Staff report

As expected, West Rowan’s baseball team is seeded fourth in a 32-team bracket for the 3A state playoffs.

The opponent, however, is not the one that was usually projected. The Falcons will host No. 29 seed Franklin today.

Franklin (11-9) was the third-place finisher in the Mountain Seven and will have a long ride to Mount Ulla.

West (18-6) had a nine-game winning streak stopped by East Rowan in the South Piedmont Conference Tournament championship game.

East Rowan is seeded 10th despite being a lofty No. 2 in the 3A West RPI rankings.

West Rowan and East tied for first in the South Piedmont Conference, but West swept East during the regular season, so for state playoff seeding purposes, West is considered the SPC champion. East could not be seeded ahead of any 3A West teams that were conference champs or any 3A West teams from the 2A/3A and 3A/4A split leagues that were the top 3A team in their conference.

East  (20-5) may only get one home game in the playoffs. East will host familiar opponent Lake Norman Charter in tonight’s first round at 7 p.m.

Seeded 23rd, Lake Norman Charter (13-9) was the third-place finisher in the SPC, but like the Mustangs, the LNC Knights can put a N.C. State recruit on the mound.

Carson (12-11) is seeded 27th in the 3A West bracket and will travel to Gibsonville to take on sixth-seeded Eastern Guilford (18-6) in the first round. Eastern Guilford won the Mid-State Conference regular season and tournament championships.

South Rowan (8-15), defending state champs in 3A, made a determined run at the end, but finished 37th in the 3A West RPI rankings and didn’t make the playoffs.

Salisbury ended its season at 8-15. North Rowan finished 5-12.

Second-round playoff games will be played on Friday.