The Wakefield girls expected to be in Greenville today playing in the Eastern 4-A girls basketball championship game. But the Apex boys didn't enter the season with realistic expectations of contending for a berth in the 4-A final.

That's one of the things that make high school athletics so interesting.

Wakefield entered the season coming off back-to-back 26-2 seasons. Coach Danielle Blackburn knew she had enough talent to contend again.

The Wolverines have been overwhelming, posting an average winning margin of 33 points.

Their closest game in the playoffs was Tuesday's fourth-round 44-30 victory over Wilmington Laney.

The 30-0 Wolverines are scheduled to play Fayetteville Westover at 1 p.m. today at J.H. Rose High.

The Apex boys (18-11) were 4-9 at one point this season. They entered the playoffs as the No. 3 seed from the Tri-Eight Conference and fresh from a 70-69 loss to Cary in the first round of the league tournament.

Nevertheless, the Cougars have knocked off three conference top seeds -- Millbrook, Clayton and Fayetteville Sanford -- en route to today's 3 p.m. game against Fayetteville Britt (27-4) at East Carolina's Minges Coliseum.

HOME RUN RECORD: Broughton senior Landon Warren tied the N.C. High School Athletic Association fast-pitch softball career home run record in a 22-4 loss to Garner on Wednesday.

Warren's home run was the 23rd of her career and tied her with Mollie Fowler of West Stokes, who graduated in 2005.

Warren also has hit in 67 consecutive games, which will break the current national record of 46 games if the potential record is submitted.

Warren has seven singles, a triple and a home run in 13 at-bats this season for a .692 batting average.

PERSONAL BEST: Senior Joshua Brunelle of Green Hope, who finished third in the pole vault in the NCHSAA indoor championships, cleared a personal-best 14 feet, 8 inches in a dual meet Wednesday against Panther Creek.

SOFTBALL CANCELED: The Riverside by the Creek softball showcase scheduled for today at Raleigh's Walnut Creek Softball Complex has been rained out.

Twenty-eight teams from throughout the state were scheduled to play in seven round-robin brackets.