Orange Softball

The Orange-Person softball rivalry is sort of a family affair.

Some of the Orange players are raised in northern Orange County, roughly 10-15 minutes from Roxboro. A few live within a closer driving distance from Person High than their own high school.

When Person  and Orange meet, there are close friends that play against one another. Carson Bradsher, an Orange shortstop who is finishing her fourth year at the varsity level, has a younger sister that plays at Roxboro Community School’s middle school team.

None of that mattered by the end on Tuesday night when Orange wrestled bragging rights away from the Rockets, at least for the rest of this regular season.

Just as she did last month, Orange pitcher Caden Robinson provided the exclamation point against the Rockets. She slammed a two-run homer in the sixth inning to break open a tie game. Robinson also earned the win in the circle as the Lady Panthers defeated the Rockets 5-2 to compete a season-sweep of Person.

On March 24, Robinson’s smashed a solo homer in the sixth inning of a 4-2 Orange win in Roxboro.

Robinson struck out eight and allowed only five hits in a complete game.

Orange (8-4, 5-3) is now in third place in the CCC, leading Person by a game. They also control the head-to-head tiebreaker against the Rockets.

Orange freshman third baseman Katie Carden went 3-for-3 and started the second inning with a double that hugged the line down the left field line. After the subsequent two batters were retired, Carden generated her own offense with Kelsey Tackett at bat. Carden  took off for third base, and the throw from Allie Carden went over the head of the third baseman, allowing Katie to slide in safely for the opening run.

Robinson kept the Person bats quiet in the middle innings. All that the Rockets could muster was a harmless bunt single by Lindsey Melton that started foul and rolled fair. Robinson retired Liberty Jones and Delaney Glover to end the inning.

Orange increased its lead in the fourth. Bradsher, after teasing a bunt, slapped a low line drive to right field that rolled all the way to the fence for a triple. Robinson’s knocked in Bradsher with a groundout to second baseman Camryn Clarke to make it a 2-0 Panther lead.

Person never goes away quietly and it was no different on Tuesday night. Melton reached on a leadoff single to let field. Liberty Jones laid down a bunt and reached on a throwing error, allowing Melton to reach third. Glover was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Taryn Massey had a pop-up to Orange second baseman Delaney Shaffer in shallow right field, which allowed Melton to score on a sacrifice fly. Allie Carden went a fly ball to Bryce Jones in left field, which gave Jones a chance to tag up and even the game on another sacrifice fly. Robinson struck out Kenzley Horne to end the inning.

With the game tied 2-2 and one out in the bottom of the sixth, Bradsher sent a classic slap hit to Massey at shortstop, who kicked up dust to make a diving stab but had no chance to throw Bradsher out. Robinson followed with the two-run homer that came after she fouled off  a pair of potential third strikes. The dinger concluded an eight-pitch at-bat.

Glover was inserted in as the Person pitcher, but Katie Carden immediately poked a single that landed in front of a rushing Jones in right centerfield. With two out, Savannah Wynne came in as a pinch-hitter. After Carden advanced to second on a passed ball, Wynn belted a line drive to the gap in right field for a stand-up double to score Carden.

Orange will travel to Northern Durham tonight, then travel to Northwood on Friday.

Eastern Alamance 19, Cedar Ridge 4: 

The Eagles improved to 6-1 in CCC action after beating the Red Wolves in Hillsborough. Eastern Alamance, the defending 3A State Champions, remain one game behind Western Alamance for first place.

Senior Grace Young knocked in the first Cedar Ridge run, scoring Kimber Shambley, who drew a walk earlier in the inning.

In the bottom of the third inning, Mia Best hit a leadoff single to right field. Reagan Simmons reached on an infield single to score Best. Charlotte Lowry doubled to centerfield. Alice Ann Kohler, running for Lowry, scored off a wild pitch.

The Red Wolves were actually only down 6-4 at the end of the fourth inning. Best sent a triple to the right field corner to score young, who drew a one-out walk.

