As the sun started to set on a remarkable day in Hillsborough, it appeared for just a moment that Ava Lowry would make it a celebration unlike any other for Cedar Ridge.

In any other ballpark across the Big 8 Conference, it would have been. Lowry had worked the count as only she could, and sent Orange pitcher Caden Robinson’s payoff pitch towards right centerfield. As Orange’s Serenity McPherson gave chase, the only drawback for Cedar Ridge was that Lowry had hit it to the deepest part of a big ballpark.

It landed two feet shy of the wall.

Lowry would wind up with a triple in the eighth inning, but she would go no further. The most remarkable comeback win in Cedar Ridge softball history, and possibly every other sport as well, would fall just short.

Orange scored three runs in the ninth inning to escape from Cedar Ridge with a 12-9 win in extra innings. Freshman 2nd baseman Delaney Shaffer, in just her second start, went 4-for-5 with two RBIs, including the game-winning hit when she drove in junior Mary Moss Wirt with a drive to left field. Wirt led off the ninth with a liner up the middle on an 0-2 pitch.

Not that anyone in attendance, bundled up on a chilly night wearing orange or burgundy and gray, thought it would remotely reach that point to begin with. Cedar Ridge trailed 9-2 going into the bottom of the seventh inning against an undefeated Orange team that had already clinched the Big 8 Championship on Tuesday with a victory over Vance County.

Besides, some Cedar Ridge fans felt that they had already sewed up a moral victory. They were the first team this year to extend Orange past the fifth inning. The Lady Panthers (8-0, 6-0 in the Big 8) had won all of its games via the run-rule, i.e. 10 runs after five innings, or 15 runs after three. On March 23, Orange beat Cedar Ridge 20-0. Their closest game had come against Vance County on Tuesday, an 11-1 win that was stopped in the fifth after Carson Bradsher drove home Delaney Shaffer.

With Cedar Ridge trailing 9-2 going into the seventh, it appeared another Orange win would be a mere formality.

Then funny things started happening.

“I’ve never seen anything like it,” said Cedar Ridge Coach Allen Byrd. “We come out of this game with our heads held high. What amazed me is that they never gave up. We were down seven runs, and they knew that wasn’t the time to give up. It was time to fight.”

Pinch hitter Tori Carden, in her second plate appearance of the year, drew a walk. Alex Matthews singled to centerfield. Takia Nichols walked to load the bases, which led Orange coach Johnny Barefoot to put in freshman right fielder Caden Robinson to pitch. Robinson struck out Emma-Rae Sharp, but Carden scored off a wild pitch. Senior catcher ShiLi Quade laid down a bunt to third and reached safely to load the bases again. Olivia Aitkin lined a single to centerfield to bring in Nichols and Matthews to make it 9-5.

Suddenly extending Orange to seven innings didn’t feel like the top priority anymore.

With Lowry at bat, Quade scored off a wild pitch. Then Lowry reached on a dropped ball in the outfield, which allowed Aitkin to come in. Second baseman Reagan Ruhl grounded a ball to Shaffer, who flipped to second base, but no one was covering. Senior Marleee Rakouskas got an infield hit on a slow roller to shortstop to load the bases again.

Carden, the tenth batter for Cedar Ridge in the 7th, came up. On a 1-1 pitch, Lowry scored off a wild pitch and moved Ruhl to third. After Carden drew another walk, Matthews grounded out to Carson Bradsher at short, which allows Ruhl to tie the game. Rakouskas, incredibly representing the game-winning run, moved to third.

After Nichols was intentionally walked, Sharp grounded to Wirt at third base, who came up with the ball and chucked it to catcher Lauren Jackson to retire Rakouskas at the plate on a force out. A game that appeared to be a breeze for Orange was now going to extra innings.

After Lowry’s near miss in the 8th, Wirt led off the ninth inning with a single. Following the RBI by Shaffer, centerfielder Serenity McPherson laced a 2-1 liner to left field to score Shaffer. Bradsher drilled a fastball to left field, which brought in Gracie Colley for insurance, but McPherson was tagged out at the plate.

Shaffer, in just her second varsity start at second base, made the game’s biggest defensive play in the bottom of the ninth inning. After Rakouskas and Carden hit consecutive singles to lead off the frame, Matthews lofted a soft liner to second. With the ball fading quickly, Shaffer dove under it to make the catch, then doubled up Carden at first. After Nichols was intentionally walked to a chorus of boos from the Cedar Ridge fans, Wirt fittingly got the final out on a grounder hit by Sharp.

