The Orange High School softball team swept two games last week, both on the road, to improve to 3-1 on the young season. The Panthers traveled to Bear Creek and earned a hard-fought 6-5 win over Chatham Central before returning to Chatham County on Friday evening to face Northwood in their Central Conference season opener. Behind an offensive explosion, the Panthers blew out the Chargers, 12-0, to get off on the right foot in league play.
Against Chatham Central, the Panthers opened the scoring with two runs in the top of the second inning, but the home team rallied for four runs in the bottom of the second to take a 4-2 lead. But OHS wasn’t done, as the visitors from Hillsborough scratched across a run in the top of the third to pull within 4-3, and then put together a three-run top of the fourth for a 6-4 lead. The Bears, facing a home loss, rallied in the bottom of the seventh inning, tying the game and threatening to win the game, but Orange sophomore pitcher Caden Robinson hung on as the Panthers earned the one-run triumph.
Robinson went the distance for the Panthers, pitching all seven innings with nine strikeouts and four walks. She allowed seven hits and five runs, four earned. Orange was solid defensively against the Bears, committing just one error, and took advantage of some timely hitting to get the victory. OHS banged out 13 hits, led by senior Mary Moss Wirt’s 3-for-5 outing at the plate with two runs scored. Junior Carson Bradsher and sophomores Caden Robinson and Delaney Shaffer each had two hits in the victory, while five different Panthers – Shaffer, Wirt, and juniors Kelsey Tackett, Savannah Wynne, and Serenity McPherson – all drove in runs.
In the conference opener at Northwood, the Panthers quickly asserted themselves, scoring three runs in the top of the first inning for a fast 3-0 lead. Orange tacked on three more runs in the top of the second, and after adding to more runs for an 8-0 advantage in the top of the fourth, the Panthers broke the game open with four additional runs. With Caden Robinson and senior Gracie Walker combining for a two-hit shutout on the mound, striking out ten Chargers with no walks, the Panthers cruised to the 12-0 Mercy Rule triumph. Orange took advantage of four Northwood errors and had another solid offensive outing with 14 hits as a team.
Robinson helped herself with a 3-for-3 outing at the plate, driving in two runs and scoring four times, while senior Lauren Jackson had a monster game with seven RBIs and two runs scored, going 3-for-4 at the plate. Delanay Shaffer and Mary Moss Wirt each had another multi-hit game with two hits apiece, while Shaffer drove in a run. Once again the Panthers were solid in the field, committing one error, and were active on the basepaths, stealing four bases over the course of the game.
Orange plays three games this week on the diamond. Following a home Central Conference matchup Tuesday night against Western Alamance, the Panthers stay at home Wednesday night for a game against local foe East Chapel Hill. OHS plays its third home game of the week on Friday night, as Central Conference rival Williams comes to Hillsborough.
The OHS lacrosse squad is also off to a winning start this spring, winning three of its first five games, including its Central Conference opener. The Panthers got the season off on the right foot March 1 with a dominant 19-5 home triumph over Vance Charter. The following night, the Panthers improved to 2-0 with a 14-11 road triumph at East Chapel Hill.
The Panthers lost their next two matches – a 9-6 setback at home to Pinecrest on March 4 and a narrow 15-13 setback to Fuquay-Varina on March 7 – but the squad got back on track March 8 with an impressive 18-8 home victory over Western Alamance in their Central Conference debut. Against Pinecrest, the Panthers played to a 4-4 tie in the first quarter, and then the game turned into a defensive struggle. Tied 5-5 at halftime, Pinecrest scored twice in the third period to take a 7-6 lead into the fourth quarter, and the Patriots added two additional goals in the final period to claim the victory.
The action was more offensive in nature against Fuquay-Varina, as Orange played the Bengals to an 8-7 deficit at halftime. The Panthers gave up four goals in the third quarter to slip behind 12-9, and while OHS outscored the Bengals 4-3 in the final period, the Panthers came up short by two goals. The Panthers hosted Cedar Ridge on Tuesday night at Orange, and will travel to Western Alamance on Wednesday night for their third league match. The Panthers will wind down the week with a home match against Seaforth.
On the soccer pitch, the Orange High women’s soccer squad got off to a disappointing start, with 5-0 and 3-0 shutout losses on the road at East Chapel Hill and Southern Alamance March 3 and March 7, but the Panthers have played much better in recent matches. On March 8, the Panthers opened Central Conference play with an impressive 3-1 triumph over Western Alamance on the road in Elon, followed by a 3-2 triumph at Northwood in Pittsboro on March 11. The Panthers finally came back to Hillsborough for their home opener Monday night, and played Southern Alamance to a 1-1 tie.
In the win at Western Alamance, the Panthers took the lead with a first half goal, and then scored twice more in the second half to claim their first triumph of the season. OHS got goals from junior Sydney Rogers and freshmen Cora Bailey and Alliana Sullivan Gaddy. In goal, junior Abby Monteith came through with 10 saves to help lead Orange to the victory. Rogers added two goals in the victory at Northwood, while senior Bella Brown also added a goal. Monteith came through with five saves as the Panthers improved to 2-2. Against Southern, the Panthers broke out to an early lead with a first half goal, but the Patriots tied the score in the second half. The teams played through the overtime periods with no game-winner, and the match went into the books as a tie, which placed Orange’s record at 2-2-1.
This week, the Panthers traveled to Northern Durham Tuesday night for their only match of the week. Next week, OHS looks to stay at the top of the Central Conference standings with a pair of conference home matches against Western Alamance and Williams.
It was a tough week on the baseball diamond for the Panthers, as OHS was on the short end of an 8-2 final school on the road at Corinth Holders on Friday, March 11. The Panthers got off to a promising start, as juniors Ryan Hench and Connor Nordan drove in fellow eleventh graders Jackson Berini and Ty Walker for an early 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning. But that was all that Orange could muster offensively.
Corinth Holders pulled within 2-1 in the second inning, took a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the third, and added four more runs in the bottom of the fifth to take command. The Pirates added an insurance run in the bottom of the sixth on their way to the victory, which dropped Orange’s early-season record to 2-2. This week, the Panthers traveled to Western Alamance Wednesday night, and the Warriors will return the favor by coming to Hillsborough for a rematch Friday night.