With Walter Williams forfeiting the remainder of its season, it appears this will be the final home game of the season for Cedar Ridge unless some non conference opportunities arise in the final weeks of the year.

Mia Davidson-Smith: Before she returns to action in Athletes Unlimited, Davidson will return to action for USA Softball in the World Baseball Softball Confederation World Cup in Ireland this summer. Davidson will suit up for the Americans starting July 11-15. Davidson played for Team USA in the Pan American Championship. The U.S. won gold. Davidson hit .412 over nine games with three home runs, 13 RBIs. She was walked ten times. The United States will be in Group A with Ireland, Australia, Great Britain and teams to be determined from Africa and Asia. Since she finished her playing days at Mississippi State, Davidson-Smith is currently serving as a graduate student coach with the Bulldogs as she works towards her Master’s Degree. Davidson is the all-time home run hitter in Southeastern Conference history.

Lauren Jackson: The Division II Lenoir-Rhyne softball team swept a doubleheader over Lincoln Memorial Dorothy Neely Field in Harrogate, TN on Monday. In the Bears’ 11-8 victory in the nightcap, Lenior-Rhyne rallied from a 8-5 deficit by scoring six runs in the seventh inning. Jackson 0-for-2 with a walk. In the opener, the Bears won 16-1 in five innings. Jackson went 2-for-4 with RBI single. On Saturday, Lenoir-Rhyne split a doubleheader with Newberry in South Carolina. The Bears won the opener 10-8. Jackson went 3-for-4 with a run scored and an RBI single in the third inning. She also scored a run. In the nightcap, Newberry won 5-4 in eight innings. Jackson went 0-for-3. Through 35 games, Jackson is hitting .337 with with 17 RBIs.

Ava Lowry: Lowry was named the USA South Conference Rookie of the Week. It came after Division III North Carolina Wesleyan swept doubleheaders against Methodist and Southern Virginia last week in Rocky Mount. Last Tuesday, the Battling Bishops won the first game against Methodist 5-3. Lowry went 1-for-3. Wesleyan won the second game 7-0. Lowry went 2-for-4 with a double. On Thursday, Wesleyan defeated Southern Virginia 6-5 scoring five runs in the seventh inning. Lowry triggered the seventh-inning rally with a leadoff single. She eventually scored on a single by Lillie Baumbach. Lowry finished the game 3-for-3 with a double and two runs scored. In the second game, Wesleyan won 7-4. Lowry, starting at shortstop, went 1-for-2 with a double. Through 34 games, Lowry is hitting .333 with six doubles and 13 RBIs. Wesleyan is 23-10 overall, 8-4 in the USA South Conference.

Grace Andrews: The Catawba Valley Community College softball team has won 16 games in a row. Over the weekend, the Red Hawks swept a doubleheader from Southeastern Community College in Whiteville. Catawba Valley won the opening game 8-0 in five innings. Andrews started at catcher and went 0-for-1 with a sacrifice bunt. In the second game, Catawba Valley won 9-0 in five innings. Andrews went 1-for-2 with two runs scored and a walk. Catawba Valley is 38-6 overall, 25-3 in Region X of the National Junior College Athletic Association.

Takia Nichols: The North Carolina Central softball team split a doubleheader against Norfolk State at Thomas Brooks Park in Cary. In the opening game, the Spartans defeated the Eagles 3-1. Nichols went 0-for-2 with a walk. The Eagles won the nightcap 4-3. Nichols scored the third run of the game when she drew a walk in the 4th inning. She scored on a groundout to the shortstop. Nichols was walked three times in the second game and didn’t have an official at-bat. The Eagles are 11-2 in the MEAC, one game behind Morgan State for first place. NCCU will travel to Baltimore to face Coppin State this weekend.

