Orange Softball

There will be a sense of what might have been for the Orange softball team as they go into the state playoffs.

They won its first eleven games against 3A competition, including sweeping the defending Eastern Regional champions Western Alamance. They were one win away from the Central Conference title, but lost its final four regular season games.

Even after the Lady Panthers fell out of first place in a loss to Southern Alamance, they got a reprieve when Eastern Alamance stunned the Patriots. It set up a showdown in Mebane last Thursday where if Orange won, they would claim the regular season title.

The Eagles, on its senior night, scored the game-winning run in the sixth inning after Kayden Manning left off with a double that hit the top of the centerfield fence. Taylor Byrd sent another fly ball to center, which was captured by Hayleigh Hammond, but she fell down as she retrieved it. McKenzie Blevins, running for Manning, tagged up from second and took two bases on a sacrifice fly to score the game-winning throw without a throw to the plate.

Eastern Alamance, who trailed Orange by two games for first place on April 22 with three conference games remaining, wound up tying Southern Alamance for a share of the Central Conference title. Southern Alamance will be the #1 seed from the conference going into the state playoffs after winning a coin toss against Eastern Alamance.

Orange will still get a home game for the opening round of the state playoffs. They will open against C.B. Aycock on Tuesday night in Hillsborough. Orange received a #11 seed. The winner of Orange/Acycock will face either South Johnson or West Carteret in the second round on Friday night.

Most likely, it will be the final Orange home game for pitcher Caden Robinson and designated hitter Mia Leathers. Robinson is the leading hitter for the Lady Panthers with a .551 batting average. She leads the team is almost every offensive category with a .551 batting average, 34 runs scored, 38 hits, 31 RBIs, 16 doubles and five home runs. Robinson has committed to play at Averett University.

The Golden Falcons finished second in the Quad County Conference behind South Johnston, the #3 seed in the East Region. Aycock will arrive into Hillsborough with a 12-9 overall record and wins in its last four games, including a 12-11 victory over South Central in its regular season finale.

The coin toss that Southern Alamance won likely kept anxiety levels down considerably across Hillsborough on Tuesday night. If Eastern Alamance has won, it would have been Cedar Ridge facing Orange in the state playoffs.

Instead of traveling across town, the Red Wolves will head to Cameron to face Union Pines. Cedar Ridge received a #19 seed. The winner of Union Pines/Cedar Ridge will take on either Southern Alamance or Franklinton on Friday night.

The Red Wolves go into the playoffs for the third straight year with momentum. Last week, Cedar Ridge junior Kimber Shambley whacked a walkoff home run in the seventh inning to beat Western Alamance 7-6 on Senior Night in Hillsborough.

Shambley, who has committed to play at Western Carolina, leads the team with eight home runs, 34 RBIs, and 28 runs scored. Second baseman Mia Best leads the Red Wolves with 32 hits and ten doubles and is only behind Shambley with a .457 batting average.

Cedar Ridge, 12-7-1, will likely start pitcher Charlotte Lowry. This season, Lowry has won six games and has registered 97 strikeouts with only 25 walks.

Union Pines finished 9-3 in the Sandhills Conference, good enough for second place behind Scotland County. The Vikings lost three conference games, two to Scotland County and the other to Southern Lee in Sanford.

Six teams from the Central Conference made the field of 64 for the state playoff. Three will have home games in the opening round of the playoffs .Eastern Alamance faces Croatan in Mebane.

The Orange softball team sits atop first place in the Central Conference. On Tuesday night, the Lady Panthers used home runs from Mia Leathers, Caden Robinson and Hayleigh Hammond to defeat Eastern Alamance 8-5 in a battle of teams undefeated in conference play. Sophomore Katie Carden singled in the first inning, which allowed Sadie Cecil to score a run off an error. Later in the frame, Carden scored off a groundout by Allie Carden. After the Eagles tied the game at 2-2, Orange hit back-to-back homers. Hayleigh Hammond smashed one over the centerfield wall to put Orange in the lead for good. Afterwards, Leathers took one deep, also to centerfield. Later in the fourth, Katie Carden knocked in Addison Guentensberger with a single to centerfield to put Orange ahead 5-2. Katie Carden is hitting .378 this season and has played in all eleven games. Orange has won nine of its last ten games. Leathers has two home runs while starting at first base. On Friday night, the Lady Panthers will travel to Western Alamance, the defending 3A Eastern Regional champions. It will start the second half of the conference slate for Orange. Earlier this year, Orange defeated the Warriors 16-6 in six innings in Hillsborough. The Lady Panthers will host Person on Monday.

