the Braves 3-1 in the best-of-five National League Divisional Series.

Wilson started 2018 with the Single-A Florida Fire Frogs of the Florida State League, but had a meteoric rise through the Braves system. Within one month of the season getting underway, he was called up to the Mississippi Braves of the AA Southern League.

Atlanta currently leads the National League East by five games over Philadelphia. After starting the season 12-14, the Braves went into Wednesday night’s game at Chicago with a season-best 47-33 record.

In the offseason, Wilson was no stranger to Hillsborough. He was a frequent visitor to Orange Panther football games last fall and spoke to the Stanford Middle School wrestling team, where he competed ten years ago.

Bryse Wilson: On Saturday, Wilson earned his fourth win of the season as the Gwinnett Stripers defeated the Syracuse Mets 2-0 at Coolray Field in Gwinnett, GA. Wilson allowed five hits over six shutout innings, walked two and struck out seven. He was his first win since May 26. Wilson, who graduated from Orange High in 2016, has thrown six innings in three of his last four starts. In Gwinnett’s 7-6 loss to Syracuse on June 16, Wilson gave up five runs on eight hits in six innings. He struck out seven and issued no walks. On June 5 against the Charlotte Knights, Wilson gave up three runs on six hits with seven strikeouts. Wilson is now 4-4 with a 3.32 ERA in 14 starts with Gwinnett this season. He’s scheduled to start at Charlotte either Wednesday or Thursday.

Jamar Davis: While N.C. State’s track & field season is over, Davis’ year is not. Over the weekend, Davis finished 3rd in the triple jump during the USATF U20 Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Miramar, FL. Davis’ jumped of 15.49 meters placed him behind the champion, Treyvon Ferguson of Kansas at 16.13 meters. Davis also finished fourth in the long jump with a leap of 7.61 meters. Phillip Austin the Third of Arizona won the long jump championship at 7.74 meters. In his freshman season at N.C. State, Davis was a NCHSAA second-team All-American in the triple jump.

Will White: The 2018 Orange High graduate recently wrapped up his freshman season with the Division III Greensboro College Pride baseball team. White made nine pitching appearances out of the Pride’s bullpen. He finished 0-1 with a 6.28 ERA. White earned his first college save on March 18 against the University of Maine at Presque Isle. White entered the game with two out in the sixth inning and the Pride holding a 9-4 lead. White gave up one hits in three-and-two-thirds innings, giving up only one hit. He struck out seven and walked four. White also threw one-and-two-thirds shutout innings in Greensboro’s 21-7 win over Piedmont International in Mocksville on April 10.

Johnny Flynn: After two seasons at Danville Community College in Virginia, Flynn recently completed his junior season at Division III Brevard College. Playing right field, Flynn compiled a .224 batting average in 26 games, including 25 starts. He tallied 19 hits, eight runs and six RBIs. In Brevard’s opening game of the season against William Peace on February 8, Flynn went 2-for-5 with three runs scored as the Tornadoes defeated the Pacers 12-5. The following day, Flynn went 2-for-3 with an RBI and a stolen base as Brevard shutout Peace 5-0 to win the series. On February 16, Flynn went 2-for-4 in a 12-7 loss to Toccoa Falls. Brevard finished the year 10-26, 2-21 in the USA South Atlantic Conference.

Jordan Toney: After completing his college career with UNC Pembroke last month, Toney is still keeping his heart in the game of baseball. Last month, he started as an intern with the Morehead City Marlins of the Coastal Plain League. Toney started his career at Pfeiffer University before transferring. The Coastal Plain League is a league for college-eligible players. In the past, former Orange Panther Chris Maples played for the Durham Braves, which claimed the 2001 Coastal Plain League Championship. Maples went on to play for the Toledo Mudhens of the AAA International League.

Jamar Davis: The 2018 Orange graduate completed his freshman season at N.C. State last week. Davis qualified for the NCAA Track & Field Championships in the triple jump at Austin, Texas. With a jump of 50’1.75″, Davis was named an Honorable Mention All-American by the USTFCCCA. Last winter, Davis was the only freshman in the country to qualify for the NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships in the triple jump. Davis was named 2nd-team All-ACC in the triple jump for the outdoor season, and first-team All-ACC in the long jump and triple jump during indoor season. In his senior year at Orange, Davis competed in the Penn Relays while racking up All-Big 8 Conference honors with the Panthers.

Bryse Wilson: Wilson earned a no-decision on Sunday afternoon for the Gwinnett Stripers of the AAA International League. Pitching against the Syracuse Mets at NBA Bank Stadium in New York, Wilson went six innings. He struck out seven while yielding five earned runs on eight hits. Last Tuesday, Wilson suffered a loss as the Lehigh Valley Ironpigs defeated the Stripers 5-1. Wilson threw three innings. He gave up four runs, none of them earned, on five hits. Wilson struck out seven. Wilson is now 3-4 with a 3.72 ERA. He has 56 strikeouts with eleven walks.

Brad Debo: The N.C. State baseball team ended its season with a 9-2 loss to East Carolina in the Greenville Regional of the NCAA Tournament on June 2. Debo went 2-for-8 in the Wolfpack’s two NCAA Tournament games, losses to the Pirates and Campbell. Debo, a junior, played 59 games for N.C. State this season, starting 51. He hit .242 with four home runs and 39 RBIs. After starting the year 27-2, the Wolfpack finished 15-17 after March to complete the season 42-19.