Tori Dalehite: The UNC Greensboro softball team took a weekend series against Samford at UNCG Softball Stadium over the weekend. On Friday, the Spartans defeated the Bulldogs 4-3 in eighth innings. Dalehite played as a pinch-runner. On Saturday, the Spartans defeated Samford 1-0 in eight innings. Dalehite, once again, played as a pinch-runner. On Sunday, Samford won 4-2. Dalehite played as a reserve. UNCG is 25-17 overall, 5-3 in the Southern Conference.

The Orange softball team got a leg up early against Cedar Ridge on Senior Night and went on to a 4-1 victory over the Red Wolves on Thursday night. On her Senior Night, centerfielder Serenity McPherson hit a solo homer in the first inning. Another senior, Carson Bradsher, went 3-for-3 with two runs scored. Junior Caden Robinson had a career-high 16 strikeouts, setting down 16 straight Red Wolves at one point. Robinson knocked in Bradsher in the first inning with a triple. Seniors Bradsher, McPherson, catcher Kelsey Tackett, left fielder Brianne “Breezy” Foster, right fielder April Terrell and designated hitter Savannah Wynne were all honored during a pregame ceremony. The group was responsible for Orange’s last conference championship in softball in 2021. Together, they have helped Orange reach #10 in the current 3A East RPI rankings under head coach Rachel Peel. This week, Orange will face Person in a rematch from March 24. The Panthers defeated the Rockets 4-2 in Roxboro, in a game where Reilly Crabtree had the game-winning hit in the sixth inning. Orange will also travel to Northern Durham, a former conference rival, on Wednesday night. It will be Orange’s final appearance at the current Northern Durham High School.

Orange softball seniors Bradsher, McPherson, Tackett, Wynne, Tackett, Foster & Terrell discuss win

The Orange softball team got a leg up early against Cedar Ridge on Senior Night and went on to a 4-1 victory over the Red Wolves on Thursday night. On her Senior Night, centerfielder Serenity McPherson hit a solo homer in the first inning. Another senior, Carson Bradsher, went 3-for-3 with two runs scored.

There are stories that the Orange softball class of 2023 will tell teenagers in 30 years that may seem like something from the planet Mars.

For Carson Bradsher, Serenity McPherson, Kelsey Tackett, Savannah Wynne, Brianne Foster, and Apryl Terrell, they lost almost all of their freshman season because of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Bradsher, McPherson, Wynn and Tackett won a conference championship together during a 2021 season that was greatly scaled down, limited to only 13 games. Yet the Lady Panthers became the first team in school history to go undefeated during the regular season.

While that season ended in a disappointing playoff loss to Southwestern Randolph, Wynne will forever have the tale of finishing the game despite suffering a broken nose in the 1st inning when a ball hit her in the face in left field. Afterwards, Wynne walked into the emergency room at a nearby hospital with her uniform on, then walked out and went back to class the next day because–well, because she’s a softball player.

Last spring, the seniors joined a new conference together that increased the competition level to an incredibly high level, one that Orange is still working to meet night in and night out.

The Lady Panthers went into spring break after a 4-2 road win over Person, who reached the State Quarterfinals last year. After a week off, Orange struggled to find the same form in a home loss to Falls Lake and a flat performance in a 10-3 defeat at the hands of defending 3A State Champion Eastern Alamance in Mebane.

On Thursday night, the six Orange seniors were honored against their crosstown rival, Cedar Ridge. Even after the Lady Panthers won 4-1 to improve to 7-4 overall, first-year coach Rachel Peel still desired more with the second half of the season here and now.

“As long as our bats are coming through, our defense has been great this season,” Peel said. “We just have to make sure we’re hitting line drives and we’re making solid contact. Right now, we’re just hitting a lot of pop-ups. We run-ruled Cedar Ridge the last time we played them. It was way too close for comfort tonight.”

Junior Caden Robinson had a career-high 16 strikeouts to improve to 5-1 with a 1.86 ERA.

Cedar Ridge sophomore Charlotte Lowry had a strong overall performance. She limited Orange to four hits in the final six innings and finished with three strikeouts.

