NCHSAA 4A Softball East Regional Series Preview: Topsail vs. Apex
No. 15 Topsail (15-6) vs. No. 8 Apex (18-6)
NCHSAA 4A East Regional Series
Series Schedule
Game 1: 6 p.m. Tuesday at Apex
Game 2: 6 p.m. Wednesday at Topsail
Game 3 (if necessary): 6 p.m. Friday at Apex
How they got here
First round
No. 15 Topsail 8, No. 18 Apex Friendship 1
No. 8 Apex 11, No. 25 New Bern 6
Second round
No. 15 Topsail 5, No. 2 Southern Alamance 2
No. 8 Apex 7, No. 9 Sanderson 0
Third round
No. 15 Topsail 9, No. 23 Holly Springs 0
No. 8 Apex 7, No. 1 D.H. Conley 5
Third round
No. 15 Topsail 1, No. 11 Wakefield 0 (9 innings)
No. 8 Apex 3, No. 5 Wake Forest 1
A look at the series
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Based on their seeds alone, this looks to be a surprising East final. When you did deeper, you realize these are two talented teams who have peaked at the right time.
Topsail returned a majority of its starting lineup from the 2022 team that finished 17-5 and reached the second round of the playoffs. Apex also fell in the second round to end 2022 with a 19-4 record. The Cougars lost only one starter to graduation.
Neither team got off to a great start this season. Topsail suffered losses in its first two Mideastern Conference games and were 3-3. Apex dropped three of its first four games.
The great thing about the postseason is teams get a fresh start, and both have taken advantage of that. Whichever team comes out victorious this week will advance to the state championship series for the first time in school history.
The Pirates have outscored their four postseason opponents 23-3 behind excellent pitching from junior Kennedy Sloan. She has recorded 33 strikeouts and issued only seven walks in 30 innings.
Sloan threw a season-high 151 pitches in Saturday’s dramatic 1-0, nine-inning victory at Wakefield.
Shortstop Jaylyn Noble delivered the game-winning single to right field. She has driven in a run in each of the past three games.
Topsail’s Jaylyn Noble. [Tim Hower/Coastal Preps]
Sophomore center field Emmy Clark has four hits, five walks, seven RBI and four runs scored. Sloan is also producing at the plate, hitting .462 (6-for-13) with three RBI.
Apex has been strong offensively all season. The Cougars are averaging 8.2 runs per game and have a team batting average of .351 (235-for-670). They have terrific team speed, which is evident by their 151 stolen bases.
Sophomore middle infielder Leah Kendall enters the series with a team-best .493 batting average (35-for-71). She has also stolen 38 bases and been caught only three times.
Kaleigh Ayscue, an ECU signee, has committed only one error while playing center field and shortstop. She’s also an outstanding hitter (.481 with three home runs and 18 RBI).
It’s unknown if Mars Hill signee Kendall Bradshaw will be back in the Apex lineup. The senior second baseman hasn’t played in the past three games. She is the biggest power threat with eight doubles and two home runs in 21 games.
Maggie Degnan will handle the pitching duties. The Rollins signee is 14-6 with a 2.47 ERA and 140 strikeouts in 116 1/3 innings. If she runs into any trouble, the Cougars could turn to Barton commit Alyssa Kaufman (4-0, 3.95 ERA, 24 strikeouts in 39 innings).
Degnan has been in the circle for all but one inning in the playoffs. She allowed only one run on four hits with seven strikeouts in Friday’s 3-1 victory at Wake Forest.
