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All four county teams advanced in Tuesday’s first round of the state baseball and softball playoffs and in the process, Southside picked up the first baseball tournament win in program history.

Baseball: The Seahawks (10-9) rode the bus to Cape Hatteras, then took the ferry to Ocracoke and returned with a 4-2 victory over the 11th seeded Dolphins in the 1A tournament. Senior Cutter Williams, playing on his birthday, pitched a complete game victory and provided the margin of victory with a two run double that gave #22 Southside the lead for good.
“It feels great to get the first one in our program’s history and I’m really proud of Cutter’s pitching and hitting today,” coach John Lohman said. “We took advantage of some errors and passed balls and stole some bases to set up runs. Cutter’s hit was huge for us.”
Southside will travel to #6 Chatham Charter, who defeated -#27 W. Columbus, 14-8, in round two.

Third-seeded Northside advanced with an 8-1 home victory over #30 Hobbton. Senior Brandon Arthur recorded the first nine outs by strikeout and finished with nine in 3.2 innings. Hunter Chrismon pitched 2.1 innings and James Swayer finished with a shutout inning.
The Panthers (17-5) scored two in the first and two more in the second on Griffin Johnson’s triple and the pitchers took it from there.
“It’s always good to score early, especially at home,” coach Parker Boyd said. “Brandon was lights out as usual and we’re happy to keep playing.”
Northside had eight hits from eight different players in a balanced offensive attack.
The Panthers will host the #14 Clover-Garden-#19 Oxford Prep winner in round two Thursday.

Softball: Fifth seeded Washington advanced to the second round of the 2A playoffs with a 10-0 five inning victory over #28 W. Bladen at home.
Junior left-hander Emma Orr struck out the side in four innings and finished with 14, while giving up just one hit.
The Pam Pack (17-3) pounded out 11 as Orr had a pair of doubles, a home run and five RBI. Outfielder Carly Woolard had two hits and RBI and Catcher Addison Miller also had two doubles and senior Peyton Youmans ended the game with an RBI infield hit.
“Seven runs in the first two innings was big,” coach Brad Horton said. “it takes the pressure off Emma and puts it on them. Carly, Emma and Addison have hit well lately and are solid in the middle of our order.”
The Pack host #12 Heide-Trask, a 13-7 winner over #21 St. Paul’s in round two.

Northside meets Coastal Plains Conference rival Pamlico Co. in Thursday’s second round after a 12-2 home victory over #20 North Moore. The 13th-seeded Panthers (16-4) sent 11 batters to the plate during a seven-run third inning that made the score 12-0. Jaden Clark’s bases loaded triple was the big hit. Bella Boykin fanned seven in four innings to earn the pitching win.
“She pitched very well and we ran the bases very well,” coach Keith Boyd said. We knew they had played a bunch of larger schools and were good, so we didn’t take them lightly. We split with Pamlico during the regular season, so it should be a fun match up.”
#4 Pamlico Co. did its part with a 15-0 rout of Cape Hatteras to set up the rivalry showdown.