Orange Softball

For the first time since winning the 3A State Championship in 2017, the Orange softball team won a state playoff game on Tuesday night. Freshman catcher Lauren Jackson homered in the 5th inning as the Lady Panthers defeated Jacksonville 4-1. Shortstop Maddie Bartlett added a solo homer in the 6th. 1st baseman Jaden Hurdle ripped an RBI triple in the 1st inning to score Bartlett, who led off the frame with a bunt single. Orange will travel to Greenville on Friday night to face top-seeded D.H. Conley. We’ll broadcast that game here on Hillsboroughsports.com.

For the third time in four years, the Orange softball team has clinched a share of the Big 8 Championship. On Wednesday night, Orange defeated East Chapel Hill 13-3 to finish the conference season 13-1, tied with crosstown rival Cedar Ridge for 1st place. It was also senior night for Olivia Ruff and Hayley Funk. Ruff, a starter at 3rd base since winning the 2017 3A State Championship, went 3-for-3 in her final regular season game at Orange Softball Field. Funk scored a run as Orange scored eight runs in the 2nd inning to complete a season sweep of East. Now, Orange will focus on a special one-game playoff against Cedar Ridge, which will determine the top seed from the Big 8 Conference for the 3A State Tournament, which starts next week. Orange and Cedar Ridge will play on Thursday night at 6 o’clock at Orange. You can hear the game here on Hillsboroughsports.com starting at 5:55.

The Orange softball team is one win away from guaranteeing itself a share of the Big 8 softball championship. Last week, Orange swept Northern Durham in a two-game series, beating the Knights 11-4 on Tuesday and 11-0 on Wednesday. Maddie Bartlett went 2-for-2 with 2 RBIs on Wednesday. On Tuesday, Bartlett went 2-for-4 with a double. Freshman Mary Moss Wirt went 1-for-2 with an RBI double on Wednesday. Orange will face East Chapel Hill on Wednesday in Hillsborough, their final Big 8 Conference regular season game of the season. If Orange wins, they will finish 13-1 in the Big 8 with the possibility of a tiebreaker game against Cedar Ridge looming on Thursday.

On Thursday night, the Orange softball team maintained its share of 1st place in the Big 8 Conference by sweeping Chapel Hill 9-0 and 12-3. Grace Perry earned the win in the circle in game one, throwing a 2-hit shutout and striking out 10. In the 2nd game, junior Jayden Hurdle earned her first pitching win of the season by striking out nine over five innings. At the plate, Hurdle went 1-for-1 with 2 RBI. In the 2nd game, Rachel Tilley went 3-for-4 with 1 RBI. Orange is now 8-1 in the Big 8 Conference. Earlier this week, the Lady Panthers defeated Northwood 14-1. In that game, Hurdle went 3-for-4 with 2 RBI and three runs scored. Tilley finished 2-for-3 with 2 RBI. Orange will face Southern Durham next week, and is scheduled to travel to Person on Friday. In the interest of full disclosure, it took five takes to start this video because Jeff Hamlin, the writer and producer of this piece, couldn’t remember the names of all the players and hilarity ensued.

The last two games for the Orange softball team have been dramatic wins. On March 25, the Lady Panthers rallied from an early 3-0 deficit to defeat Cedar Ridge 6-4 at Orange Softball Field. Junior Kelly Bartlett hit a two-run home run to trigger the Orange comeback. Bartlett finished 2-for-3 with two runs scored. On Tuesday, Orange trailed 5-2 in the sixth inning before storming back to beat Northwood 6-5 in eight innings. Bartlett finished 2-for-3 with two doubles and scored the game-winning run after leading off the eighth inning by reaching on an error. This season, Bartlett is hitting .393 with five doubles. Orange is scheduled to travel to Northwood on Friday night as they look to remain tied with Cedar Ridge for 2nd place in the Big 8 Conference.