Lowry, who finished 2-for-4 with a triple and a double, was responsible for ten outs (four putouts and six assists) at shortstop. Rakouskas went 3-for-4.

Bradsher finished 3-for-5 with three runs scored. McPherson went 3-for-5 with an RBI.

Orange opened with three runs in the first inning. McPherson hit a leadoff single to centerfield, and Bradsher followed with an RBI triple to left field. Robinson wound up at third a dropped ball in left field to score Bradsher. With Jackson at bat, Robinson scored off a wild pitch.

McPherson scored again in the second inning after she got onboard off a single to shallow centerfield. Bradsher reached on an error, then got caught in a rundown after McPherson went to third. As Bradsher baited a throw, McPherson raced across the plate safely

It was one of seven unearned runs scored by Orange.

Cedar Ridge scored in the second inning after Lowry doubled to left field. After going to third on a groundout by Ruhl, Lowry touched the plate after a wild pitch to cut Orange’s lead to 4-1.

Jackson reached on an error to start the third inning. With Brianne Foster running for Jackson, Wirt singled up the middle. Pitcher Gracie Walker knocked in Foster with an groundout to Lowry. Shaffer singled in Wirt with a base hit to right field.

In the 80s, a walk followed by two stolen bases was known as the “Ricky Henderson triple.” Well, Bradsher increased Orange’s lead in the fourth with a Carson Bradsher home run to increase Orange’s lead to 6-1 during a sequence where she reached on a single, stole second and wound up at home after two throwing errors.

In the sixth, Brasher notched her third run of the game following another error. After Robinson moved her to second base on a groundout, Jackson lined a fastball to left field for a RBI double. At the time, it felt like an extraneous run, but it proved to be vital a short time later after Cedar Ridge scored seven runs in a 7th inning no one will soon forget.

In just her second varsity start, Orange 2nd baseman had the game-winning hit and the biggest defensive play in a classic game against Cedar Ridge on Friday night at Red Wolves Softball Stadium. After Cedar Ridge made an improbable comeback with seven runs in the 7th inning, Shaffer knocked in Mary Moss Wirt with a single to left field. Later in the inning, Shaffer scored off a single by Serenity McPherson. In the bottom of the ninth, Cedar Ridge had runners at first and second base with no one out, Shaffer caught a fading soft liner, then threw to first baseman Gracie Colley for a double play. The Lady Panthers maintained an undefeated record. They also had a regular season sweep of the Red Wolves for the first time since 2017. It was only the second win for Orange at Cedar Ridge since 2016. Orange, 8-0, will travel to Northwood on Tuesday.

The Cedar Ridge softball team nearly pulled off what would have been the greatest comeback victory in school history against crosstown rival Orange. On Friday night, the Red Wolves trailed 9-2 in the bottom of the seventh inning, but roared back with seven runs to send the game into extra innings. Sophomore pitcher Hayley King set the Lady Panthers down in order in the top of the eighth to give the Red Wolves a chance to beat the Lady Panthers. King threw 126 pitches against Orange. She also played with inspiration. In January, King’s grandmother passed away. On Friday night, her grandfather gave King a piece of her grandmother’s shirt that she wore to many of King’s games. King kept that in her back pocket and rubbed it whenever she felt she needed inspiration. This season, King has three wins for the Red Wolves. Cedar Ridge will travel to Northern Durham next Tuesday.

The Orange men’s tennis team defeated Roxboro Community School at Orange Tennis Courts on Thursday. Playing at #1 singles, junior Justin Conover earned his third win in his last four singles matches. Also earning wins for Orange were Colin O’Hagerty, Brandon Gwinn, Joseph Clark, Nathan Pavalonis and Tristian Plummer at singles. Conover has amassed a 4-3 singles record this season for the Panthers. he also defeated Northwood’s Jo Sumogod 6-4, 6-4 on March 24. Later this month, Conover will be Orange’s representative in the Big 8 Conference singles tournament, which will determine who will make the 3A Mideast Regionals at the Burlington Tennis Center. On Friday, Orange will host crosstown rival Cedar Ridge. The Red Wolves defeated the Panthers earlier this year in the western end of Hillsborough.

Kayla Hodges: On Thursday afternoon, the Elon women’s soccer team surprised top-seeded Hofstra 1-0 in the semifinals of the Colonial Athletic Association Tournament in Towson, MD. Hodges, who was named the Colonial Athletic Association Defensive Player of the Week earlier this season, started for the Phoenix on defense. Claire Broderdop scored the game’s only goal in the 78th minute. It’s the first time that Elon ever defeated Hofstra. The Phoenix is now 5-3 and will face UNC Wilmington for the Colonial Athletic Association championship on Sunday afternoon.

