Both the Hiwassee Dam and Murphy softball teams have qualified for the N.C. High School Athletic Association 1A playoffs, which start Monday.
The Lady Eagles finished the regular season 10-4, third in the Smoky Mountain Conference. After Thursday’s loss to Murphy, head coach Roger Adams said he didn’t know if his team’s record would be good enough to make the playoffs.
However, the Eagles were able to qualify as a wild card, the No. 12 seed in the West Region, and face East Surry High School in the first round Tuesday night. East Surry is almost five hours northeast of Hiwassee Dam, about 30 minutes north of Winston-Salem.
The Cardinals finished 11-2 overall this year, 8-0 in the Northwest Conference to win the title. East Surry has been one of the best programs in the state since softball was added as a varsity sport in 1994, tying Alexander Central for the most state championships with six.
Murphy finished 12-1 overall and in the Smoky Mountain Conference championship, winning a share of the conference title with Robbinsville. However, since the Lady Knights were able to play and win one more game to finish 13-1, they got the higher seed for the playoffs.
While Robbinsville is the No. 2 seed in the West, the Lady Bulldogs are the No. 10 seed and traveled to Chatham Charter School on Tuesday, which is almost five hours from Murphy and about 40 minutes southeast of Greensboro. Chatham Carter finished the regular season 8-3 and won the Central Tar Heel Conference.
Both Murphy and Hiwassee Dam’s games ended after the Cherokee Scout’s press deadline Tuesday. If Murphy wins and Robbinsville beats South Stokes High School, the two conference rivals will meet in the second round.