Baseball/Softball/Soccer Playoff Previews and Predictions
SOCCER
#26 seed (7-11-1) South Lenoir at #7 Seed (13-2-4) East Carteret
East Carteret’s Resume:
-Finished 1st place in Coastal Plains Conference 1A/2A with 7-0-1 record
-Only have had one loss in the past two months (L @ Clinton 6-0)
-This is their 6th consecutive season with a winning record
-They are led on offense by three seniors Kenliana Dixon, Tiana Staryeu, and Brynnleigh Thompson. Those three have combined for 198 goals and 147 assist in the past four years.
-This season Mariners Goalkeeper Jenna Jackson has 11 shoutouts and 100 saves on 109 shots on goal.
-Mariners have yet to lose a game at home this year with a 5-0-3 record. Their last home loss was March 29th, 2023.
Prediction:
The Blue Devils have been a tough, scrappy team all season long. Led by Emily Gonzalez and Emily Jones, South Lenoir will have their hands full tonight. The task at hand will be daunting, and while the Blue Devils are competitive enough to possibly upset the Mariners, I believe the Mariners' experience, particularly their strong trio of Dixon, Staryeu, and Thompson, will prevail. I expect East Carteret to win in a very competitive game.
SOFTBALL
#6 seed (15-5) South Lenoir at #3 seed (17-3) Midway
Midway’s Resume:
-Finished first place and undefeated (10-0) in the Southeastern Athletic Conference
-Raiders have won 13 of their 14 games.
-Midway has a rich successful softball program having a winning record for the past 9 seasons.
-In the last 5 games, Midway has outscored their opponents 48-6.
-Raiders have hit 12 homeruns this season. Freshman Kyleigh Stonerock has six homers.
-Midway has 10 batters hitting over .300, 4 batters hitting over .400, and 7 different batters with atleast one homerun.
-Midway lost to South Lenoir 8-4 earlier in the season. (March 20th, 2024)
Prediction:
South Lenoir is an exceptionally talented team with some promising young stars. Despite being banged up through the latter part of the season, the Lady Blue Devils have overcome adversity and are now back in top form. Midway, like South Lenoir, is an excellent softball program and finished ranked #1 in 2A East by MaxPreps. In their first matchup, the Lady Blue Devils won 8-4 at Midway earlier in the year. South Lenoir has shown once they can beat Midway already and the Lady Blue Devils are battle-tested, talented, well-coached, and ready to continue their deep playoff run. I predict South Lenoir will upset #3 seed Midway tonight.
BASEBALL
#3 Seed (20-4) North Lenoir vs #11 Seed (15-10) Martin Co.
Martin Co. Resume:
-Finished 3rd in the Four Rivers 1A/2A Split Conference. (7-3)
-No player stats entered on MaxPreps.
-Defeated #6 Seed (19-3) South Granville in the second round.
-Loss to Ayden-Grifton during the season 11-3.
-Martin Co. is 4-10 against teams with winning records.
Predictions:
Without player stats and considering most of their opponents are either in 1A or from out of the area, I'm not going to sugarcoat the situation. This Martin County team is a big question mark. They finished the regular season 3-9 against teams above a .500 average, lost to Ayden-Grifton 11-3, and then turned around to upset (19-3) South Granville in the third round, a team that mostly plays larger 3A schools. Here's what I know: North Lenoir is darn good baseball team. From the bats to the pitching to the coaching. With the Hawks playing at The Swamp, I'm putting my money on North Lenoir 9 out of 10 times, regardless of who they are playing. I don’t see the Hawks overlooking Martin County. I got the Hawks to win.
#1 Seed (23-0) Greene Central vs #8 Seed (17-7) Bunn
Bunn’s Resume:
-Finsihed 1st place in The Big East Conference 2A/3A Split (10-2)
-Has a strong 8-3 record on the road
-The Wildcats have scored 133 points and allowed 102 points this season.
-Lost to Southwest Edgecombe 7-0, Lost to Croatan 13-0, Defeated North Lenoir 18-7.
-Bunn has 6 batters hitting over .300 avg
-Wildcats have hit 10 home runs total this season, with 3 guys with multiple home runs.
-First playoff appearances since 2019
Predictions:
This is another dangerous team. A team with two seniors and a lot of younger guys producing. Looking at their schedule, their wins are erratic but still include some good quality wins against great teams. I do believe this is a good hitting team with two good starting pitchers. At the end of the day, only good teams make it to the 3rd round of the playoffs. The Rams are 23-0 for a reason, and it's because they have a lot of talent and tradition. The Rams cannot overlook or look forward to the fourth round, and I don’t think they do. I think the Rams keep rolling.