Taylin Jean: The Division II Limestone women’s soccer team came to an end with a 1-0 loss to Queen’s University in the semifinals of the South Atlantic Conference Tournament last Thursday. Jean, a goalkeeper, didn’t play against the Royals. She earned the victory in net during Limestone’s final win of the season, a 2-1 win over Lincoln Memorial on April 5.

Jordan Rogers: The Division III William Peace women’s soccer team had its season end against Mary Baldwin on March 26. This season, Rogers started in all eight games for the Pacers. She played 443 minutes. Peace finished 3-5 overall, 2-4 in the USA South Athletic Conference.

Bailey Lucas: The Meredith volleyball team’s season came to an end on Wednesday in the semifinals of the USA Southeast Division Tournament. Averett defeated the Avenging Angels 3-1 on scores of 26-24, 21-25, 25-23, 25-20 inside the Grant Center in Danville, VA. Lucas ended her junior season by starting the final game of the season. She compiled 16 assists, 15 digs and one kill. Lucas led the team with 314 assists this year. She was fourth in the squad with 108 digs. Meredith ends the year 9-5.

Mia Davidson: The Mississippi State softball team won both of its midweek games this week. The Bulldogs defeated Samford 8-5 in Birmingham, AL on Tuesday. Davidson went 1-for-4 with an RBI single in the 7th inning. On Wednesday, Mississippi State edged Southern Miss 3-2 in eight innings at Nusz Park in Starkville, MS. Davidson went 1-for-3 with a single in the 1st inning, and eventually scored.

Montana Davidson: Montana hit an RBI single in the fourth inning for Mississippi State against Samford. In the third inning, Montana scored in the third inning off an RBI single by Fa Leilua. She finished 1-for-2 with an RBI against Samford. Against Southern Miss, Montana went 0-for-2 with a walk. Mississippi State is 22-16 and will travel to Missouri this weekend searching for its first Southeastern Conference win of the season.

Brandon Andrews: The former Cedar Ridge pitcher made his debut for Jacksonville State last month. In one-thirds of an inning, Andrews gave up three runs off two hits as the Gamecocks lost to Kennesaw State 12-10 at Stillwell Stadium in Kennesaw, GA on March 24. After two seasons and 37 relief appearances at Nicholls State, Andrews transferred to Jacksonville State last summer. He redshirted last season with Nicholls State. Jacksonville State is 16-15, 7-5 in the Ohio Valley Conference. The Gamecocks will travel to Eastern Kentucky this weekend.

Kate Burgess: Burgess, a former center for the Orange women’s basketball team and cross country runner, is now a member of the UNC rowing team. On March 27, UNC’s 1V4+ quad earned its first win of the season over UCF at Virginia’s South Fork River Reservoir in Charlottesville, VA. Burgess was in the 2V4 race, joined by freshman coxswain Isabelle McGimsey, along with Gigi Maroney, Nicole Van Liew and Claire Melgard. They finished the race in 8:10.9. UCF’s team finished in 8:05.7.

Jaylin Jones: The Division III Pfeiffer men’s lacrosse team defeated Greensboro College 18-8 at Lefko Field in Misenheimer on Wednesday. Jones, who played football and lacrosse at Orange, had two ground balls for the Falcons. Pfeiffer improved to 8-1 overall, 6-0 in the USA South Athletic Conference. Pfeiffer will face Methodist in Fayetteville on Saturday.

The Orange softball team has won the Big 8 Championship and it wasn’t close.

On Tuesday, the Lady Panthers rolled past Vance County 11-1 in five innings in Hillsborough to officially clinch the title.

But that’s only part of the story.

Among the ten players on Orange Coach Johnny Barefoot’s lineup card on Tuesday, there were two freshmen, four sophomores, and three juniors. The only senior was first baseman Gracie Colley, who was at first base and wasn’t even in the batting order.

The conference title may only be the beginning for a team that is still young in terms of class, but has grown wise through years of summer travel ball and success in various middle schools.

When the season started a month ago, no one was sure what to expect since it was a new chapter for Hillsborough softball. Cedar Ridge lost five seniors after the pandemic-shortened season in 2020. Orange lost six, including two starters from its 2017 3A State Championship team.

