HobbsDailyReport.com
Fifth-seeded St. Stephens High was the only lower seed to get through the first round of the Northwestern 3A-4A softball tournament on Tuesday.
Fifth-seeded St. Stephens was the only lower seed to get out of the first round of the Northwestern 3A-4A softball tournament on Tuesday.
Playing No. 4 Freedom in Morganton, the fifth-seeded Indians won 1-0 to advance to the semifinals.
St. Stephens (9-11) meets top-seeded South Caldwell (17-6) for a 6 p.m. semifinal on Wednesday at Catawba Meadows.
Also playing a semifinal at 6 p.m. at the same location on Wednesday will be No. 3 Hibriten (12-8) against second-seeded Fred T. Foard (13-6).
The championship game is scheduled Friday at 6 p.m. at Catawba Meadows.
South Caldwell has secured the league’s No. 1 state 4A bid and Fred T. Foard has the top position for 3A postseason teams unless Hibriten or St. Stephens win the tournament to move above the Tigers.
In games played Tuesday:
No. 5 St. Stephens 1 No. 4 Freedom 0: The Indians won on the road, beating the Patriots for the second straight time.
Freedom won 7-5 at St. Stephens in the regular season and the Indians won in Morganton 10-7 on April 28.
The win was the first via shutout for St. Stephens over a conference team this season.
No. 1 South Caldwell 10, No. 8 Hickory 0: The Spartans rolled in Hudson, adding their third win over the Red Tornadoes this season.
In regular-season games, South Caldwell beat Hickory 15-0 in Hudson and 29-0 at Hickory as the Spartans won by a combined 54-0 for the year.
No. 2 Fred T. Foard 6, No. 7 Patton 3: At Foard, the Tigers advanced by beating the Panthers (8-15) for the third time this season.
Foard won 16-4 in five innings at Foard and 9-0 on the road in their previous meetings.
No. 3 Hibriten 8, No. 6 Watauga 1: At Hibriten, the Panthers gained a third game for the year against Foard by beating the Pioneers (9-12).
In the regular season, Watauga beat Hibriten 11-10 in Lenoir and the Panthers won 9-4 in Boone.