McPherson put Orange at ease early with a solo homer in the first inning that sailed over the left field wall. It was her second dinger of the year.

Bradsher, who finished 3-for-3, stroked a single to centerfield in the next at-bat. Robinson sprayed a 0-1 fastball opposite field to the left field corner, Bradsher raced around the bases with blinding speed to score, then Robinson followed after the Cedar Ridge outfielder missed the cutoff lady on the relay.

Cedar Ridge opened with back-to-back hits from Mia Best and Reagan Simmons. Then Robinson settled in and retired 16 consecutive Red Wolves, strikeout out 12 of them. She struck out the side in the fourth.

Simmons, a sophomore, struck back in the sixth with a solo homer that went a long way over the right field wall. It was Simmons third home run.

Once again, Bradsher was responsible for an insurance run in the third. With two out, Bradsher beat out a throw on an infield single, went to second on a passed ball. Robinson reached on a hard grounder to Simmons and shortstop. As the Red Wolves tried to throw out Robinson, Bradsher never stopped moving around the bases and slid in feet-first into home plate to put Orange ahead 4-0.

Orange will have a rematch with Person on Tuesday night in Hillsborough. Peel hopes that the lessons from two weeks ago will come in handy in a crucial rematch against the Rockets.

“I learned last week that we need to make Spring Break practices mandatory,” Peel said. “We just came off a long break sort of cold. We went into back-to-back games without practicing. A bunch of girls enjoyed themselves on Spring Break and weren’t ready to play. It hurt us bad.”

This week’s Orange Panther of the Week is junior softball pitcher Caden Robinson. This season, Robinson has been the top pitcher and has averaged seven strikeouts a game. In addition, she leads the team with 18 RBIs, five doubles and four home runs. She has a 4-1 record with a 1.97 earned run average in ten pitching appearances. On March 6, Robinson struck out eleven and had an RBI double as Orange defeated Roxboro Community School 8-1 in Hillsborough. Two nights later in a rematch in Roxboro, Robinson had a two-run single as Orange defeated the Bulldogs 6-4. On March 24, Robinson had her most complete performance against Person in Roxboro. She struck out eleven with no walks as Orange won 4-2 over the Rockets. Robinson added a solo home run in the seventh inning. Robinson has played on the varsity since her freshman season. She has committed to play at Lees-McRae for college, but still has another season with the Panthers before she moves on. Orange will continue its season on Thursday against Northern Durham at Orange Softball Field. On Friday, they will face Cedar Ridge on Senior Night. Seniors Carson Bradsher, Serenity McPherson, Kelsey Tackett, Savannah Wynn, April Terrell and Brianne Foster will be honored in a pregame ceremony. First pitch will be at 6:30.

Orange Panther of the Week: Caden Robinson

This week’s Orange Panther of the Week is junior softball pitcher Caden Robinson. This season, Robinson has been the top pitcher and has averaged seven strikeouts a game. In addition, she leads the team with 18 RBIs, five doubles and four home runs.

The Orange softball team was able to match the Falls Lake offense, but they couldn’t match their power.

Senior Kennedy Teasley hit two home runs, including a two-run blast in the third inning that put Falls Lake ahead for good as the Firebirds defeated Orange 7-4 on Monday night at Orange Softball Field.

It was a disappointing return from Spring Break for Orange, who defeated Person 4-2 in Roxboro on March 24. The Panthers outhit the Firebirds 11-9, led by Senior Carson Bradsher and freshman Katie Carden each picking up three singles.

With an important conference game against Eastern Alamance slated for Tuesday, Orange coach Rachel Peel opted to limit starter Caden Robinson to three innings. Falls Lake catcher Ashbee Standridge lined a single to right field with one out in the third inning. Madison Primm followed with a double that got past a diving Serenity McPherson, who got up limping and eventually left the game. Strandridge came in to score and tied the game. Teasley followed with a home run that landed just before the scoreboard in left field.