Lady Panthers Coach Henry Horn retired shortly after the season was canceled. Barefoot replaced Horn. It was his first high school head coaching job.

“A lot of people thought we were young with new coaches,” Barefoot said. “Some might have thought with a new staff, we wouldn’t do very well. But I knew what was here and I knew what was coming with me. I was praying that COVID wouldn’t shut us down because I knew we could put the chemistry together. I had it in the back of my mind that we were capable of winning this conference.”

Orange’s last outright Big 8 Championship team was the 2017 state title squad, but it was a different time. For one thing, the regular season race was a full-fledged 14-game season, not a 7-game campaign sawed in half because of a pandemic. In 2017, there were four seniors in the starting lineup, along with freshmen Jaden Hurdle and Grace Andrews. The Panthers of Eddie Davidson went 26-3, but lost a conference game to J.F. Webb. They held off Northwood 3-0 in Pittsboro.

It was a stronger league back then. Nonetheless, the 2021 Orange team (7-0, 6-0 in the Big 8 Conference) has dominated its league counterparts with all the suspense of a mid-1980s Super Bowl blowout.

They’ve won all seven games by at least ten runs. None of the contests have gone beyond five innings.

With the Big 8 Championship now in the bag, Orange finds itself in a unique position. They have four more games against league opponents that won’t count as conference games, starting with Friday’s trip to Cedar Ridge. To get a sense of what awaits Orange in the 3A State Playoffs, Barefoot has scheduled a nonconfernece game at Southern Alamance on April 28 to guard against letdown.

“I was talking to the girls about it after Tuesday night,” Barefoot said. “I told them we’re going to work hard and take the rest of this season to prepare. Anybody in our conference can come up and knock our feet out from under us. I told them that. We have got to keep practicing hard and playing hard.”

Against Vance County, Barefoot installed freshman Caden Robinson in the pitching circle, where she improved to 4-0. In her fourth complete game, Robinson struck out eight, and allowed four hits and one unearned run with zero walks.

Vance County’s Tymiah Wimbush scored the game’s opening run in the 1st inning after she reached on an error. Pitcher Blake Vick drove her in on a fielder’s choice groundout. The Vipers had only three singles the rest of the day.

Orange took the lead in the second inning with two runs. After a leadoff infield single by Mary Moss Wirt, Savannah Wynn reached on a fielder’s choice. Right fielder Gracie Walker hit a grounder up the middle that reached the fence to bring in Wynne. Designated player Kelsey Tackett, who finished 3-for-3 with two runs scored, drove in Walker with a double that reached the fence in left centerfield.

The Lady Panthers added two more runs in the third. After sophomore shortstop Carson Bradsher pushed a drag bunt to shortstop, Robinson walked. Catcher Lauren Jackson reached on a throwing error to score Bradsher and courtesy runner Courtney Watkins.

Tackett opened the fourth inning with an infield single, freshman Delaney Shaffer lined a double to left centerfield to bring in Tackett and increase Orange’s lead to 5-1. Bradsher legged out an infield single to shortstop to bring in Shaffer. After Robinson walked, Jackson lined a 1-1 fastball to right field to bring in two runs. Wirt, who moved to third base for this game, reached on an error, leading to Bree Harris, running in place of Jackson, scoring.

Orange ended the game with two more runs in the fifth to complete the run-rule victory. Tackett and Shaffer opened with singles. McPherson looped a 0-1 pitch to right field, bringing in Tackett. Bradsher plated Shaffer with a single to right field.

This week’s Orange Panther of the Week is center fielder Serenity McPherson. Last week, Orange gained the inside track on taking the Big 8 Championship with a 13-3 win in five innings over Northern Durham on April 6. In that game, McPherson went 3-for-4 with a triple and a three-run homer that broke the game open. McPherson also threw out a runner at the plate from centerfield. On Wednesday, the Lady Panthers defeated East Chapel Hill 17-0 in three innings at Wildcat Softball Field. McPherson went 3-for-4 with a double. As a sophomore, McPherson is hitting .520. She’s second on the team with 13 hits. Even though she’s the lead off batter, she’s still second on the squad with 11 RBIs. She’s also tied for the team lead with two home runs. Orange has wrapped up the Big 8 Conference Championship. McPherson also won an Orange-Person Athletic Conference Championship in her eighth grade year at Stanford Middle School. Orange will travel to Cedar Ridge on Friday afternoon at 5:30. You can hear that game here on Hillsboroughsports.com.

