Orange High School

After going without a hit in the Eastern Regional Championship Series against West Brunswick, Mia Davidson found the perfect time to end her slump. She blasted a two-run homer to dead center on Friday night in the bottom of the sixth as Orange defeated Piedmont 3-2 in game 1 of the 3A State Championship Series.

In its first state championship game, the Orange Panthers pulled off a dramatic 3-2 win over Piedmont in game 1 of the 3A State Championship Series at Dial Softball Field at N.C. State. Mia Davidson, in her final series in an Orange uniform, launched a two-run homer to dead center in the bottom of the 6th. Orange will face Piedmont in game 2 Saturday at 2:00.

On Friday night, Kristina Givens threw 230 pitches over the course of two games. It was worth it. In her final games at Orange Softball field, Givens earned her 19th and 20th wins of the season as the Panthers captured the Eastern Regional Championship, beating West Brunswick 7-4 and 5-1 in games two and three. Next weekend, Givens will pitch against Piedmont for the 3A State Championship.

Only a freshman, Jaden Hurdle will do something next weekend that many Orange softball players never did: play for a state championship. The Panthers defeated West Brunswick 2-games-to-1 for the Eastern Regional Championship on Friday night. Hurdle hit .333 in the series, including a 3-run homer in game 1.

Alisha Pettiford hit one home run during the regular season for Orange. On Saturday night, she hit her 2nd, and it couldn’t have come at a better time. West Brunswick trailed 5-4 in the fifth after falling behind 5-0 at the end of one inning. In the bottom of the sixth, Pettiford laced a two-run homer to left field to sew up a game 2 victory. She also scored in game 3 during a 3-run 2nd inning, which put Orange ahead for good.

Entering Friday’s game against West Brunswick, Orange sophomore Olivia Ruff had never hit a home run. Not in a regular season game, not in a summer league game, not even in practice. Yet in game 2 against the Trojans, the 3rd baseman changed the shape of the series with a grand slam in the 1st inning, putting Orange ahead 5-0, a deficit the Panthers never yielded on its way to a 7-4 win.

In his 2nd year at the helm, Orange coach Eddie Davidson has led the Panthers to its first-ever Regional Championship. The Panthers defeated West Brunswick 5-1 to win the best-of-3 Eastern Regional Championship series on Friday night in Hillsborough. Orange will play Piedmont for the 3A State Championship in another best-of-3 series.