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It was another quick night for the Cedar Ridge softball team. They defeated West Carteret 10-0 in five innings in the 2nd round of the 3A State Playoffs in Hillsborough on Friday night. In a six-run 2nd inning, Taylor Ruhl scored on a three-run, inside the park home run. Ruhl scored four runs as the Red Wolves advanced to face West Brunswick on Tuesday near the South Carolina border. This will be the first time the Red Wolves have faced the Trojans.

Cedar Ridge Junior Taylor Ruhl Talks Inside the Park Home Run in Playoff Win vs. West Carteret

It was another quick night for the Cedar Ridge softball team. They defeated West Carteret 10-0 in five innings in the 2nd round of the 3A State Playoffs in Hillsborough on Friday night. In a six-run 2nd inning, Taylor Ruhl scored on a three-run, inside the park home run.

The Cedar Ridge Girls 4×200 and 4×400 Relay Teams will compete in Saturday’s 3A Mideast Regionals at Southeast Guilford High School in Greensboro. They qualified at last week’s Big 8 Conference Championships at Southern Durham. Featured in this video, from left to right, are freshman Katie Watkins, junior Abby Averette, sophomore Allison Musty, sophomore Ella Nissler, junior Macy Henry, freshman Jill Myler and freshman Anne Morrell.

Cedar Ridge’s Girls 4×200 and 4×400 Relay Teams Compete in Mideast Regionals Saturday

The Cedar Ridge Girls 4×200 and 4×400 Relay Teams will compete in Saturday’s 3A Mideast Regionals at Southeast Guilford High School in Greensboro. They qualified at last week’s Big 8 Conference Championships at Southern Durham.

Cedar Ridge sophomore Ben Pardue started pole vaulting last year. In just one year of work, he finished 2nd at the Big 8 Championships last week at Southern Durham with a distance of 12 feet. On Saturday, he will compete in the 3A Mideast Regionals for the first time. He has several goals outlined as he moves forward with his track and field career, including for the Regionals at Southeast Guilford on Greensboro on Saturday. 

Cedar Ridge Sophomore Ben Parude Discusses Pole Vaulting in the Mideast Regionals

Cedar Ridge sophomore Ben Purdue started pole vaulting last year. In just one year of work, he finished 2nd at the Big 8 Championships last week at Southern Durham with a distance of 12 feet. On Saturday, he will compete in the 3A Mideast Regionals for the first time.

Only a handful of baseball programs across the state can say they’ve won a game in the state playoffs for seven consecutive years. But Orange is one of them after Wednesday’s 6-2 victory over Jacksonville at Cardinals Stadium. Jaydin Poteat went 2-for-4 and scored in each of the first two innings. Jason Slaughter had three RBIs and also finished 2-for-4. Kaymin Matsko earned the win by throwing four innings, giving up only two runs. Dalton Brown singled, scored and threw two key innings of relief as the Panthers advanced to face Chapel Hill on Saturday night at 7, a game you can here on Hillsboroughsports.com

Orange Senior Jaydin Poteat, Jason Slaughter, Kaymin Matsko & Dalton Brown Discuss Playoff Win over

Only a handful of baseball programs across the state can say they’ve won a game in the state playoffs for seven consecutive years. But Orange is one of them after Wednesday’s 6-2 victory over Jacksonville at Cardinals Stadium. Jaydin Poteat went 2-for-4 and scored in each of the first two innings.

For the third time in four weeks, Caige Clayton came in from third base and pitched the final outs of a big Orange win. Clayton struck out the final two Jacksonville batters, with two men on base, to preserve Orange’s 6-2 win over the Cardinals. Clayton drove in the first run of the game with a double off the left field wall, scoring Jaydin Poteat. To prepare for a three-hour bus ride to Jacksonville, Clayton had a steady breakfast which included diligent attention to making his cereal, as he discusses in this interview. 

Orange 3rd Baseman and Closer Caige Clayton Discusses Getting Save vs. Jacksonville and the Finer P

For the third time in four weeks, Caige Clayton came in from third base and pitched the final outs of a big Orange win. Clayton struck out the final two Jacksonville batters, with two men on base, to preserve Orange’s 6-2 win over the Cardinals.

Matthew Kahn has been a revelation for Cedar Ridge’s push to its best record in 12 years, and he showed why on Wednesday.

Kahn, a sophomore, delivered a two-run triple, which proved to be the knockout blow during a six-run sixth inning as Cedar Ridge defeated Southern Alamance 10-2 in the first round of the 3A State Playoffs in Hillsborough.

The Red Wolves are now 18-5. They will face Terry Sanford in Fayetteville on Saturday at noon in the 2nd round.

Junior pitcher Phil Berger earned the win, though he was limited to three-and-a-third innings. Berger improved to 6-2 by giving up two runs off three hits. Kahn came in during the fourth inning and took the save by throwing three-and-two-thirds shutout innings. He allowed one hit and two walks for his first varsity save.

It’s the 2nd straight year where Cedar Ridge has won a playoff game. Last year, the Red Wolves defeated Nash Central in the opening round before losing to Eastern Alamance 3-0 in the 2nd round.