Hours after a disappointing loss to Vance County, the Cedar Ridge softball team rediscovered its defensive touch against Northwood.

After they surrendered three unearned runs against the Vipers on Thursday, either Hayley King threw a two-hitter over five innings as the Red Wolves defeated the Chargers 14-2 on Friday night at Cedar Ridge Softball Field. Three weeks earlier, the Chargers scored 17 runs against the Red Wolves in the season opener.

King, who improved to 3-3, threw the first complete game of her varsity career.

Northwood didn’t even bother pitching to Cedar Ridge’s Takia Nichols, even though she was the leadoff patter. Nichols, who already has four home runs in six games this season, was intentionally walked in all three of her plate appearances. With the bat out of Nichols’ hands, shortstop Ava Lowry hit an inside-the-park home run on a line drive to left field, bringing in ShiLi Quade and Olivia Aitkin to end the game. Lowry, who hit two conventional home runs against East Chapel Hill on March 29, finished 2-for-3 with four RBIs and three runs scored. She is now hitting .500 in 20 at-bats. She’s tied for the team lead with 14 RBIs.

Quade went 2-for-3 with three runs scored. Senior left fielder Marlee Rakouskas finished 3-for-3 with three RBIs and a triple.

Nichols scored on a sacrifice fly hit by Aitkin in the top of the first. After Northwood tied the game off a run scored by Carlee Harris in the third inning, Cedar Ridge took the lead again after Nichols scored on another sacrifice fly by Aitkin. Quade, who reached on a bunt single earlier in the inning, was driven home by an infield single hit by Lowry. Rakouskas lined a triple to centerfield to score Lowry and Reagan Rhul and increase the Red Wolves’ lead to 5-1. Sophomore Caira Peach hit a grounder to left field for her first varsity RBI, sending Rokouskas home to conclude a six-run frame. A

After Nichols was issued her obligatory leadoff walk to start the fourth, Quade singled on a line drive to left field. Aitkin followed through with a double to centerfield to score Nichols. It was Aitkin’s third RBI of the day.

The previous day against Vance County, Takia Nichols hit two home runs. It was the 16th and 17th home runs of her career, a school record. Nichols is a junior who played only four games in her sophomore year after it was stopped because of the pandemic.

On Thursday, Vance County defeated Cedar Ridge 7-4 behind a solid pitching performance by Blake Vick, who scattered only four hits in seven innings. Quade scored the game’s first run off a double by Nichols that one-hopped the wall in left field. But Cedar Ridge didn’t have another batter touch third base again until Nichols’ solo homer in the fifth inning.

The Vipers scored four runs in the third inning. Kennedy Keel started things with a one-out triple to right field, and scored on a wild pitch while catcher Malia Simmons was at bat. After a Cedar Ridge error with two out kept the inning alive, Madison Ayscue reached on an infield single on a liner that popped off the webbing of Nichols’ glove at third base. Myasia Coles then tripled down the left field line to score Richardson and Ayscue.

In the seventh, Keel hit another triple, which was followed by Simmons sending a triple to centerfield.

Quade reached on a bunt single to lead off the seventh inning, then rounded the bases and scored off a throwing error that sent the ball to left field.

Cedar Ridge travels to Chapel Hill tonight. The Red Wolves are 3-3.

ORANGE: Orange has a chance to wrap up the Big 8 Conference Championship tonight when they face Vance County in Hillsborough. The Lady Panthers are 6-0, 5-0 in the Big 8 Conference. With each team only playing seven conference games, Vance County comes in with a 1-2 mark.

It would be Orange’s first outright Big 8 Championship since 2017, when they won the 3A State Championship. The Lady Panthers tied Cedar Ridge for the Big 8 title in 2019, but Cedar Ridge defeated Orange in a special tiebreaker game to determine the top seed from the Big 8 for the state playoffs.

Last Thursday, Orange rolled past East Chapel Hill 17-0 at Wildcat Softball Stadium. Freshman Caden Robinson hit her second career varsity home run. Junior catcher Lauren Jackson added her first home run of the season, her sixth career dinger.

Robinson also took the win in the circle. She threw only the first inning, striking out two.

The Lady Panthers piled up 17 hits. Sophomore Carson Bradsher finished 3-for-4 with a triple. Sophomore Serenity McPherson went 3-for-4 with a double. Jackson and Gracie Walker went 2-for-2. Junior Mary Moss Wirt finished 1-for-1, but scored three runs off two walks.

Orange and Cedar Ridge will meet at Cedar Ridge Stadium on Friday night.