South Brunswick baseball in state final, Hoggard soccer one step away

One down, one to go.

The South Brunswick baseball team swept its way into its first state championship appearance since 1988 on Thursday night. It dominated South Central in both games of its best-of-3 series, outscoring the Falcons 14-3.

As the No. 2 seed in the 3A East regional, it's not a surprise that the Cougars made it to this point.

It won't be a shock if the Hoggard girls soccer team joins them next week.

The Vikings romped past Holly Springs on Thursday night in the 4A East bracket, winning 3-0, and nearly scoring four other times. Ella Johnson had the highlight reel goal but every Hoggard player won their position on the night, thanks to smart offense and high-pressure defense.

Hoggard plays an old nemesis, Cardinal Gibbons, on Tuesday for a spot in the state championship. It would be the Vikings' second ever trip to the final; they lost in PKs in 2010.

THEY'RE BACK: South Brunswick baseball in first state final since 1988 after 3A East Regional sweep

Monday, May 23, update

The big games are really arriving now for our public schools.

The Hoggard girls soccer team won Monday night to advance to the NCHSAA Class 4A quarterfinals later this week, against an opponent to be determined tonight.

Meanwhile, the South Brunswick baseball team hopes the weather holds off for tonight's Game 1 of the 3A East Regional final series in Boiling Spring Lakes. They've even brought in more bleachers for tonight's contest.

We also crowned state champions in NCISAA over the weekend, with Cape Fear Academy grabbing its second-ever Division II championship, and the Coastal Christian boys running away with (sorry about the pun!) Class 3A track and field title.

Friday, May 20, update

Southeastern North Carolina's NCHSAA title hopes are down to two teams after a flurry of games to end the week, with road teams' upset bids coming up short.

The Hoggard girls soccer team, with the top seed in the 4A East bracket, remains alive after another easy win Thursday vs. Apex Friendship, and faces No. 24 Southern Alamance at home on Monday in the third round.

The South Brunswick baseball team advanced to its first regional final since 1988 on Friday night, using a 10-run fourth inning to dispatch West Carteret 13-1 in Boiling Spring Lakes. The No. 2-seeded Cougars get Game 1 of the state semifinal series at home Tuesday vs. South Central.

Also on Saturday, three Wilmington teams go for NCISAA state championships: Cape Fear Academy boys tennis and boys lacrosse, and Coastal Christian girls soccer.

Also on Saturday, the final day of the state track meet is held in Greensboro, with a host of 1A athletes from Pender, and several high hopes in 4A from the Wilmington city public schools and Topsail.

NCHSAA craziness continued in Round 3

Tuesday night's third round of the NCHSAA state baseball playoffs continued a wild and weird postseason for local teams.

No. 30 Trask and No. 24 Topsail? Still alive.

No. 1 New Hanover and No. 10 Hoggard. Bowed out.

The Titans in 2A and Pirates in 4A again went on the road and have five road wins betwein the postseason. They'll go for most-improbable trips to the state semifinals later this week.

Meanwhile, in 3A, South Brunswick is living up to its No. 2 seed, dispatching Croatan on Tuesday night to set up a showdown with No. 6 West Carteret for a spot in the semifinals themselves.

Also, congratulations to the Coastal Christian girls soccer team, Cape Fear Academy boys lacrosse and CFA boys tennis teams. They all return to state championship games on Saturday in NCISAA competition.

This all comes after a Monday that left the two best teams in the Mideastern Conference girls soccer standings alive -- and no one else.

Weather moves things up to Thursday

A bad weather forecast for Friday forced much of North Carolina to start the next round of the state playoffs a day early.

That worked out just fine for two of the area's high hopes on the baseball field. Others weren't so lucky.

Both New Hanover and Hoggard moved into Round 3 in convincing fashion, while the Trask Titans continue to surprise in the 2A playoffs after being the No. 30 seed out of 32 teams.

For the area's softball and lacrosse hopes, it wasn't such a good night.

The Hoggard boys lacrosse team's undefeated season ended against Cardinal Gibbons, while all softball teams in action ended their season, including Hoggard's defense of the NCHSAA Class 4A softball title.

23-YEAR RUN ENDS: Longtime Hoggard lacrosse coach Treman's tenure ends with quarterfinal playoff loss

Hoggard baseball rally highlights baseball first round

The parade of team high school spring sports championships got underway in North Carolina. And Bennett McNeill started it with a bang.

