State playoffs begin Wednesday as Polk softball, girls soccer host openers

State 2A playoff action begins Wednesday night at Polk County as the softball and girls soccer squads host first-round games.

Polk County will face East Lincoln in a softball matchup at 5 p.m., a game that can also be heard via the Internet at http://www.meridix.com/everywhere.php?liveid=PolkCounty.

The Wolverine soccer squad hosts Wilkes Central in its first-round game at 6:30 p.m. in Wolverine Stadium.

Wilkes Central owns just a 9-10-2 record, but enters the playoffs on a bit of a roll, going 5-1-1 in its final seven matches, though all five wins came over opponents with four wins or fewer this season. The Golden Eagles did score 39 goals in those seven games.

Among the players to watch for Wilkes Central are junior midfielder Silvia Rubio-Reyes, sophomore Sierra Massucco, who returned from an injury and scored four goals in a 9-1 win last week over East Wilkes, freshman Sarah Mizelle, senior Jazzmin Robinson and goalkeeper Bri Roten.

Polk County brings a 17-5-1 record into the match.

In softball, East Lincoln (13-8) enters as the third seed from Southern District 7.

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.

Polk County (19-4) has won nine straight games since a 10-9 loss at Mountain Heritage on April 11.