As anticimatic as the game ended, it certainly didn’t start that way. Southern Alamance (17-10) scored its only runs in the first inning. Cole Greyson lined the game’s second pitch to centerfield. Junior Kaleb Potts got on board after a dropped pop-up. Amren Strigo loaded the bases after a line drive single to left. Junior catcher Austin Gilley grounded into a fielder’s choice to Jake DeFranco, bringing in Greyson. Potts scored off another RBI groundout by Scottie Thompson.

Cedar Ridge scored the game’s final ten runs, starting in the bottom of the first when Chris Cox doubled to the left field gap to plate Berger, who led off the frame with a single.

The Red Wolves took the lead with a pair in the 2nd. Erik Zehnder led off with a double to centerfield. Zehnder was thrown out at the plate trying to score off a grounder by Cooper Lamb. With two out, Adam Chnupa singled to right, sending Lamb to third. Jake DeFranco sent a grounder to Thompson, the pitcher, who threw it away, allowing Lamb and Chnupa to score.

In the fourth, Dante DeFranco sent a one-out single to left, and Cox followed with another single. Sailor Ramos got his team-leading 23rd RBI of the year with a liner to left, bringing in DeFranco and increasing Cedar Ridge’s lead to 4-2.

During Cedar Ridge’s sixth, Jake DeFranco walked, and Berger doubled. Dante DeFranco slammed another double to right to score Jake. Ramos added two more RBIs to his total with a line drive double to left. Lamb hit a sacrifice fly to left, allowing Kahn to tag up.

On Saturday, Cedar Ridge will play to get into the third round of the state playoffs for the first time since 2006.

Rivers Andrews was one out away from her second perfect game of the season.

With 26 up and 26 down and two out in the 7th inning, she walked Southern Wayne’s Mackenzie Bryan.

Instead of a perfect game, Andrews had to be content with her eighth no-hitter of the season. And Cedar Ridge softball’s first state playoff win since 2006, at least.

Cedar Ridge stormed past Southern Wayne 9-0 in Hillsborough on Wednesday night in Hillsborough in the first round of the 3A state playoffs. The Red Wolves advance to face West Carteret in Hillsborough on Friday or Saturday.

West Carteret, the champions of the Coastal Conference, held off Southeast Guilford 2-1 on Wednesday in Morehead City.

There was no such drama in Hillsborough on Wednesday as the Red Wolves won its 13th straight game to improve to 16-1. Andrews struck out 19 Saints, pushing her season total to 177, compared to 12 walks.

Cedar Ridge broke open a scoreless tie with four runs in the third. Taylor Ruhl and Tionna Carter started the inning with consecutive singles. Andrews knocked in the game’s first run, bringing in Ruhl on a sacrifice fly. Kymberlie Thacker had an RBI groundout to second, scoring Carter and giving Cedar Ridge a 2-0 lead. With two out, Emma Roby singled, and then Kara Wagoner drilled a two-run homer to left field. It was Wagoner’s first dinger of the year.

It remained 4-0 until the bottom of the sixth, when Cedar Ridge poured in five more runs. Taylor Barnes, Amy Stutzer and Tori Dalehite each had infield singles. Stutzer was thrown out at second. Ruhl grounded into a fielder’s choice with the bases loaded as Cailyn Thornton, running for Barnes, was thrown out at home trying to score. Carter lined a single to center to bring in Dalehite. Ruhl scored off an RBI single from Andrews, pushing Cedar Ridge’s lead to 6-0. As Thacker was at bat, Carter scored off a wild pitch. Thacker doubled on a liner to left field which reached the wall, plating Shili Quade, who was running for Andrews. Reagan Ruhl, running for Thacker, scored the final run off Roby’s infield single.

Roby finished 3-for-4 with an RBI. Wagoner went 2-for-4 following the homer. Dalehite, batting leadoff, finished 2-for-4, pushing her team-best average to .583. She also leads the team with 28 hits, five triples and 28 RBI.

Cedar Ridge’s win ended a mixed night for the Big 8 in the opening round of the state playoffs. Conference runner-up East Chapel Hill defeated Gray’s Creek 8-5 in Hope Mills. The Wildcats advance to face Western Alamance in the 2nd round.

However, the other two teams from the Big 8 were decisively eliminated. 11th-seeded Topsail pulled away from defending 3A state champion Orange 16-7 in Hampstead. Cape Fear remained undefeated, improving to 25-0 after shutting out Northern Durham 7-0 in Fayetteville.

This was one trip away from Morehead City that P.J. Michaelson could enjoy.

As a player at South Central High in Winterville, Michaelson was 0-8 against Coastal Conference rival West Carteret.

He also managed the girls team for four years. They never defeated the Patriots, either.

“I used to dread going there,” said Michaelson.

So when the NCHSAA announced the girls soccer playoff brackets on Monday morning, Michaelson had a case of deja vu. Cedar Ridge, the team he has coached for the past five years, would travel to face, you guessed it, West Carteret.

But Michaelson didn’t feel dread. He got a jolt of optimism.

