Polk County will open its bid for a state 2A softball championship at home Wednesday against East Lincoln.
The North Carolina High School Athletic Association released official state softball playoff pairings on Monday afternoon. Click here for the full bracket
Polk County (19-4) enters the postseason as the No. 2 seed from the Western Highlands Conference. East Lincoln (13-8) enters as the third seed from Southern District 7.
Get PolkSports delivered to your inbox
Sign up for our free newsletter →
The Mustangs finished the season in a three-way tie for second in SD7, then dropped a 6-3 decision to West Lincoln in the semifinals of SD7’s postseason tournament. That led to a playoff with Bunker Hill for the third seed, and East Lincoln scored three runs in the bottom of the seventh for a 10-8 win.
Carly Johnson, who has signed to play next season at Division III Piedmont College, is the team’s top pitcher. Johnson struck out 101 batters in 116.1 innings this season and owns a 4.14 ERA. She also hit .429 and drove in 24 runs.
Senior Taylor Wilson led the team with a .493 average and a team-high 25 RBI. Sophomore Booth Braswell hit .478, while freshman Madison Hatfield hit .387 and had a team-high 23 stolen bases. East Lincoln stole 71 bases for the season.
The winner of the East Lincoln-Polk County game will face the winner of the Bunker Hill-East Rutherford game in the second round. East Rutherford, 20-2 and the top seed from the South Mountain Athletic Conference, would host with a victory.
