CHOCOWINITY — The waning days of the baseball and softball season feature a familiar rivalry. Northside travels to Southside on Thursday. Both teams have plans of putting the finishing touches on what they hope will be postseason résumés.

A win will give the Northside baseball team a chance to climb into fourth place in the 1-A Coastal Plains Conference. The Seahawks, on the other hand, are firmly entrenched in second-to-last place with only a winless Lejeune club beneath them. They only have wins over Lejeune and Kinston — which combine for a 5-29 record — in the last month. They may squeak their way into the playoffs as is, but a win could go a long way in building their confidence.

The Panthers and Seahawks last met in Pinetown on April 12. It was Northside that came out victorious, 7-3. The home side got a stellar complete game from senior Zach Woolard. He tossed seven innings, scattering six hits and three runs (two earned). He issued just one walk and fanned five Seahawks.

The defense behind him was shaky, but the Panthers were able to bounce back from mistakes and stranded plenty of runners.

Southside’s work on the mound wasn’t as strong. Paul Radford worked five innings, allowing seven hits and five runs (four earned). He walked five Northside batters and struck out four. Terry Moore threw one inning and walked four batters.

Radford, a junior, has continued to come into his own in the weeks since. In a 4-1 loss to Pamlico County recently, he tossed six frames and walked just one batter.

Moore, however, struggled with control in his last outing. He pitched four and 2/3 innings in a 7-6 loss to Columbia on April 27. He walked seven batters and allowed three hits. Columbia scored all seven of its runs in the second inning.

Northside’s key to success will be at the plate. The Panthers recently notched 18 hits in games against two of the league’s top teams in Bear Grass and Jones Senior. They also had eight against a strong non-conference foe in North Pitt.

Southside coach Kevin McRoy has been telling his team to play more relaxed as of late. The Seahawks will have to do just that to limit mistakes in the field. They can be more than competitive if they avoid giftwrapping anything for the Panthers.

Northside and Southside will clash in softball Thursday evening, too. The Lady Panthers, owners of a 12-0 win over Southside a few weeks ago, will be fighting for the chance to reclaim the No. 2 spot in the conference. They recently lost consecutive games against East Carteret, Pamlico County and Jones Senior, but aim to ride a three-game win streak into the postseason.

The Lady Seahawks sit at an even 8-8 overall, likely assuring them a spot in the playoffs. They won three in a row against struggling Lejeune, Kinston and Columbia teams before dropping a game at Pamlico County over the weekend.

Both squads boast strong pitchers, but the advantage lies in the corner of Northside and its offense. The Lady Panthers lit up Southside for 14 hits on April 12. They’ve scored 161 runs this season — averaging well over eight a game — and have shown no signs of their bats slowing down.

Both Southside teams have an advantage in that it will be their senior nights. The emotion of the evening can’t be discredited.

First pitch for the softball game is scheduled for 6 p.m. The baseball game will begin at 7 p.m.