Diamond playoffs underway

State playoffs for baseball and softball were underway Tuesday evening across North Carolina. In Sampson, Midway boasted two top-five seeded teams, while Hobbton eked in on the opposite side of the spectrum for both sports. Clinton earned a postseason invite in baseball, while Union received a bid for softball.

Midway’s teams were the only set to host games, with all others hitting the road as they were the lower seeded of the matchups.

Midway

The Lady Raiders softball team earned the highest seed of any Sampson-based team, garnering a No. 3 seed in the NCHSAA 2A East bracket, where they were to host No. 30 Pasquotank County. The Lady Raiders finished the season with a 15-3 overall record, and an unblemished 10-0 in conference. Pasquotank had a 7-9 record for the 2024 regular season.

Tuesday’s winner will take on the winner of the matchup between No. 14 Nash Central and No. 19 Farmville Central, so with a win Midway was poised to continue its homestand.

The Raiders baseball team earned a No. 4 seed in the NCHSAA 2A East bracket and was set to host No. 29 Jordan-Matthews. Midway concluded the regular season at 17-5, including a 9-1 record to win the conference. The Raiders brought a six-game winning streak into its game with Jordan-Matthews, which finished its season under .500, with a record of 10-12.

The winner of Tuesday’s game will play the winner between No. 13 Farmville Central and No. 20 South Columbus.

Clinton

The Dark Horses baseball team earned a 17-seed in the NCHSAA 2A East bracket, just missing out on the opportunity to host a first round playoff game. They were away against No. 16 South Lenoir on Tuesday.

Clinton went 15-5 overall, including a 6-4 conference record. They were riding a six-game winning streak coming into the game with South Lenoir, who went 14-6 overall, 9-3 in conference.

If the Dark Horses are able to advance, a behemoth likely awaits, as the winner between Clinton and South Lenoir will take on the victor between top-seed Greene Central and 32-seed Goldsboro. Greene Central went an undefeated 21-0 this year.

Union

The Lady Spartans softball team earned a 22-seed in the 1A East bracket, and was traveling to play 11-seed Roxboro Community on Tuesday. Union finished 9-6, including 4-4 in conference, while Roxboro Community finished with a 14-4 record.

The winner will take on the winner of the game between No. 6 Chatham Central and No. 27 Southeast Halifax

Hobbton

While Midway was at the top of its respective brackets, Hobbton received NCHSAA 1A postseason berths in both softball and baseball, but had their work out for them as they were on the bottom looking up in the East bracket.

Lady Wildcats softball was a No. 31 seed, having notched a 3-15 overall record, including a 3-5 record in Carolina 1A. They were hitting the road to take on No. 2-seed Vance Charter, who concluded the 2024 season at 13-3.

The winner will take on the victor of the No. 15 Oxford Prep-No. 18 Northwest Halifax matchup.

Hobbton baseball earned a No. 30 seed, but had a much better 2024 record — 12-9 overall, 5-4 conference — in the deep field in the NCHSAA 1A East bracket. The Wildcats were traveling to take on No. 3 Northside-Pinetown, which amassed a 16-5 record, including 8-2 in conference.

The winner will play the winner between No. 14 Clover Garden School and No. 19 Oxford Prep.