NC playoff update: One day after tragedy, Stuart Cramer falls in baseball playoffs
Barely 24 hours after a tragedy, Stuart Cramer’s baseball season came to an end Saturday.
The Storm lost to Burns, 18-2, in the N.C. 4A state quarterfinals, barely 24 hours after assistant coach Casey McMillan passed out during pregame warmups and was unable to be revived.
The game was postponed Friday and played Saturday night.
Burns (23-3) won its 13th straight game and advances to next week’s NCHSAA 4A Western Regional championship series against Lincoln Charter.
Stuart Cramer ends its season at 21-6.
Cramer principal Jessica Steiner said that the school had extra staff at Saturday’s game at Burns High in Lawndale, about a 40-mile drive from Stuart Cramer, which is in Belmont.
Steiner said counselors would also be at school Monday to support students and staff.
“Please keep our school family in your thoughts and prayers as we cope with the sudden passing of our assistant varsity baseball coach, Mr. Casey McMillen,” Steiner wrote in a social media post. “No words can describe our feelings of shock and sadness as we deal with this tragic loss. Our deepest condolences go out to Mr. McMillen’s family, friends, colleagues, and everyone in the Stuart W. Cramer and Mount Holly Middle school communities.
“He cared deeply for students, supported them in both academics and athletics, and gave so much to positively influence the lives of young people. Without question, he will be greatly missed.”
Friday’s area NCHSAA baseball playoff winners
— In the public school baseball playoffs, Cherryville (2A) advanced to next week’s regional championship series with a 12-2 win over Corvian Community. Cherryville will play Cornerstone Charter in the semifinal round.
— In 4A, Lincoln Charter beat West Stanly, 5-1, to advance. Lincoln Charter will play Burns next week.
— In 5A, South Point beat Crest, 5-4, and North Lincoln beat East Rowan, 4-3. South Point and North Lincoln — the reigning 3A state champion — will play a best-of-three series next week.
— And in 7A, Hickory Ridge and Marvin Ridge advanced to play in next week’s regional final. Hickory Ridge ended Ballantyne Ridge’s Cinderella season, beating the No. 19 seed, 7-1. Marvin Ridge beat Reagan, 11-1.
Area NCHSAA softball playoff winners
South Iredell and Weddington both advanced in the 7A playoffs, winning quarterfinals.
South Iredell beat East Forsyth, 2-0. Weddington stopped Hickory Ridge, 1-0.
South Iredell and Weddington will meet in the best-of-three regional championship series next week.
NC scores, playoff updates
The NC high school spring sports playoffs continued on Friday.
Scroll down for complete coverage. For NCISAA state finals pairings, tap here.
NCHSAA baseball
1A PLAYOFFS
Next week’s regional finals
(best-of-three, schedule TBA)
WEST
Chatham Charter (22-4) vs. N.C. Leadership (19-2)
EAST
East Columbus (17-9) vs. Bear Grass Charter (21-5)
2A PLAYOFFS
Friday’s regional semifinals
WEST
Cornerstone Charter 1, Community School of Davidson 0
Cherryville 12, Corvian Community 2, 6 inn.
EAST
Perquimans County 9, East Wake 7
Rosewood 9, Hobbton 0
3A PLAYOFFS
Friday’s regional semifinals
WEST
North Stanly 6, Patton 3
East Rutherford 13, Pine Lake Prep 0
EAST
Midway 2, Princeton 1
Whiteville 7, Ayden-Grifton 3
4A PLAYOFFS
Friday’s regional semifinal
WEST
Lincoln Charter 5, West Stanly 1
Saturday’s regional semfinal
Burns 18, Stuart Cramer 2
Story: Stuart Cramer coach collapses before Friday’s game
EAST
Southwestern Randolph 5, Randleman 4
Bunn 6, Uwharrie Charter 0
5A PLAYOFFS
Friday’s regional semifinals
WEST
South Point 5, Crest 4
North Lincoln 4, East Rowan 3
EAST
Seaforth 7, Oak Grove 3
Rockingham County 4, South Granville 3
6A PLAYOFFS
Friday’s regional semifinals
WEST
South Caldwell 6, AC Reynolds 5
Alexander Central 2, St. Stephens 1
Regional championship series
Game 1: Tuesday, 7 p.m. at Alexander Central
Game 2: Thursday, 7 p.m. at South Caldwell
Game 3: Saturday, 7 p.m. at Alexander Central (if necessary)
EAST
Southern Alamance 3, J.H. Rose 2
Southern Lee 5, Terry Sanford 4
7A PLAYOFFS
Friday’s regional semifinals
WEST
Hickory Ridge 7, Ballantyne Ridge 1
Marvin Ridge 11, Reagan 1
EAST
Cardinal Gibbons 6, South Central 4
Holly Springs 7, D.H. Conley 5
8A PLAYOFFS
Next week’s regional finals