Orange, who scored in the opening inning when McPherson slid in safely on a double steal with Bradsher, struck back with two in the third to tie the game. McPherson reached on a single to centerfield. Robinson slammed a fastball off the left field wall to bring in McPherson. After Delaney Shaffer concluded an 11-pitch at-bat with a walk, Carden lined a single up the middle to score Robinson and tie the game.

Brianne Foster entered the game as Orange pitcher in the fourth. Reagan Yancey, the 9th-batter in the Firebirds order, blooped a two-out single to right field that appeared harmless at the time. That changed when Standridge sent a double off the centerfield wall, bringing in Yancey. Primm launched a double off the fence in right field for another RBI, scoring Strandrige and increasing the Firebird lead to 6-3.

Bradsher had two leadoff singles in the latter innings. In the fifth, she legged out an infield single. She reached third after a groundout by Delaney Shaffer. Carden lined a comebacker to pitcher Jolie Sensenig, who couldn’t throw Carden out. Bradsher never stopped running and slid into home plate safely.

Teasley canceled out that run with her second home run, a solo blast to centerfield aided by the wind that was blowing out toward the wall all night.

Teasley threw the final two innings to earn the save.

Orange (6-3) will travel to Eastern Alamance tonight.

Men’s Tennis: Williams 5, Orange 4

In Burlington, the Orange men’s tennis team’s dual match against Walter Williams came down to doubles before the Bulldogs secured a victory.

Orange’s Nathan Pavalonis won at #3 singles in the only match of the night that went three sets. Pavalonis defeated Andrew Brasington 6-4, 0-6, 10-2.

Orange senior Brendon Kassler and freshman Quincy Stanley also won their singles matches to even the dual match 3-3 going into the three doubles matches.

Kassler and Stanley won the only doubles match for Orange, prevailing 8-3. Orange is now 5-5 overall, 1-4 in the CCC.

Men’s Golf: The second CCC dual meet of the season was held at Occoneechee Golf Course in Hillsborugh on Monday afternoon. Walter Williams came in first as a team with a collective score of 154.

Cedar Ridge finished third as a team with 172 strokes. Brad Monschein and Dylan Frochling each shot an 88 over 18-holes. Frochling had a 40 on the front nine. Ward Mann, Rowarn Baker, Eric Swanson and Bryson Koehler also competed for Cedar Ridge.

Orange finished fourth in the team standings. Senior Thomas Loch was the top finisher for Orange with an 83, including a 40 on the front nine. Cooper Zinn carded an 87. Josh Roberts had an 89. Connor McMurtry, R.J.Roemmich and Logan Scarantino also competed for the Panthers.

Christos Katsoudas of Walter Williams was the top individual finisher with a 75.

The Orange softball team went into Spring Break with real momentum after a come-from-behind win over Person on March 24. Sophomore Rhiley Crabtree hit the game-winning single as the Lady Panthers twice in the sixth inning to defeat the Rockets 4-2. Earlier in the inning, Savannah Wynn knocked in Sadie Cecil with a line drive to left field. It was another big game for junior Caden Robinson, who homered in the seventh inning for insurance. Robinson also had eleven strikeouts. She threw a complete-game four-hitter as Orange improved to 6-2 overall, 3-2 in the Central Carolina Conference. Senior Carson Bradsher, who has committed to play at USC-Upstate, finished 1-for-4. Freshman Katie Carden has become a regular starter at third base as Orange continues to battle some of the best teams in the state in their own conference. On March 20, Orange battled Western Alamance to ten innings in Hillsborough. The Warriors wound up winning 6-2, but Orange had the game-winning run just 60 feet away in the seventh inning. Orange will have a busy week coming up. They will face Falls Lake on Monday night at 6, then travel to Mebane on Tuesday to face Eastern Alamance, the defending 3A State Champions.

