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What Gastonia, Shelby teams baseball and softball teams are playoff-ready? Here are a few.

joe l hughes ii, gaston gazette
·4 min read

With area teams stepping out of their normal routine for play in spring break tournaments, it’s a good time to survey the area and see what teams have playoff potential.

Nine baseball and softball teams from Cleveland, Gaston and Lincoln counties currently fit the bill. Here's a look at why they may hold such potential, along with a few questions for teams hoping to be in the postseason mix.

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In it for the long haul

  • Burns baseball: The playoffs are still weeks away, but the reigning NCHSAA 2A state champions look to be in peak form. Burns is 13-0 (6-0 Southern Piedmont 1A/2A) heading into spring break, upping its tally with a sweep of Southern Piedmont 1A/2A rival Cherryville.

  • Crest softball: Aside from an 11-1 loss to undefeated South Caldwell, Crest has impressed in its own right. The Chargers are 9-1 (6-0 Big South 3A) heading into spring break. They are currently on a five-game, outscoring opponents 75-10 during the stretch.

  • Cherryville softball: The Lady Ironmen are 8-1 overall, its only loss a 10-7 setback March 13 to Forestview. More importantly, Cherryville has yet to suffer defeat in Southern Piedmont 1A/2A competition, including a regular season sweep of reigning conference champion Burns.

  • Gaston Christian baseball: Coach Devon Lowery has the Eagles with an 8-2 (2-1 Metrolina Athletic) record at spring break, their losses to Covenant Day and Metrolina Christian each by one run. While their hitting prowess gets a lot of pub, yet the GCS pitching staff has a 1.31 ERA thus far.

  • Kings Mountain softball: The Mountaineers have flexed their muscles on its way to a 9-0 (6-0 Big South 3A) start, outscoring opponents by a 119-5 tally. At the start of spring break, Kings Mountain had scored 109 unanswered runs. Chase was the last to score on the Mountaineers, scoring in the first inning of their March 5 matchup.

Potential to make a run?

  • East Gaston baseball: The Warriors have shown themselves to be among the area’s top teams, off to an 11-2 start (8-0 Southern Piedmont 1A/2A). However, East Gaston’s trajectory will be determined by matchups March 16 and 18 against Burns, which could have NCHSAA 2A playoff ramifications.

  • East Lincoln softball: The reigning NCHSAA 3A state champions are 5-4 at spring break, including a 4-1 mark in Western Foothills 3A play. While averaging more than eight runs per game, the Lady Mustang defense has shown cracks of late, allowing 23 runs in its last three games.

  • Lincoln Charter baseball: The Eagles are 9-4 overall (8-0 Catawba Shores 1A/2A), winners of six consecutive games. Lincoln Charter’s toughest competition on its way to a league championship is likely to come in the season’s final week against Christ the King (April 23 and 26).

  • North Lincoln baseball: Following a stretch in which it lost three of four games, the Knights began spring break on a three-game winning streak. North Lincoln (7-3, 4-1 Western Foothills 3A) pitchers have a 1.79 ERA thus far with 82 strikeouts.

Three questions for the stretch run

  • Who wins Big South 3A baseball?: Crest (8-3), Kings Mountain (9-3) and South Point (7-3) are each 6-0 in Big South 3A play at the break. With each of them playing the other in coming weeks, we should soon have an answer.

  • Where does West Lincoln  baseball land in the Catawba Shores 2A pecking order?: Bandys appears to be the league’s top team, heading into spring break with a 7-0 mark in Catawba Valley 2A. However, the Rebels (7-4, 5-3 Catawba Valley 2A) find themselves in a five-team logjam of teams with three losses apiece.

  • Who claims Southern Piedmont 1A/2A softball’s automatic bid for the NCHSAA 2A playoffs?: Burns (3-6, 2-2 Southern Piedmont 1A/2A)  made it easy the past two seasons, claiming its league title and the automatic bid that comes with it. East Gaston (7-3, 5-1) and Shelby (7-4, 3-3) have closed the gap this season, both eager to seize a playoff bid of their own.

This article originally appeared on The Gaston Gazette: NCHSAA: 9 Gastonia, Shelby playoff-ready baseball and softball teams