(best-of-three)
WEST
Providence (27-1) vs. Myers Park (24-4)
Game 1: Tuesday, May 19, 6:30 p.m., at Providence
Game 2: Thursday, May 21, 7 p.m. at Myers Park
Game 3: Saturday, May 23, 6:30 p.m. at Providence (if necessary)
EAST
Leesville Road (16-11) vs. Corinth Holders (20-5)
(schedule TBA)
NCHSAA Softball
1A PLAYOFFS
Next week’s regional championship best-of-three series
(schedule TBA)
Bethany Community (18-5) vs. Robbinsville (23-2)
EAST
East Columbus (21-5) vs. Bear Grass Charter (22-3)
2A PLAYOFFS
Friday’s regional semifinals
WEST
South Stanly 10, Starmount 0
Roxboro Community 13, Swain County 7
EAST
Manteo 5, Perquimans 4
North Duplin 5, Rosewood 3
3A PLAYOFFS
Friday’s quarterfinals
WEST
Draughn 4, Union Academy 3
West Wilkes 4, West Davidson 3
EAST
McMichael 3, Farmville Central 2
Heide Trask 5, Midway 4
4A PLAYOFFS
Friday’s quarterfinals
WEST
Fred T. Foard 3, Mount Pleasant 1
West Stanly 5, West Stokes 0
EAST
Randleman 9, East Duplin 5
Southwestern Randolph 4, Central Davidson 1
5A PLAYOFFS
Friday’s quarterfinals
WEST
Enka 6, Crest 5
North Davidson 3, North Lincoln 0
EAST
Southeast Alamance 1, Rockingham County 0
West Carteret 2, Northern Nash 0
6A PLAYOFFS
Friday’s quarterfinals
WEST
Kings Mountain 3, Alexander Central 0
South Caldwell 11, Piedmont 1
EAST
Union Pines 14, Gray’s Creek 3
J.H. Rose 3, Triton 1
7A PLAYOFFS
Friday’s quarterfinals
WEST
South Iredell 2, East Forsyth 0
Weddington 1, Hickory Ridge 0
EAST
D.H. Conley 2, Cleveland 1
Heritage 7, New Bern 2
8A PLAYOFFS
Next week’s best-of-3 regional championship series
WEST
West Forsyth (24-4) vs. Providence (26-1)
Game 1: Tuesday, May 19, at Providence, 6 p.m.
Game 2: Thursday, May 21, at West Forsyth, 6 p.m.
Game 3: Friday, May 22, at Providence, 6 p.m. (if necessary)
EAST
Hoggard (14-8) vs. Corinth Holders (23-1)
(schedule TBA)
NCHSAA girls’ soccer
8A PLAYOFFS
Monday’s regional semifinals
WEST
Ardrey Kell at Hough, 7 p.m.
Northwest Guilford at Myers Park, 6 p.m.
EAST
Leesville Road at Hoggard
Wakefield at Millbrook
7A PLAYOFFS
Monday’s third round pairings
WEST
Hopewell at RJ Reynolds
Cox Mill at Hickory Ridge
Weddington at Grimsley
Lake Norman at Marvin Ridge
EAST
Wake Forest at Cardinal Gibbons
Topsail at Heritage
Fuquay-Varina at Ashley
Jack Britt at Holly Springs
6A PLAYOFFS
Monday’s third round pairings
WEST
Northern Guilford at Charlotte Catholic
Watauga at Asheville
TC Roberson at AC Reynolds
Sun Valley at Mt Tabor
EAST
White Oak at JH Rose
Southern Lee at Terry Sanford
East Chapel Hill at Union Pines
Middle Creek at Jacksonville
5A PLAYOFFS
Monday’s third round pairings
WEST
North Buncombe at NW Cabarrus
North Henderson at South Point
North Davidson at East Lincoln
Forestview at Hickory
EAST
Croatan at Western Alamance
Southern Nash at Richlands
Eastern Alamance at Oak Grove
South Brunswick at Dixon
4A PLAYOFFS
Monday’s third round pairings
WEST
Lake Norman Charter at Brevard
Lincoln Charter at Ashe County
Bandys at Wilkes Central
Central Academy at Hibriten
EAST
Clinton at Carrboro
West Stanly at Ledford
East Duplin at North Johnston
Central Davidson at First Flight
3A PLAYOFFS
Monday’s third round pairings
WEST
Patton at Pine Lake Prep
Union Academy at Wheatmore
Trinity at Polk County
Owen at Hendersonville
EAST
Heide Trask at Wake Prep
Beddingfield at Northwood
Wallace Rose-Hill at Princeton
North Moore at NCSSM
2A PLAYOFFS
Monday’s third round pairings
WEST
Gray Stone Day at Bishop McGuinness
Bradford Prep at Christ the King
Community School of Davidson at Murphy
Corvian Community at Mountain Island Charter
EAST
Manteo at Franklin Academy
Voyager at Lejeune
East Bladen at Camden County
Raleigh Charter at Cornerstone
1A PLAYOFFS
Monday’s third round pairings
WEST
Bethany Community at Summit Charter
Thomas Jefferson at NC Leadership
EAST
Vance Charter at Woods Charter
Ascend Leadership at Faith Lake
NCHSAA lacrosse
8A PLAYOFFS
Tap here for 8A brackets
Tap here for 7A brackets
Tap here for 1A-6A brackets
Charlotte, Raleigh-area golfers teams win NCHSAA state titles
Christ The King (2A), Stuart Cramer (4A) and Marvin Ridge (7A) captured team titles. In 6A, Terry Sanford won the team championship ahead of Charlotte Catholic. Sanford’s team score of 558 is the lowest 36-hole score in NCHSAA history, breaking the mark of 562 set by Pinecrest in 2024.
