After two impressive runs in their respective conference tournaments, both East Davidson and Ledford have qualified as the No. 2 seeds from their leagues for the NCHSAA state playoffs which begin today.

In 2-A, the 14-7 Golden Eagles will play host to East Lincoln (10-12), the No. 3 seed from the Southern Piedmont Conference. At the 3-A level, the Panthers (16-8) will also get to host a home game with the Mid-State Conference No. 3 seed Rockingham invading Wallburg. Both games begin at 7 p.m.

Coaches Greg Fowler (ED) and Charlie Brown (Ledford) admitted they know nothing about their respective opponents, but that is the beauty of the postseason.

“When you play teams at this point of the year, they are all going to be pretty good,” Fowler said. “When you play a one-and-done tournament, you have to play your A-game or you are done.”

East played two terrific games in the Central Carolina Conference tourney, though losing 1-0 to three-time defending state champion Central Davidson in the finals. Leadoff hitter Natalie Naturile is dangerous at the top of the lineup for the offense, and Spencer Embler has been sharp in the circle. The Golden Eagles have plenty of other weapons that can make clutch plays on any given night, but the consistency has not always been there. East had several scoring chances against the Spartans last week, but the one hit they needed never came to fruition.

“We played real well in the conference tournament,” said Fowler. But we have got to play consistent. If we do, we feel like we will have a chance to win the ballgame.”

Ledford took an unexpected blow late in the season with a surprising loss to Southern Guilford a few weeks after they had 10-run ruled their Mid-Piedmont Conference foes. They responded with two sharp outings in the tournament, pounding the Storm before nearly defeating perennial power Southwestern Randolph.

“We had a wakeup at the end of our season getting beat by Southern Guilford, and we learned you cannot just show up and win,” Brown said. “You have to respect all opponents. We attacked during the conference tournament and played really well, and I feel like we are back on top.”

Ledford has the sticks to produce a plethora of runs, but their ticket to success will be how well Kristen Murphy performs on the rubber. She has been up and down at times, and Meg Everhart has done well in backing her up. But Murphy has proven herself before in big games, and when the first pitch is thrown tonight, she will be the one letting it go.

“Murphy has struggled a little bit here and there due to an illness, but she is getting back and she is our ace,” Brown said. “She is who we are going with.”

The winners from each game advance to the second round on Friday.