Landon Riley: After winning the Atlantic Sun Conference tournament for the first time (after leaving the Big South Conference last summer), Liberty’s season ended after three games of the Chapel Hill Regional of the NCAA Baseball Tournament at Boshamer Stadium on June 2. The Flames defeated Tennessee 6-1, but lost to North Carolina 16-1 on June 1. Tennessee avenged its early loss with a 6-5 victory in ten innings. Riley, a sophomore, ended the season with 22 relief appearances. He had a 2-0 record with a 3.82 ERA and one save. Liberty finished 43-20.

Brandon Andrews: The 2017 Cedar Ridge graduate just completed his sophomore year with the Nicholls Colonels of the Southland Conference in Thibodaux, LA. Andrews had 24 pitching appearances this season, finishing 1-2 with a 3.24 ERA. In his freshman year, Andrews had 13 appearances and finished 1-0 with a 5.40 ERA.

Jordan Toney: Playing for Division II UNC Pembroke, Toney ended his college career last month. The Braves finished 21-27 this season. Toney, a relief pitcher, went 0-2 with a 6.53 ERA in 2019. His only save of the year came in the season-opener against Shepherd at Sammy Cox Field in Pembroke. Toney threw three innings against the Rams, striking out seven over three innings. He gave up four runs off five hits. Toney, who started his career at Pfeiffer, played two seasons at Pembroke. For his career with the Braves, Toney went 3-4 with a 6.05 ERA. He made 30 career appearances with the Braves.

Landon Riley: The 2017 Orange High graduate continues to flourish as a middle reliever at Liberty University. Over the weekend, Liberty won the Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament in Conrad Park in DeLand, Florida. In a double-elimination tournament, Liberty played six games in a span of five days. After losing to Jacksonville 9-6 in ten innings on Thursday, the Flames reeled off four straight wins for their first-ever Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament Championship. In Saturday’s 5-2 win over Jacksonville, Riley earned his 2nd win of the season, replacing starter Garrett Price in the fifth inning. With Liberty needing a long relief effort to save up its pitching, Riley entered the game with Liberty trailing 2-0. He delivered four-and-one-thirds shutout innings. Liberty responded by scoring all five of its runs in the sixth inning for a 5-2 win and advance to the championship. The Flames defeated the host team, Stetson, twice to take home the title. Hours after the Jacksonville win, Liberty defeated Stetson 6-3 on Saturday, then beat the Hatters on Sunday 4-3.

It was Liberty’s first conference championship since 2013. On Monday, Liberty was placed in the Chapel Hill Regional of the NCAA Tournament. The Flames will face Tennessee on Friday night at 7 o’clock inside Boshamer Stadium. The top-seed in the Chapel Hill Regional is ACC Champion UNC, who will face UNC Wilmington on Friday afternoon to open the weekend. Tennessee defeated Liberty 7-1 on February 26 in Knoxville. Liberty is 7-3 against ACC teams this season, including two wins over Duke and Virginia Tech, and another against UNC.

Riley, a sophomore, now has 21 appearances this season. He is 2-0 with a 2.51 ERA with one save in 32.1 innings. 

Jamar Davis: Less than a year after graduating from Orange High, Davis has qualified for the National Track & Field Championships as a member of N.C. State. On Saturday in the NCAA East Preliminary in Jacksonville, FL, Davis set the personal record on his second attempt in the triple jump. Davis’ leap of 51-feet, five inches ranks eighth all-time in N.C. State history. It earned him his fourth top-ten finish in the triple jump during an event this season. The NCAA Championships will be held June 5-7 in Austin, TX. 

Brad Debo: Another 2017 Orange High graduate, Debo had a two-run single in the top of the ninth innings of N.C. State’s 6-5 win over Wake Forest in the ACC Tournament at Durham Bulls Athletic Park on Thursday night. The win ensured the Wolfpack would advance to the ACC Semifinals. Against the Demon Deacons, Debo went 2-for-4 with 3 RBIs, including a RBI double in the 7^thinning. In Saturday’s 9-2 loss to Georgia Tech, Debo went 1-for-1 with three walks. The Wolfpack has made the NCAA Tournament for the ninth time in ten seasons. On Friday, they will face Campbell in the Greenville Regional at Clark-LeClair Stadium. The other half of the regional matches up East Carolina against Quinnipiac. The Wolfpack defeated the Camels 10-1 on February 27 in Buies Creek, but the Camels edged the Wolfpack 5-3 on May 7 in Raleigh. 

In 57 games this season, Debo is hitting .242 with four home runs and 39 RBIs. 

Marvin Jones: The Cedar Ridge graduate recently completed his sophomore season with the North Carolina Central Track and Field team. On May 2-4, Jones finished 4^thin the high jump in the MEAC Track & Field Championships. On May 12, Jones finished first in the high jump in the Mount Olive Final Qualifier with a leap of 2.04 meters. Jones had four first place finishes in the high jump this season and was named the MEAC Field Athlete of the Week on March 21. 

The Orange baseball team’s season ended last Tuesday after falling to J.H. Rose in the 3A State Playoffs. It was also the end of Joey Berini’s third varsity season. This year, Berini led the Panthers with a .541 batting average. He also led the team with 33 hits, including 12 doubles. This year, Orange finished with a 14-6 record, their best season since 2016, when they captured the Big 8 Championship. Next season, Berini will be a senior and will aim to lead Orange back to the top of the Big 8 Conference. This interview with Joey was taped on April 23 after a win at Northern Durham.