HobbsDailyReport.com
TRIVIA ANSWER
No one responded to the challenge posted Wednesday night to name the three teams since 1984 with first-round postseason softball wins over Alexander Central.
Answer: Starmount in 1984, Hopewell in 2005 and McDowell in 2008.
Kendra Mayes pitched a complete game and drove in two runs to spark Alexander Central High’s 5-3 home victory over Southeast Guilford on Thursday in the second round of the state 4A softball playoffs.
Mayes (16-2) threw seven innings, giving up seven hits, three runs (one earned) with three walks and no strikeouts as the top-seeded Cougars (24-3) advanced.
Alexander Central will next play No. 23 West Forsyth (15-10) or No. 5 Southwest Guilford (20-3) in Taylorsville. That game must be played by Wednesday.
West Forsyth is at Southwest Guilford on Friday at 7 p.m.
Brittany Krider and Caroline Maltba each had two hits for the Cougars on Thursday, when they survived making three errors.
Allyson Frantz had two hits to lead No. 17 Southeast Guilford (18-8), which grabbed a 2-0 lead with two runs in the first inning. The Cougars tied it with two runs in the bottom of the third inning and stretched that lead to 4-2 in the bottom of the fifth with two runs.
Sydney Ingle took the loss for Southeast Guilford, going six innings. She gave up seven hits, five runs (three earned), walked four and struck out five.
Alexander Central is into the third round for the ninth consecutive season and chasing its first state title since 2014.
No. 10 Mooresville 2, No. 4 A.L. Brown 1: Mooresville, which shared the North Piedmont 3A-4A regular season title with Alexander Central, reached the third round with a road victory on Thursday.
Next up for the Blue Devils (20-3) will be No. 19 Hough (16-8) or No. 6 Charlotte Catholic (17-4). They play Saturday at 7 p.m. at Catholic.
If Hough wins, it travels to Mooresville. If Catholic wins, it gets the home game – which must be played by Wednesday.
Mooresville and Alexander Central are in opposite brackets and could not meet again until the Final Four.
3A
Foard at home: No. 9 West Iredell (13-8) goes to No. 8 Fred T. Foard (15-7) for a second-round 3A game at 6 p.m. on Friday.
The game winner advances to play No. 13 Sun Valley (16-6) or No 3 Enka (19-2), who play Saturday at 2 p.m.
The third round game must be played by Wednesday.
2A
Maiden visits Hilltoppers: All four remaining teams from area leagues play on Friday.
No. 19 Maiden (13-7) visits No. 5 R-S Central (19-2) for a 7 p.m. start, No. 14 Draughn (16-6) plays at No. 3 Forbush (19-2) at 6 p.m. and No. 15 East Lincoln (16-7) goes to No. 2 West Wilkes (24-1) for a 6 p.m. game.
The Maiden-R-S Central winner gets No. 13 Black Mountain Owen (14-3) or No. 7 Lake Norman Charter (18-2) next. They play Saturday at 5:30 p.m. at North Mecklenburg High.
If Draughn wins, it gains a home game next against No. 26 South Stokes (14-12), which advanced Thursday by beating No. 20 Polk County 9-1 at Polk County.
East Lincoln would travel to play No. 12 Brevard (19-4) or No. 6 Parkwood (19-2) next. They play Saturday at 7 p.m. at Parkwood.
All third round games must be completed by Wednesday.
–– For complete scores and pairings for West 2A, 3A and 4A softball visit an earlier post on the website.