The Hoggard baseball third baseman completed a stirring comeback in the seventh inning Tuesday night, hitting a grand slam to beat Southern Alamance 8-6 in a thriller at Spike Corbin Field.

It capped a 5-2 night for Mideastern Conference baseball teams, including road wins for Topsail and North Brunswick.

Also, the area's two best lacrosse teams, the Hoggard boys and Topsail girls, marched into the state quarterfinals with big home victories on Tuesday.

And in 2A, the Trask baseball and softball teams both went on the road for upset wins.

Check out all the scores and the future schedules for NCHSAA and NCISAA teams below.

Baseball

WILD FINALE: Bizarre no-hitter propels New Hanover to share of Mideastern baseball title

NEW TEAMMATES: Laney's Rivera set to be part of new team beyond high school

AT THE HEART OF IT ALL: Hoggard's Spencer Nolan keeps Vikings afloat

NCHSAA Class 3A State Championship (Best of 3)

South Brunswick (24-3) vs. East Lincoln or South Rowan, Friday, Time and place TBD

NCHSAA Class 3A East Regional Final (Best of 3)

Game 1, Tuesday, May 24: South Brunswick 6, South Central 2 (Story, Photos, Video)

Game 2, Thursday, May 26: South Brunswick 8, South Central 1, Cougars win series 2-0 (Story)

NCHSAA Fourth Round (Friday, May 20)

Class 2A

#15 North Lenoir 3, #30 Trask 1

Class 3A

#2 South Brunswick 13, #6 West Carteret 1 (Video, Photo Gallery)

Class 4A

#13 Fuquay-Varina 10, #24 Topsail 1

NCHSAA Third Round (Tuesday, May 17)

Class 2A

#30 Trask 9, #6 South Granville 3

Class 3A

#2 South Brunswick 4, #26 Croatan 1 (Photos)

#13 South Central 11, #21 North Brunswick 1

Class 4A

#24 Topsail 2, #1 New Hanover 1 (9 innings) (Story, Photos, Video)

#2 Pinecrest 12, #10 Hoggard 2

NCHSAA Second Round (Thursday, May 12, unless noted)

Class 2A

#30 Trask 8, #19 Granville Central 4

Class 3A

#2 South Brunswick 4, #15 Fike 0 (4 inn.)

#21 North Brunswick 8, #5 First Flight 2 (Sunday)

Class 4A

#1 New Hanover 5, #17 Wakefield 2

#10 Hoggard 9, #26 Cary 0

#24 Topsail 5, #25 Rolesville 2 (Friday)

NCHSAA First Round (Tuesday, May 10)

Class 2A

#30 Trask 3, #3 West Craven 2

Class 3A

#2 South Brunswick 11, #31 Durham School of the Arts 0

#21 North Brunswick 9, #12 Lee County 1

Class 4A

#1 New Hanover 14, #32 Overhills 2

#10 Hoggard 8, #23 Southern Alamance 6

#21 Green Level 7, #12 Ashley 1

#17 Wakefield 6, #16 Laney 1

#24 Topsail 2, #9 Gray's Creek 0

NCISAA Class 3A (Tuesday, May 10)

Second Round, May 12: Cary Christian 8, Coastal Christian 4

First Round, May 10: Coastal Christian 11, Fayetteville Christian 4

Softball

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NCHSAA Second Round (Thursday, May 12, unless noted)

Class 2A

#7 South Granville 9, #23 Trask 2

Class 3A

#8 South Central 5, #9 South Brunswick 2

Class 4A

#14 Cleveland 7, #3 Topsail 5 (Friday)

#6 Panther Creek 10, #11 Hoggard 4

NCHSAA First Round (Tuesday, May 10)

Class 1A

#12 Roxboro Community 3, #21 Pender 1

Class 2A

#23 Heide Trask 6, #10 Bartlett Yancey 1

Class 3A

#9 South Brunswick 4, #24 Havelock 1

Class 4A

#3 Topsail 11, #30 Ashley 5 (Photo Gallery)

#11 Hoggard 9, #22 Willow Spring 5

#16 Garner 5, #17 Laney 4

Girls Soccer

NCHSAA

Class 4A State Semifinals (Tuesday, May 31)

#23 Cardinal Gibbons (14-6-2) at #1 Hoggard (21-1-1), 6 p.m.

Class 4A Fourth Round (Thursday, May 26)

#1 Hoggard 3, #5 Holly Springs 0 (Story, Video, Photos)

Class 4A Third Round (Monday, May 23)

#1 Hoggard 2, #24 Southern Alamance 0

Class 4A Second Round (Thursday, May 19)

#1 Hoggard 4, #16 Apex Friendship 1

#6 Pinecrest 2, #11 Ashley 1

First Round (Monday, May 16)

Class 1A

#13 Union 3, #20 Pender 1

Class 2A

#2 NC Science & Math 5, #31 Heide Trask 1

Class 3A

#6 Croatan 4, #27 West Brunswick 0

#4 Jacksonville 8, #29 South Brunswick 1

Class 4A

#1 Hoggard 8, #32 Richmond 0

#11 Ashley 4, #22 Cleveland 1

#19 Green Level 5, #14 Laney 2

#15 Middle Creek 1, #18 Topsail 0

NCISAA Class 3A

Final (Saturday, May 21)

#2 Forsyth Country Day 5, #1 Coastal Christian 0

Semifinals (Tuesday, May 17)

#1 Coastal Christian 3, #4 Cape Fear Academy 0

Quarterfinals (Saturday, May 13)

#1 Coastal Christian 1, Asheville Christian 0

#4 Cape Fear Academy 3, Asheville School 1

Boys Lacrosse

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NCHSAA Class 1A/2A/3A

Second Round: #1 Orange 18, #17 South Brunswick 5

Second Round: #5 Cape Fear 16, #12 North Brunswick 6

First Round: #17 South Brunswick 14, #16 Oxford Webb 2

NCHSAA Class 4A

Quarterfinals (Thursday, May 12)

#3 Cardinal Gibbons 15, #2 Hoggard 8 (Story, Photos, Video)

Third Round (Tuesday, May 10)

#2 Hoggard 12, #10 Broughton 5

Second Round (May 5-6)

#4 Heritage 22, #13 Ashley 15

#2 Hoggard 20, #18 Laney 2 (Photo Gallery)

First Round (Tuesday, May 3)

#13 Ashley 18, #20 Wake Forest 5

#17 Apex 16, #16 Topsail 10

#18 Laney 8, #15 Wakefield 7

NCISAA Division II

Final (Saturday, May 21)

#2 Cape Fear Academy 9, #1 Forsyth Country Day 7

Semifinals (Tuesday, May 17)

#2 Cape Fear Academy 8, #3 Southlake Christian 7

Quarterfinals (Thursday, May 12)

#2 Cape Fear Academy 15, #7 Arendell Parrott 0

Girls Lacrosse

NCHSAA

Quarterfinals (Friday, May 13)

#3 Holly Springs 23, #2 Topsail 18

Third Round (Tuesday, May 10)

#2 Topsail 22, #10 Apex Friendship 9 (Photo Gallery)

Second Round (Friday, May 6)

#2 Topsail 19, #15 Pinecrest 12

#4 Wake Forest 17, #20 Hoggard 5

First Round (Tuesday, May 3)

#20 Hoggard 17, #13 Ashley 9

#14 Northwood 11, #19 Laney 10

NCISAA Division II

Quarterfinals (Friday, May 13)

#3 Fayetteville Academy 19, #6 Cape Fear Academy 9

Boys Tennis

NCISAA Division II

Final (Saturday, May 21)

#1 Forsyth Country Day 5, #2 Cape Fear Academy 2

(14-1) at Rocky Mount Academy, 10 a.m.

Semifinals (Tuesday, May 17)

#2 Cape Fear Academy 5, #3 Asheville School 1

Quarterfinals (Monday, May 16)

#2 Cape Fear Academy 6, Coastal Christian 0

Second Round (Thursday, May 12)

Coastal Christian 7, St. David's 2

NCHSAA

First Round (Wednesday, April 27)

4A: Green Hope 5, Hoggard 1

4A: Cardinal Gibbons 5, New Hanover 1

3A: J.H. Rose 9, South Brunswick 0

Dan Spears is the sports editor for the Wilmington StarNews, and Southeast Regional sports editor for the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at Dan.Spears@StarNewsOnline.com or on Twitter @DanSpears.

This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: Wilmington spring high school sport playoff schedules, scores for 2022