Softball 
Second Round Preview: What to watch for in the NCHSAA softball playoffs
We look back on round one standouts, and what to watch for in round two
Happy second round to all who celebrate! Making the playoffs is always a thrilling accomplishment, but nothing beats securing a victory to see another day.
After three rain-filled days of first round action, only 128 NCHSAA softball 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:
- Holy upset! SIX teams in the 4A bracket alone survived despite having a seed of 20 or higher. That included both 27-seeds, Gray's Creek and Charlotte Catholic, who earned wins at Cardinal Gibbons and Hough respectively. In total, 16 teams with a seed higher than 20 lived to see round two (and our staff nailed several of those upset predictions in our first round preview).
- Speaking of upsets... Fuquay-Varina, who played in a loaded Greater Neuse River Conference this season and has long been a power in Wake County, went down to Topsail and upset the reigning 4A East runner-up. The Pirates caught lightning in a bottle last year -- much like Apex, but felt like they could take that next step with most of its core returning. The Bengals crushed that hope with three in the seventh to come back and win 5-3.
- Speaking of Apex, the defending champs ran into the strong pitching of Wake Forest's Jil Livengood and Taylor Jones. Drawing a Carolina commit in round one of the playoffs is never an easy task, and a five-run second inning buried Apex in a 5-3 loss.
- As expected, West Wilkes made quick work of North Wilkes in round one. In three innings, the top four hitters in the Blackhawks lineup went a combined 11-for-12 with 3 HR, 11 RBI, and 10 runs scored. There's a reason that they finished the regular season unbeaten and No. 1 in our statewide poll, and if Lily Proffit (who threw a no-hitter), Madison Fletcher, Kelsey Madden, and Kylee Martin continue to swing it the way they do, a trip to Greensboro or Durham could be in their future.
- There were some notable upsets last Friday in conference tournament championships, most notably South Caldwell, Oak Grove, and Reagan losing. But all three of those teams rebounded nicely in round one by combining to score 36 runs.
Previewing Round Two:
- This is going to be 4A-heavy because that classification feels like it's even more loaded than 2A was a year ago. If you're able to catch a 4A game tonight, chances are you're going to see a really good matchup. Some of the 4A games that intrigue me the most are...
- #1 Garner vs. #17 Hoggard - The Trojans have state title aspirations and rightfully so. At full strength, they have yet to lose a game. Hoggard will make its second trip of the week up to Wake County after winning at Holly Springs in round one. The Vikings had an up-and-down season in a tough Mideastern Conference, but feature one of the state's best two-way threats in 2025 ECU recruit Macey Ciamillo.
- #2 Wakefield vs. #15 South View - Nothing is coming easy in round two for my two picks to make the regional final. Wakefield is as complete of a team as you will find in the state, but they welcome in hard-throwing ace Jordynn Parnell who wrapped up a 14-strikeout performance against Panther Creek last night. Parnell vs. Dayna Bland will be a wonderful duel, but I expect the Wolverine bats to have just enough thump to advance.
- #2 Mooresville vs. #15 Lake Norman - I do not foresee the Blue Devils losing this one, but you have to imagine that there are a handful of teams that they may have preferred over the one that has handed them their only loss of the season. Anything is possible this time of the year which is why high school sports are so magical. If there is a team that has the blue print to pull off another upset, it's the Wildcats.
- Over the past few weeks, I feel like I have spent a lot of time in the Triad but it has definitely been merited. #13 West Forsyth is one of the youngest and most talented teams that our state has to offer, and they are red-hot heading into #4 Northwest Guilford who continued to roll following a shutout win over South Iredell. Carolina commit Sydney Horton is so much fun to watch, and the game will feature a great matchup of lefty pitchers in the Vikings' Appalachian State signee Bel Varadi and the Titans' freshman Morgan Maxwell. Over in Pfafftown, #5 Reagan welcomes in #12 Porter Ridge who has strung together an impressive resume this season thanks to the contributions of Wofford commit Natalya Salo. She will have to find a way to navigate through a Raider lineup that dropped 17 runs on Watauga on Wednesday night.
- I touched on the Greater Neuse River Conference earlier when talking about #21 Fuquay-Varina's upset, but my goodness! The league makes up 6 of the 16 remaining teams in the 4A east bracket. The Bengals will have a tough test on the road at #5 Apex Friendship as does #14 Corinth Holders who heads east to #3 D.H. Conley, and #20 Clayton who makes the trip to #4 Laney. #9 Willow Spring and #1 Garner host while #10 Cleveland rounds out the schedule on the road at #7 Lumberton in what is one of the more intriguing games. Expect this to be a high-scoring one as both the Pirates and Rams can really swing it. Kendall Gaunt and Karsyn Hudacky have helped Cleveland play some of its best softball over the past few weeks. If Halona Sampson can keep their bats in check, she certainly has the offense that will give her the run support that she needs.
- In the 3A bracket, there are a pair of fun battles in the east featuring #12 Richlands at #5 South Brunswick, and #13 Orange at #4 South Johnston. Kina Davis tossed a seven-inning no-hitter in round one with 17 strikeouts. The South Brunswick righty will be opposed by Makenzie Goin who has 150 K's in 84.2 IP. When Orange has swung the bats well this season, it typically yields good results. Caden Robinson and Allie Carden have swung the bat really well this year, but South Johnston has its sights set on a return to the eastern regional final with 17 straight wins under its belt. Also look out for #15 Eastern Alamance at #2 Southern Nash. The Eagles are coming on strong as the year has gone along, and you can never count out an Alamance County softball program this time of year.
- #14 West Rowan's trip to #3 East Rowan in the 3A west is one to watch for, not only because its a conference rematch, but because it has the very real potential of being the final game of Emma Clarke's career at West Rowan. When teams have decided to pitch to the Tennessee commit, she has mashed her way towards the top of the state leader boards. The first two meetings were decided by five combined runs before East Rowan ran away with the conference tournament meeting 9-0 to improve to 3-0 against the Falcons this season. It's ridiculously hard to beat a team three times let alone four, and I'm sure Clarke will do anything say that she went 1-3 against East this season.
- Speaking of a legendary career possibly coming to an end, McMichael senior Dakota Redmon takes to the circle on Friday night at Southwestern Randolph opposite of Cougar ace Macie Crutchfield. Crutchfield, a junior, sports an 0.87 ERA while Redmon has paired her 1.53 ERA with 212 strikeouts, and 13 home runs at the plate (both are top-10 in NC). Do not be surprised if the Phoenix are up to the task on the road.
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:
