The Orange baseball team is now officially the #2 seed from the Big 8 Conference after beating Northwood 15-4 in six innings on Friday night in Hillsborough. Once again, Orange used the longball to its advantage. Dayne Watkins launched a three-run homer in the first inning. Tucker Joseph and Joey Berini also homered. It was Watkins 1st varsity home run, and his teammates didn’t let him forget about it in postgame. Orange completed the regular season 14-5 after lacing 17 hits against the Chargers. The Panthers will start play in the 3A state playoffs on Tuesday at a time and location to be determined.

Last year, the Orange lacrosse team came away disappointed after a lopsided loss to Northern Guilford in the state playoffs. On Wednesday night, it was completely different as the Panthers defeated Northside-Jacksonville 17-13 in the opening round of the 3A/2A/1A state playoffs. It was the 2nd state playoff win in team history. Dylan Boyer finished with four goals and two assists. Junior Wyatt Jones also scored four goals. Caleb Davis added the game-tying goal early in the 2nd quarter. Orange will travel to the coast again on Tuesday. This time, they will face Topsail, the 3rd seed from Conference One. Orange also got key contributions from Josh Mauer, who won 12 faceoffs.

The Orange lacrosse team won just its second state playoff game ever on Wednesday night in Jacksonville. The Panthers defeated Northside 17-13 in the opening round of the 3A/2A/1A NCHSAA State Playoffs. Sophomore goalkeeper Chase Hawkins made some vital saves as Orange outscored the Monarchs 6-1 in the 2nd quarter. The Panthers never trailed from that point forward. Hawkins started in lacrosse at Stanford Middle School and has continued to pursue it as his passion. On Tuesday night, Orange will make another trip to the coast to face Topsail in the 2nd round. The Pirates defeated First Flight 10-7 on Friday night.

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.

This week’s Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week is freshman runner Sarah Tucker. On April 18 during a track & field meet at Auman Stadium, Tucker won the 400 meters, crossing the finish line at 1:04:24, two seconds ahead of the 2nd place finisher. Last week during the Big 8 Championships at Southern Durham High School, Tucker joined Zoe Wade, Jill Myler and Allison Musty in finishing 2nd in the 4×800 relay. Their time of 10:25.38 qualified them for the Mideast Regionals, which will take place on May 11 at Southern Lee High School. In January, Tucker won the 500 meters in the Eastern Alamance Polar Bear #6 meet in Mebane. Also at the Big 8 Championships, she teamed with Natalia Garay, Madison Wardlow and Alynah Howard to finish 4th in the 4×200 relay.

The Cedar Ridge softball team captured a share of the Big 8 softball championship on Tuesday night, beating Northern Durham 12-6. In her final regular season game at Cedar Ridge, catcher Kymberlie Thacker went 3-for-4 with a double and 3 RBIs. Thacker is hitting .425 this season. In January, she formally signed with Brevard College. Earlier this year, Thacker suffered a concussion against Cardinal Gibbons, forcing her to miss six games. Regardless, the senior returned behind the plate. In her ten games since her return, Cedar Ridge has scored in double figure runs eight times. Next week, the Red Wolves will start action in the state playoffs, where they hope to be the #1 seed from the Big 8 Conference. On Wednesday night, Orange hosts East Chapel Hill. If the Lady Panthers win, they will face Cedar Ridge in a one-game playoff for the Big 8’s top seed on Thursday.

For the 2nd year in a row, the Cedar Ridge Red Wolves have won a share of the Big 8 softball championship. On Wednesday night, they defeated Northern Durham 12-6 at Knights Softball Field in Durham to finish the regular season 18-2. Senior pitcher Taylor Barnes threw a complete game for her 15th win of the season. Barnes also went 2-for-4 with a double. On Monday night in Cedar Ridge’s 12-2 win over the Knights, Barnes went 3-for-3 and scored three runs. Barnes is hitting .462 this season. After playing twice in two days, Cedar Ridge will sit back and watch crosstown rival Orange on Wednesday night. The Panthers host East Chapel Hill. If Orange wins, they will Cedar Ridge on Thursday for the #1 seed in the Big 8 Conference in the upcoming 3A State Tournament.