Softball 
Second Round Preview: What to watch for in the NCHSAA baseball playoffs
We look back on round one standouts, and what to watch for in round two
Few sports in the state are as unpredictable as baseball. To survive the opening round of the playoffs is one of NC's biggest accomplishments.
After three rain-filled days of first round action, only 128 NCHSAA teams remain. Here's what stood out to us in round one, and what is on our radar going into round two.
First Round Recap:
- A lot of teams who put together REALLY good seasons will be sitting at home on Friday. Upsets are a given in the baseball first round, but to see the likes of Providence, Hough, East Forsyth, Ardrey Kell, Northwest Guilford, New Hanover, Middle Creek, Leesville Road, and Ledford all eliminated is jarring. Most years, you can pencil in at least three of these programs to still be standing by round four or five.
- The craziest game that you probably didn't see was at Clover Garden School on Wednesday night. In the 1A east, Oxford Prep jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning, but saw it slip away after the Grizzlies rallied for three runs in both the third and fourth to take a 6-2 lead. The Griffins got two back in the sixth, but allowed a run in the bottom half of the frame to trail 7-4 in the top of the seventh. From there, Oxford Prep scored four times to take the lead and escape 8-7 winners. Down one with the bases loaded, two outs, and a full count, Gage Hobgood saved the season with a two-run single to take the lead.
- As they always say, anything Clover Garden School and Oxford Prep can do, Rockingham County and Pisgah can do crazier. On Tuesday night, the two teams went 15 innings before the Cougars finally walked off 4-3 winners. The wildest part? After one inning, the score was 3-2 Rockingham County! The next five hours and 14 innings of play only yielded a 1-1 score.
- Two of the 4A east's stronger conferences had a mixed bag of results in round one. The Northern Athletic Conference predictably saw Wake Forest roll to a 9-0 victory over Garner while Millbrook and Heritage earned close wins to move on. The Mideastern Conference handed the NAC its only loss when Laney went up to Wakefield and held on to win 6-5, but overall the league went 5-3. Ashley cruised past Pine Forest, New Hanover lost to Millbrook, Hoggard squeezed out a 2-1 win over New Bern, Topsail lost to Fuquay-Varina, West Brunswick fell to Northern Nash, and both North and South Brunswick advanced to round two in the 3A ranks with victories.
- The final first round game in the state saw Community School of Davidson score five times in the top of the eighth inning to pull off a shocking 6-1 win over R-S Central. The Hilltoppers started the year 16-0 before slipping up in mid April, and not being able to kick things back into gear. East Rutherford ended RSC's regular season with consecutive losses which made the Spartan victory in round one the Hilltoppers' third straight defeat to end a 20-4 season.
Previewing Round Two:
- Typically the 1A brackets start to get spicy once the third and fourth rounds roll around, but this year there is a really intriguing pod in the 1A east. Perquimans hits the road as the 12-seed to take on #5 Rosewood while #4 East Wake Academy welcomes in #13 Voyager Academy for a rematch of last year's fourth round. Defending state runner-up #9 North Moore and top-seeded Bear Grass Charter also reside in the top quadrant of that bracket. It's safe to say that whoever escapes will have a good chance of representing the east in either Burlington or Holly Springs.
- Hunt vs. West Johnston Part III - I know that people don't love conference rematches in postseason play, but this rubber match carries a lot of weight. The Warriors and Wildcats split the regular season series 1-1 by a combined three runs. This past Tuesday, Hunt shook off two regular season losses to C.B. Aycock with a thrilling 8-7 win. West Johnston's 4-2 loss to Hunt on April 23 is its lone blemish since spring break in early April.
- Cape Fear vs. South Central - Two well coached programs that forever have intentions of playing deep into May. Rarely do you see two four-loss teams meet up in the second round, but that's the tricky part of grabbing the #3 or #4 seed in today's world of RPI. South Central has won eight in a row which includes a signature late-season win over D.H. Conley. The Colts are just as hot having won 14 straight thanks to a sweep of Gray's Creek, a win over Purnell Swett, and an opening round victory against Western Alamance.
- Speaking of tough matchups for 3 and 4 seeds, Terry Sanford has a round two battle on its hands with Williams paying visit. Both sets of Bulldogs scored four runs in round one, and have the pitching depth to make round two another low-scoring game.
- Pick a 4A west game, and I can write several paragraphs on why it is going to be a good one. Marvin Ridge survived on the road at Northwest Guilford and is rewarded with a trip to conference foe Cuthbertson. The catch? One of the Cavaliers' two losses this season came to the Mavericks who took a no-hitter into the seventh inning of a 1-0 win. Myers Park will get a crack at Charlotte Catholic who is riding the high of back-to-back signature wins over Providence and East Forsyth. Davie County and Asheville also have the potential of making things very interesting on the road at Cox Mill and Reagan if they can string together some strong at-bats and pitch well.
- Forbush will more than likely throw ace lefty Gavin Maines on Friday night against Pine Lake Prep. Maines is one out away from extending his streak of consecutive innings without an earned run allowed to 50 straight. His 0.00 ERA is obviously tops in the nation, and it's paired with 114 strikeouts and a .493 average at the plate. On March 19 against North Surry, Maines allowed an unearned run in an 11-1 win, and that is the lone runner to cross against the Western Carolina recruit this season.
My travels will probably take me to Reagan to catch the Raiders taking on Asheville in baseball and Porter Ridge in softball. From there, a trip to Forbush baseball vs. Pine Lake Prep may be in the cards. As always, you can track live scores and bracket updates tonight using HSOT's statewide scoreboard and interactive brackets:
