2022 baseball playoffs: Polk to travel to West Stokes for opener

Polk County will open the state 2A baseball playoffs with a trip to West Stokes, according to brackets released Monday by the North Carolina High School Athletic Association.

The Wolverines (9-11) received a wild-card berth and the 27th seed in the 2A West bracket. Polk will journey to West Stokes (17-5) on Tuesday to face the sixth-seeded Wildcats at 6 p.m.

West Stokes won the Mid-State Conference regular-season title before dropping a 7-6 decision to Morehead in the final of the league’s postseason tournament. That loss snapped a six-game winning streak. The Wildcats have won 15 of their last 17 games, with both of those losses to Morehead, and had a run of five straight shutouts at one point.

The Wildcats are led by junior Kaden Fuller, who is hitting .413 with two homers and 21 RBI. Junior Josh Jones leads the team with 22 RBI and is hitting .350.

Fuller and senior lefthander Mason Howell anchor the team’s pitching.

The winner of Tuesday’s game will face either Brevard or Madison in Friday’s second round.