Union Pines softball and girls’ lacrosse join Pinecrest baseball in the later rounds of their respective state tournaments, while girls’ soccer gets ready to kick off the postseason.
Boys’ tennis
All three local teams saw their playoff runs come to an end last week.
No. 10 seed North Moore fell to No. 7 Chatham Charter, 5-2 in the second round, finishing their season with a 3-9 record.
In 4A, No. 5 Pinecrest was upset by No. 12 Broughton in the second round, ending the season with a 13-2 mark.
In the 3A bracket, No. 10 Union Pines got a second-round win over No. 7 Cape Fear, 8-1. The Vikings then fell to unbeaten No. 2 seed Terry Sanford, 5-1, in the third round. They finished with a 10-5 record.
None of the Moore County teams had any individual players or doubles teams chosen for the state individual championships.
Boys’ Lacrosse
Union Pines made it to the round of 16, but the No. 4 Vikings lost to No. 5 Carrboro, 13-8, ending their season in the 3A third round. Union Pines finished its season at 11-7 and bid farewell to seniors Aidyn Rombalski, Mason Berge, Will Carver, Alex Patterson, Jackson Violand, Denton Orr, Gavin Renegar, Nick Conway, Cory Habick, Dustin Schroder, Kyle Yarter, Erik Kosior, Tim White, Andrew Hill and Owen Brown.
Girls’ Lacrosse
The Pinecrest girls saw their season end in the 4A Sweet 16. The No. 6 Patriots lost to No. 3 Chapel Hill, 20-6, ending their season with a 14-4-1 record. That brings the high school careers of seniors Allie Hirst, Audrey Kilgore, Kayla Johnson and Lily Wellener to a close. Hirst had two goals and an assist in the final game, while sophomore Peyton Page had three scores and an assist.
Union Pines advanced to the Final Four of the 1A/2A/3A bracket. The unbeaten No. 1 Vikings topped No. 8 Seaforth in the round of 16 by a 17-2 score, then beat No. 5 Swansboro, 21-7. Union Pines now faces No. 3 Croatan for a berth in the state title game.
Baseball
North Moore won its playoff opener as the No. 9 seed Mustangs took out No. 24 East Columbus, 3-2. No. 25 Pamlico County had North Moore’ s number in the second round, however, winning by a 9-4 score to end the Mustangs’ season at 14-8. North Moore says goodbye to seniors Austin Patterson, Will Kennedy, Nate Dyer and Elliot Furr.
Pinecrest is still kicking in the 4A bracket. The No. 4 seed beat No. 29 Green Hope, 5-0, to open things, then got past No. 20 Fuquay-Varina, 2-1. The round of 16 will bring No. 21 Laney. Connor Tepatti set a school record for hits in a season in the win over Green Hope and went 3-for-7 in the two games.
Softball
North Moore dropped its playoff opener as the No. 20 seed fell to No. 13 Northside – Pinetown, 12-2. That ended the Mustangs’ season at 11-10 and ended the high school careers of seniors Hannah Hunt and Logan Maness.
Union Pines moves on to the third round of the state playoffs. The No. 14 seed Vikings opened with a 11-4 win over No. 19 Cedar Ridge, then took a second-round win over No. 3 Southern Alamance, 8-7. Next is the winner of No. 6 South Central and No. 22 Western Harnett.
Girls’ Soccer
Despite a 4-10-2 record, North Moore earned a bid to the NCHSAA playoffs and will open as a No. 18 seed against No. 15 Clover Garden School (10-8) in the 1A bracket.
At 12-7-1, Pinecrest is a No. 10 seed at 4A. The Patriots open with No. 23 Pine Forest (14-5-1).
Union Pines takes its 15-4-2 mark into the playoffs as the 3A no. 5 seed. The Vikings open with No. 28 South Brunswick (8-9-1).