Orange’s Rhiley Crabtree, Caden Robinson, Carson Bradsher & Katie Carden discuss win vs. Person

The Orange softball team went into Spring Break with real momentum after a come-from-behind win over Person on March 24. Sophomore Rhiley Crabtree hit the game-winning single as the Lady Panthers twice in the sixth inning to defeat the Rockets 4-2. Earlier in the inning, Savannah Wynn knocked in Sadie Cecil with a line drive to left field.

Everything the Orange softball team has earned this year, they’ve taken the hard way.

The Lady Panthers are waging battle in a Central Carolina Conference so steep with talent, it might as well be called the PAC-12 East. There’s Eastern Alamance, the defending 3A State Champions, who lost starting pitcher Kenna Raye Dark to UNC after graduation last summer and is still a threat to win the league. Western Alamance has Taylor Apple, an East Carolina commitment who is one of the best all-around players in the state.

Last year, the Warriors lost in the third round of the state playoffs to Person, who return another top pitcher in Delaney Glover, a commitment to Binghamton University. The Rockets would eventually reach the state quarterfinals, where they fell to the Eagles 4-3 despite taking an early 2-0 lead against Dark.

In 2022, six of the seven CCC teams made the state playoffs. It would happen again now if the season ended today.

For Orange, a week that started in disappointment amid frigid temperatures against the top team in the league ended with their second straight come-from-behind win in Roxboro on a 70-degree day last Friday, nearly breaking a century-old record.

Sophomore first baseman Rhiley Crabtree lined a single down the right field line to score Savannah Wynn in the top of the sixth inning to pull Orange into the lead, while pitcher Caden Robinson added insurance with a solo blast in the seventh inning to push the Lady Panthers past Person 4-2 on Friday in Roxboro.

Robinson earned her fourth win of the season in the circle with eleven strikeouts. She allowed only four hits. After Person’s Liberty Jones drilled a two-run homer in the bottom of the third for the night’s opening runs, Robinson only allowed one more baserunner for the rest of the game. No Rocket touched second base after the third inning.

Going into spring break, Orange is tied with Person for third place in the CCC with a 3-2 league mark. The Lady Panthers will travel to Eastern Alamance on Tuesday.

For new Orange softball coach Rachel Peel, she’s had to deal with several spinning plates in her first months on the job. A former Orange player who went on to suit up at Furman and Meredith College, Peel has blended new starters like freshman Katie Carden and Crabtree with seniors like Carson Bradsher, Serenity McPherson, Kelsey Tackett and Wynn while dealing with the challenging CCC slate.

“We have so much competition at first base in general,” Peel said. “We have three players we could play there who have shown up. Rhiley has played well, but she can’t afford to let down because she has several people breathing down her neck. We have Mia Leathers and Natalie Roberson ready to step in. Mia had a great hit tonight. They’re all showing up and competing. That competition is breeding excellence.”

Trailing 2-0 going into the fifth inning, Crabtree led off the inning by getting hit by a pitch. With Brianne Foster at the plate, Crabtree advanced to second on a wild pitch. McPherson laced a line drive to the left field fence, which brought in Crabtree and cut Person’s lead in half. Glover ended Orange’s threat when she retired Bradsher and Robinson on consecutive infield pop-ups.

Orange quickly built another threat in the sixth when Sadie Cecil led off with a single to left field. Delaney Shaffer laid down a bunt to move Cecil to second. Wynn sent a screamer to left field, scoring Cecil and tying the game at 2. Crabtree followed with the game-winning hit on a single that dropped in front of right fielder Kaiden Hawkins to plate Wynn and give Orange its first lead of the night.

In the seventh, Robinson padded Orange’s lead with a laser to centerfield that cleared the fence. It was her fourth home run of the season.

Person still had six outs to mount a comeback, but Robinson wouldn’t allow them to even get a baserunner. She retired the final 12 Rockets she faced, including a strikeout to Allie Carden to end the game.

Orange (6-2) will host Falls Lake on Monday at 6PM at Orange Softball Field. Following the trip to Eastern Alamance, the Lady Panthers will play Northern Durham on Thursday at 6 PM in Hillsborough.