Orange softball’s Katie Carden and Mia Leathers discuss win over Eastern Alamance

No Description

In a conference as deep as the Central Conference, any road softball win feels like a true accomplishment.

On Tuesday night, the Orange softball team did it the old fashioned way at Southern Alamance. They earned it.

Sophomore Hayleigh Hammond looped a RBI single to centerfield to score Katie Carden, pushing Orange ahead for good in a 5-4 win over the Patriots in Graham.

The win ended Southern Alamance’s 34-game conference winning streak. It was their first league loss since March 17, 2021, which was actually their season opener against Southwestern Randolph in the Mid-Piedmont Conference. That was the pandemic-shortened year where the Patriots wound up winning the 3A State Championship. The past two years, Southern Alamance played as a 4A team in the DAC-VII Conference, where they won 24 straight games and consecutive league crowns.

Senior pitcher Caden Robinson handled the lead for the final two innings as Orange won its seventh straight game. The Patriots got leadoff batter Brianna White aboard after a walk, but Robinson struck out Savannah Strickland. After Abagail Holt moved White to second with a sacrifice bunt, Macyee Tickle drew a walk. Hammond ended the inning when she caught a fly ball hit by senior Kayla Wilson.

The Lady Panthers (6-1) haven’t lost since dropping its opener against Wakefield on February 26. They are now tied with Eastern Alamance for first place in the Central Conference at 2-0. Orange hosts Eastern Alamance on Tuesday in Hillsborough.

Robinson struck out nine to earn her sixth win of the season, allowing only four hits.

Orange never trailed against the Patriots, but the Patriots tied the game twice. Robinson lined a double to the right field gap. Allie Carden followed with a bloop that fell between three Patriots in right for a base hit to score Robinson.

After Robinson retired the Patriots in order in the first inning, Hammond led off the second when she belted a hanging curveball to the left field fence for a double. Hammond advanced to third following a groundout by Mia Leathers to first base. Natalie Roberson laid down a bunt that rolled past first baseman Peyton Carter. Wilson, playing second, backed her up and tagged out Roberson, but Hammond easily scored to increase Orange’s lead to 2-0.

Southern Alamance struck for two runs in the second to tie the game. After Carter was hit by a pitch, Gracie Shoffner belted a line drive that sailed over the head of Hammond in centerfield. Freshman Avery Dobbins sent a high bouncer to shortstop, which Delanie Shaffer knocked down but couldn’t make a play with. Carter scored to cut the Orange lead in half. Then Shoffner scored off a groundout by White to tie the game.

Orange immediately grabbed the lead back in the third inning. Robinson lined a single through the hole into left field. Allie Carden took a 2-2 fastball and parked it just shy of the scoreboard in centerfield. her second home run of the season.

The Patriots evened things up with a pair of runs in the bottom of the third. Holt reached on an error at first base. Wilson stepped up and lined a base hit to right field that nearly hit Holt running to second. Rylee Humble then sent a bouncing ball that eluded a diving attempt by Shaffer at shortstop and rolled all the way to the royal blue fence to score Holt and Wilson. With Morgan Edmunds running for Humble at second and one out, Robinson struck out Carter. Shoffner grounded out to Katie Carden to keep the game tied 4-4 at the end of three innings.

Katie Carden opened the fifth inning by getting hit by a pitch. Allie Carden went opposite field with a diving liner that hugged the right field line, sending Katie Carden to third, leading to Hammond’s game-winning hit.

Orange will host Cedar Ridge on Thursday night.

Since winning the final Big 8 Conference championship in the pandemic-shortened year of 2021, the Orange softball team has been lurking in the pack of the Central Conference as Eastern Alamance won two state championships and Western Alamance won the Eastern Regional championship last year.

On Tuesday night, the Lady Panthers put on a display so dominant, it may has served as a wake-up call to the rest of the Central Conference that they won’t be content with being merely a formidable team this year.