“I told the girls we were prepared,” said Michaelson. “Their 11-seed was just a number. It doesn’t matter what their rank is. We’re ready to go.”

On Wednesday night, his players proved him right.

Freshmen Emerson Talley and Ivy Garner each scored goals in the first half, while Geri Messinger scored in the 2nd to finally give Michaelson his long-awaited win at West Carteret 3-0 in the first round of the 3A State Playoffs.

Not only did the Red Wolves advance to the 2nd round to face D.H. Conley on Saturday, they also became the first team to shut out the Patriots this season. West Carteret, the 11th seed, finished runner-up in the Coastal Conference behind Jacksonville.

It was Cedar Ridge’s first win in the state playoffs since 2005, when the Red Wolves defeated Durham School of the Arts 3-1 in the 2A/1A state championship tournament (the NCHSAA crowned three state champions in women’s soccer in those days).

Senior Taylin Jean and junior Grace Davies shared goalkeeping duties. Jean played in the first half, then moved to right cornerback in the second half as Michaelson shifted formations. Starting in a 4-4-2, Michaelson adjusted to a 3-5-2 and finished with a 4-5-1.

“I was shocked because I didn’t think it would work so well,” said Michaelson. “The backline kept them in front of them so they couldn’t use their speed. We played perfectly.”

Talley and Garner assisted on each other’s goals. Garner, who was All-Big 8 in women’s tennis, leads the team with 18 goals. Talley has 15 goals and 14 assists.

Messinger notched her third goal as Cedar Ridge improved to 11-3-5.

The win was gratifying for Jean, a senior who had been to the state playoffs the past two years only to come away with first-round losses. Last year, Cedar Ridge lost a 2-1 heart breaker to West Brunswick with the game-winning goal coming in the last ten minutes. It made for a long four-and-a-half hour bus ride back from Shallotte.

“Without that loss, we wouldn’t have won tonight,” said Jean. “It really helped us. It motivated us. We really wanted to win tonight. It definitely feels good to win this one. Not winning in the playoffs had definitely been bugging me the last couple of years.”

The bus ride home for Cedar Ridge on Wednesday night was four hours. Michaelson started the day at 6:30 AM and didn’t get home until midnight. He had another day of school ahead Thursday, but he was too happy to care.

“I’m going to stay up all night just like I did in college,” said Michaelson.

En route to winning its first softball state championship last year, it’s easy to forget that Orange nearly lost in the second round.

Last May, Topsail had a 2-1 lead against the Lady Panthers in the 8th inning in Hillsborough. In the bottom of the inning, Abby Hamlett, Jaden Hurdle and Hayley Funk all reached, loaded the bases for All-State catcher Mia Davidson.

What followed has lived on through word of mouth across Hillsborough ever since. Topsail Coach Eric Phillips opted to walk Davidson with the bases loaded, surrendering the Pirates’ lead with the season on the line. Pitcher Christina Givens promptly lined to center to score the winning run.  Two weeks later, the Lady Panthers were celebrating a state title at N.C. State.

There will be no celebration this year. Topsail made sure of that.

The Pirates defeated the Panthers 16-7 in Hampstead in the first round of the 3A State Playoffs on Wednesday night. Orange scored three runs in the top of the second inning to take a 3-1 lead, but the Pirates reeled off five consecutive runs to advance to the 2nd round.

Orange ends the season 11-8.

With one out In the top of the second, Rachel Tilley reached on an error and Olivia Ruff walked. Sophomore Gracie Ducharme, pinch-hitting for Jala Rainey, singled to center to load the bases. Grace Andrews drew a bases-loaded walk to tie the game. Pitcher Jaden Hurdle lined a single to left to score Ducharme and Tilley.

After that, the Pirates had its way, totaling 15 hits. Topsail scored twice runs in the second inning. Lauren Labelle, running for Annalee Hart, scored on a wild pitch. Tanesha Williams laced an RBI single to bring in Tyesha Williams, tying the game 3-3.

Topsail added three more in the fourth. Tanesha Williams lined a single to centerfield to score Tyesha Williams once again to give the Pirates the lead. Sydney Hartgrove stroked a single to center to bring in Williams and Aneshia Jordan.

With Orange trailing 11-4 in the 5th, Hurdle drilled a single to right to score Ruff. With the bases loaded, Funk was hit by a pitch, plating Alisha Pettiford. Allyson Lloyd, in her final game at Orange, hit a sacrifice fly to center, allowing Andrews to touch home and narrow the Topsail lead to 11-7.

Topsail responded with five runs in the fifth and five more in the sixth.

Hurdle finished 2-for-5 with 3 RBI. Andrews was 1-for-2 with an RBI and a run scored. Ruff went 1-for-3.

Hurdle, a sophomore pitcher who started at first last season, ended the season as the team’s leading hitter with a .483 batting average. She also led the team in hits (18), home runs (3), and RBIs (24). Lloyd had seven doubles to pace the squad.

Hurdle also led the team with 68.2 innings pitched, going 7-7 with a 4.28 ERA.

Along with Lloyd, it was the final game for Orange seniors Olivia Latta-Harshaw, Alyssa Hellman and Kaitlyn Torain.