Pirates, Rams set for second-round playoff matchups

LUMBERTON — The Lumberton softball team has been here many times before.

But they’re seven innings away from a level they’ve never reached.

The seventh-seeded Pirates will host No. 10 Cleveland at 2 p.m. Saturday in the second round of the North Carolina High School Athletic Association state playoffs, seeking to surpass a long-standing hurdle and reach the third round for the first time.

“I think this is the seventh time we’ve been to the second round, and we haven’t won in the second round. It (would be) a weight off our back,” Lumberton coach Mackie Register said. “If we can get through this one and get that in our rear view, I think we’ve got as good a shot as anybody else that would still be in it.”

The game was originally scheduled for Friday night, but was postponed due to inclement weather.

Lumberton (23-4) beat Sanderson 10-0 in six innings in Tuesday’s first-round game. The Pirates have reached the second round in six of their last seven playoff appearances, dating back to 2016, but haven’t gotten to the second week of the postseason in any of the previous five instances. Three of those losses, Register said, have come on walkoffs in the seventh inning.

Cleveland (14-7) finished third in the Greater Neuse River Conference, a league featuring Garner, the No. 1 seed in the 4A East Region, and No. 9 Willow Spring. Under ninth-year head coach Jason Morris, Cleveland has reached at least the third round six times, including a 4A East Regional championship in 2018.

The Rams reached the second round with a 10-0 first-round win over No. 23 Jordan on Tuesday.

“They play in a tough conference, there’s no doubt about it. Historically, they’ve had good teams, good ballplayers,” Register said. “They’ve got six or seven seniors, and we’re senior-loaded too. It’s going to be a battle (Saturday), we’ve got to come out ready to play.”

Cleveland is led offensively by junior Kendall Gaunt (.400 average, six home runs, 28 RBIs, 28 runs), a Syracuse commit, alongside sophomore Karsyn Hudacky (.440 average, three home runs, 19 RBIs, 27 runs) and sophomore Maddie Murphy (.400 average, two home runs, 14 RBIs, 20 runs).

Senior Lani Pennica (7-3, 2.69 ERA, 70 strikeouts in 67 2/3 innings) is the regular starting pitcher for the Rams.

“They’re a very good team, but we are too. I think they can hit it … they’re good defensively,” Register said. “I think where we kind of win the matchup is in the circle; I think our pitcher is a little bit better than theirs. … I think it’ll be a good ballgame. It may come down to the little things; if we can execute little things I think we can come out on top.”

Pirates pitcher Halona Sampson enters the game at 18-4 with a 1.80 ERA, with 173 strikeouts in 120 1/3 innings.

Offensively, multiple Pirates are within striking distance of matching or setting new program single-season records. Aniya Merritt has 42 hits, Alyssa Stone has 40 and Alona Hanna has 39, with the record of 44 set by both Merritt last year and Megan Skipper. Tiara Stueck has nine home runs, one away from matching the record she set last year and shares with Madison Canady.

Hanna set a new program single-season runs record by scoring her 39th in Tuesday’s first-round win, surpassing Merritt’s 38 from last spring.

The Pirates have also tied their program record for wins in a season, and can set a new mark with a win Saturday.

Every Pirate mentioned above is a senior, along with Carlee Register, and enters Friday’s game knowing the potential finality involved. Even if the Pirates advance, it could potentially be their final home game as they move forward in the tournament.

“It’s just tough on them right now, the emotions of this could be their last game,” Mackie Register said. “We’ve got to battle a lot of things like that too, as far as keeping our minds right. If we just execute, think positive when we can and take advantage of their mistakes if they make some, and we can’t let them take advantage of ours.”

The victor between Lumberton and Cleveland will face the winner of No. 2 Wakefield and No. 15 South View in the third round on Tuesday.

Purnell Swett heads to Holly Springs

Both the Purnell Swett and Holly Springs baseball teams are battled-tested bunches, who saw some ups and downs through the early and middle portions of the season before coming on strong down the stretch to earn a high playoff seed.

They’ll now face each other in the second round of the 4A state playoffs, with a 7 p.m. first pitch scheduled for Friday night in Holly Springs.

“I think both teams are just — it’s going to be a battle,” Purnell Swett coach Jeff Lamb said. “The team that gets a break here or there will be the team that comes out on top. High school baseball, you typically don’t win games, you typically lose the games by mistakes. So if we can minimize our mistakes and clean some things up running the bases, I think we’re going to be alright.”

No. 8 Holly Springs (16-10) won the Southwest Wake Conference championship, with a 10-4 league mark to finish one game ahead of a four-way tie for second between Apex Friendship, Apex, Middle Creek and Green Hope. The Golden Hawks have won eight of their last nine games.

Holly Springs is in the second round for the first time since 2019 after first-round losses in each of the last two seasons, but is no stranger to deep playoff runs, with regional final appearances in 2017 and 2019 and a state championship in 2011, all under current head coach Rod Whitesell. The Golden Hawks beat No. 25 Apex Friendship 4-3 in Tuesday’s first-round game.

Lamb anticipates that Holly Springs will start sophomore left-handed pitcher Noah Rhoades (3-2, 4.64 ERA, 43 strikeouts in 25 2/3 innings). Golden Hawks ace Jake Cackovic is unavailable after pitching six innings in the first round Tuesday.

Eight pitchers threw at least 10 innings this season for Holly Springs, so the Golden Hawks have several arms they’ll feel comfortable sending to the mound.

“I think we’re going to match up pretty good with them,” Lamb said. “From what I hear, we’re probably going to see a lefty; that’s kind of been our kryptonite all year, but from what I hear, this kid’s not in the upper 80s, he’s in the lower 80s. … A team that comes in and tries to throw offspeed, mixes it up, that’s trying to keep us off-balance. I think people know that we can hit the fastball, so that’s kind of what I anticipate.”

Key lineup players for Holly Springs include sophomore Hodge Williams (.358 average, 25 RBIs), senior Cole Bowie (.329 average, two home runs, 20 RBIs), junior Tyler Dowder (.333, 16 RBIs), senior Andrew Waldron (.310 average, 14 RBIs, 30 runs) and senior Drake Della Ratta (.342 average, 14 RBIs, 27 runs).

“The main thing is just trying to keep them off-balance, and then make the plays behind them; that’s kind of what we’ve been banking on all year,” Lamb said. “Play sound defense and generate some runs.”

No. 9 Purnell Swett (18-8) has won seven of its last eight games. The Rams reached the third round in 2021, a program first, and looks to return now three years later.

The Rams beat No. 24 Richmond 7-1 in the first round Tuesday as Jacob Chavis threw a no-hitter. The senior right-hander won’t be available to pitch Friday, but Lamb is confident in the other hurlers that are available for the Rams.

“The only one we burned the first day was Jacob, so we have options,” Lamb said. “Aaron (Locklear) had an outstanding outing the last time he was out, (Chandon Sanderson) hasn’t towed the rubber in a while, Gavin (Jones) hasn’t towed the rubber in a while. We’ve got some guys in the stable; hopefully they’re ready to go out and throw some strikes for us.”

The winner of Holly Springs-Purnell Swett will face the winner of No. 1 Ashley and No. 17 Millbrook in Tuesday’s third round.