Junior Allie Carden hit the first grand slam of her career and finished 4-for-4 with seven RBIs as the Lady Panthers defeated Western Alamance 16-6 in six innings in Hillsborough. It was the first time that Orange defeated the Warriors since the two teams became conference rivals since 2022.

Orange senior pitcher Caden Robinson smashed a two-run homer run in the bottom of the third inning as the Lady Panthers set a new season-high with 16 runs and 15 hits.

Western Alamance (3-5, 2-1 in the Central Conference) lost 2023 Central Conference Pitcher of the Year Taylor Apple to graduation last summer. Apple is already pitching regularly for East Carolina as a freshman.

The Warriors still struck for three runs in the opening inning with its first four batters all getting aboard. Ryan Justice drew a leadoff walk, while Bayleigh Burris, Addison Beal and Kara Alday all walked to score the opening run. Senior Lela Kate Bakter sent a line drive to right field for a base it to score Burris. Then courtesy runner Andrea Bryant scored off a bases-loaded walk from Kyndal Wilborn. Robinson recovered to strike out the next three batters.

Robinson doubled to centerfield to send Katie Carden to third in the Orange side of the first. That’s when Allie Carden had her first big hit of the night, a double on a liner to center to score Carden and Robinson.

Orange took the lead in the third when leadoff batter Sadie Cecil reached on an error by Burris at shortstop. Katie Carden drew a walk, which led to Robinson’s three-run blast to put the Lady Panthers ahead 5-3.

The Warriors tied the game with a pair of runs in the fourth. Kayde Moore drew a walk. Justice sent a liner to left field, advancing Moore to second. Beal lined to left to score Moore and Justice and even things up at 5-5.

Allie Carden’s grand slam turned the tide of the game for good. Addison Guentensberger reached on an error by Moore at second base. Sophomore Payton Borland replied Guentensberger as a pinch-runner. Cecil walked. Katie Carden backed up left fielder Lela Kate Baker to left field before she hauled in the ball just shy of the fence. Western actually intentionally walked Robinson to get to Carden, which proved to be a mistake.

With the wind blowing towards left field, Carden fouled off a 2-2 pitch before taking a changeup low. Carden turned the payoff pitch to a laser into right field that buzzed over the fence. Carden got pats on her black helmet as she crossed home plate for the first grand slam of her career.

Alday hit a solo homer to left field to start the fifth to cut the Orange lead to 9-6, but the Lady Panthers would turn it into a rout in the bottom of the fifth. Borland singled to centerfield, followed by another hit from Cecil. Katie Carden grounded to second, where Cecil was thrown out at second. Robinson sent a double down the left field line to score Carden and Borland.

Freshman Anna Klein came in as the new Warrior pitcher. Allie Carden lined to centerfield to bring in Robinson. Delanie Shaffer singled, Hayleigh Hammond walked and Mia Leathers scored Carden on a groundout to second base to increase the Orange lead to 13-6.

Orange has  won five in a row after dropping its season opener to Wakefield. They will travel to Southeast Alamance tonight (Thursday) in Graham. The Lady Panthers will face Walter Williams on Friday night in Hillsborough in its final game before spring break.

The Orange softball team has won four in a row after Wednesday night’s 9-2 victory over Roxboro Community School in Person County. Sophomore Katie Carden hit the first home run of her varsity career with a two-run blast in the first inning. Last week, the Panthers rallied past the Bulldogs 7-6. With RCS leading 6-5, Carden tied the game with a double to centerfield, scoring Allie Carden. Addison Guentensberger laced a walkoff single to centerfield, scoring Carden. On Wednesday night, the Lady Panthers scored six runs in the third inning. Mia Leathers had the big blast with a grand slam, her first home run of the year. Caden Robinson added an RBI single in the third inning. In the circle, Robinson threw a complete game two-hitter, striking out six. Robinson is now 4-1 this season. She has been a member of Orange’s varsity since her freshman year, when the Lady Panthers won the Big 8 Conference championship. Last week, Orange won three games over the course of four days with win over RCS, West Johnston and Eden Morehead. Orange will start its Central Conference slate against defending league champion Western Alamance in Hillsborough on Tuesday night. Last year, Western Alamance won the 3A Eastern Regional championship behind pitcher Taylor Apple, who now plays at East Carolina. 

No Title

No Description