Hornets Baseball, Softball Among Playoff Favorites

It could be an exciting few weeks on the diamond for North Reading High School.

The Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association released its baseball and softball pairings on Tuesday, and among the favorites in both tournaments are the Hornets.

Thanks to a second straight spectacular regular season campaign, the North Reading baseball team snagged the No. 1 seed in North Division 3 as the locals hope to bring home a second straight state championship.

During the regular season, the Hornets were 18-2. They will next play on Saturday at home with first pitch coming at 4 p.m. in the first round tilt against either Watertown or Swampscott. North Reading's top seed earned it a preliminary round bye.

In softball, the Lady Hornets are the No. 4 team in North Division 2 after a 16-5 regular season.

As a result, North Reading will host nearby No. 13 seed Reading on Thursday at 3:30 p.m. in the first round. The winner advances to take on either Winchester or Arlington Catholic in the quarterfinal round.