Six Beaufort County teams started the week having earned playoff bids. Now, with one competitive round complete, just a handful remains.

There was little the Northside baseball team could do on Wednesday to hinder the lock down pitching of No. 3-seeded Camden County (17-4, 15-1 Coastal Ten), as the Panthers struggled to touch first base in an 8-0 loss, though they did avoid activating the mercy rule.

The Southside baseball team was not as lucky. For the third time this season, the Seahawks found themselves packing up the dugout early against No. 6-seeded East Carteret (13-7, 12-0 Coastal Plains), losing 11-1 on Thursday.

Southside’s softball team met a similar fate, falling to a talented Whiteville team, 11-0, after three pitchers combined to throw five perfect innings.

The article on today’s Washington vs. Bunn second round game will be available in Sunday’s edition and online tonight. Here are the games on tap for this afternoon:

 

SOFTBALL

(1) NORTHSIDE VS. (16) SPRING CREEK @ 2 P.M.

PINETOWN — By the luck of the draw, for a second-straight season, the Northside softball team (21-0, 12-0 CPC) is nestled in the tougher section of the East bracket with four difficult tournament matchups ahead en route to the state championship, the ultimate goal for the No. 1-seeded Panthers. After a 17-1 rout of Creswell in the opener, Spring Creek serves as Northside’s toughest opponent since facing East Carteret on April 16 (a 4-3 Panthers win). The Gators enter with a 13-3 overall record after finishing third in the top-heavy Carolina Conference, a table that features Princeton and North Duplin.

The top storyline of this Round 2 matchup is how Northside pitchers Rachel and Kelsey Lang will fare against one of the most feared bats in eastern North Carolina, Spring Creek senior Rachel McCollum. Since committing to play Division I softball at Campbell University in December, McCollum has been on a tear, leading Class 1-A with an almost unbelievable .805 batting average (second highest is Jones Senior’s Cassidy Sutton at .609), while also ranking first in home runs (12), slugging percentage (1.902), RBIs (43) and on-base percentage (.864).

Outside of McCollum, the Gators are very much a mortal high school softball team. Sophomore Ashley Marriner carries a .559 average, while sophomore Alanna Price is a power threat with four homers.

In the pitcher’s circle, like Northside, McCollum and Marriner have split time, both recording sub-2.00 ERAs. McCollum will likely get the call, but if she struggles early, Marriner (0.54 ERA through 26 innings) is an easy choice for relief.

For the Panthers, junior Kendall Alligood enters as the hottest hitter in the lineup, recording hits in 10 of her last 13 at bats. Against Spring Creek’s powerful lineup, the host will need all the runs it can get.

The Panthers will need to continue their sound defensive play in support of the Lang sisters in order to avoid a second round upset.

 

GIRLS SOCCER

(7) WASHINGTON VS. (10) MIDWAY @ 6 P.M.

WASHINGTON — To head coach Ed Rodriguez, there was nothing pleasant about Wednesday’s 3-2 win over No. 26-seeded South Granville.

Entering as a No. 7 seed, the defending eastern regional champion Pam Pack looked rock solid in the midfield, but was inconsistent defensively, a couple of mental errors costing the team goals down the stretch.

Against No. 10-seeded Midway, Washington absolutely cannot give its opponent anything. The Raiders have pieced together an impressive 14-3 overall record, finishing second in the Two Rivers Conference only behind first place Clinton (19-2-2). They’ve scored 80 goals this season, have only allowed 19 and are currently on a five-game win streak.

Senior goalie Samantha Jackson, playing most of the minutes in net for Midway, is allowing less than one goal per game. And similar to the Pam Pack, the Raiders’ offensive output comes from three sources — freshman Kasey McLamb (16 goals), junior Manasia Cobb (18 goals) and senior Avery Apperson (15 goals).

Washington’s attack is much more balanced this season than last, but senior Wofford commit Caitlyn Scott has been the most solid, leading the team with 37 goals. The glue to the midfield, however, has been sophomore Sydney Edwards, who has recorded 20 goals and 18 assists, while picking the pockets of midfielders and creating breaks up field.

While the host may be a higher seed, Washington should be considered the underdog heading into tomorrow’s Round 2 matchup.