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The Northside baseball team and the Washington softball team should host at least one state playoff game next week, while other programs are either on the road, on the bubble or not involved in the post-season.

Baseball: Northside (15-4, 8-2) tied with 2A East Carteret for the Coastal Plains title and will claim one of 11 1A conference championship seeds for the state tournament that starts Tuesday. The Panthers are third in the 1A East final RPI standings behind Bear Grass and Wilson Prep and should have at least two home games when the pairings are announced Monday.

Northside split a pair of one-run games against Bear Grass and dropped a 3-1 decision to number five Perquimans.
“Our pitching has been outstanding all year and our hitting has been better lately,” coach Parker Boyd said. “We like our chances at home and we’re excited to get started.”

Senior outfielder Jamie Corprew leads Northside with a .448 average, 30 hits, 22 runs scored and 17 stolen bases. Freshman Trenton Allen is batting .405 and sophomore Holden Boykin has a .400 average with 17 RBI.

Southside: The Seahawks (9-9, 6-4) have won four of their last five to move up to #22 in the RPI, which should put them on the road for the first round.

Taylor Ashely is their leading hitting at .500. Luke Perry (.439) and Cutter Williams (.421) provide a solid middle of the order. Williams has fanned 47 batters in 41 innings on the mound, while Luke Bullock has 50 strikeouts in 39.1 innings with a 3.38 ERA.

Washington: The Pam Pack (4-16, 3-9) will miss the playoffs after several close losses, including a 2-1 decision to Ayden-Grifton at home Thursday. Senior Hunter Baldree batted .340, while senior Tanner Moore led the pitchers with 47 strikeouts in 46 innings and a 2.74 ERA. Both will play baseball at The Apprentice School in Norfolk, Va.

Softball: Washington (16-3, 11-1) wrapped up its eighth consecutive conference championship and is ranked fifth in 2A East RPI behind Camden Co., Roanoke Rapids, Martin Co. and Midway. The Pack should have at least two home games.

Sophomore outfielder Carly Woolard leads WHS with a .484 average, 31 hits, 25 runs scored and 20 RBI. Junior Addison Miller bats .470 with 10 doubles, two triples and two home runs, while battery mate Emma Orr has 10 doubles, four home runs and a .439 average. Orr has a 1.08 ERA with 212 strikeouts and 25 walks in 116.2 innings pitched.

“Our conference has four teams in the top 20 and playing them lately will help us in the state tournament,” coach Brad Horton said. “It’s been a playoff atmosphere for a while now and we’ve responded well. Our hitting and defense has been much better and Emma has been outstanding all year. We’ve won in different ways, which is always good this time of year.”

Northside: Despite a 1504 overall record, an 8-2 Coastal Plains Conference slate and a #7 RPI, the Panthers can do no better than a 12 seed because Pamlico Co. won the league title. The Panthers split with the Hurricanes, but also split with East Carteret, while Pamlico swept them, thus leaving the Panthers a game behind in second place. They should have one home game next week.

Senior Taylor Willard leads the offense with a .462 average, while Samantha Braddy is next at .457. Bella Boykin led the team with 31 runs scored, 22 RBI, seven doubles and a home run. She also struck out 49 batters in 37.2 innings pitched. Londyn Keech was 6-2 with a 1.91 ERA and hit .422 with 14 stolen bases. Senior Jaden Clark batted .411.

Southside: The Seahawks (6-11, 1-9) are on the playoff bubble at #32 in RPI after a late-season slump. Senior Jacqueline Gutierrez leads the offense with a .520 average, 16 RBI and three triples. Lily McLean bats .500 with 29 hits, 28 runs scored and 29 stolen bases, while Emily Mondragon hit .423.