Individually, two Charlotte and one Raleigh-area golfer won state titles.
Cramer junior Lane Crotts won the individual title in 4A. He shot a two-day total of 134 at Longleaf Golf and Family Club in Southern Pines to finish 3 shots ahead of Wilkes Central’s Willis Eller.
In 7A, Marvin Ridge sophomore Ty Donnelly shot a two-day total of 138 to win at Pinehurst No. 8. RJ Reynolds’ Andrew Jenkins (142) was second.
And in 8A, Raleigh Broughton’s Smith Summerlin shot a two-day total of 139 at Pinehurst No. 8 to capture the title. He finished 4 shots ahead of Green Hope’s Jackson Bryce.
NCHSAA GOLF FINALS
1A Team Champion: Northside (Pinetown)
1A Team Runner-Up: Chatham Central
1A Individual Champion: Christopher Stembridge, Junior, Northside (Pinetown)
1A Individual Runner-Up: Tyler Measamer, Senior, Chatham Central
2A Team Champion: Christ the King
2A Team Runner-Up: Mitchell
2A Individual Champion: Bryce Miller, Senior, Mitchell
2A Individual Runner-Up: Ari Stuchiner, Freshman, Research Triangle and Colton Robinson, Senior, Cherryville
3A Team Champion: East Surry
3A Team Runner-Up: Pine Lake Prep
3A Individual Champion: Pennson Badgett, Senior, East Surry
3A Individual Runner-Up: Slater Meade, Junior, West Wilkes 3A Full Leaderboard
4A Team Champion: Stuart W. Cramer
4A Team Runner-Up: Fred T. Foard
4A Individual Champion: Lane Crotts, Junior, Stuart W. Cramer
4A Individual Runner-Up: Willis Eller, Senior, Wilkes Central
5A Team Champion: Oak Grove
5A Team Runner-Up: South Point
5A Individual Champion: Lincoln Newton, Senior, Oak Grove
5A Individual Runner-Up: Camden Honeycutt, Freshman, East Rowan
6A Team Champion: Terry Sanford*
6A Team Runner-Up: Charlotte Catholic
6A Individual Champion: Jack Weston, Freshman, Northern Guilford
6A Individual Runner-Up: Charlie Horne, Senior, Terry Sanford 6A Full Leaderboard
7A Team Champion: Marvin Ridge
7A Team Runner-Up: Cardinal Gibbons
7A Individual Champion: Ty Donnelly, Sophomore, Marvin Ridge
7A Individual Runner-Up: Andrew Jenkins, Freshman, R.J. Reynolds
8A Team Champion: Pinecrest
8A Team Runner-Up: Broughton
8A Individual Champion: Smith Summerlin, Senior, Broughton
8A Individual Runner-Up: Jackson Bryce, Senior, Green Hope
Multiple Charlotte-area players win NCHSAA tennis titles
Two boys’ tennis players from the Charlotte area won NCHSAA state championships on Friday.
Pine Lake Prep’s Jackson Grathwohl won in 3A and Lake Norman Charter’s Tejas Sridhar took the 4A crown.
The dual team playoffs will conclude next Friday and Saturday at the Burlington Tennis Center. The 6A and 8A championship matches are Friday morning, with the 5A and 7A Friday afternoon. The 1A/2A and 4A matches are scheduled for Saturday morning with the 3A match set for Saturday afternoon.
NCHSAA TENNIS CHAMPIONS
1A/2A Singles Champion: Derek Shute, Franklin Academy
1A/2A Singles Runner-Up: Jaxon Greenup, Rosewood
1A/2A Doubles Champion: Connor Ballard and Aidan Ballard, Elkin
1A/2A Doubles Runner-Up: Parth Patel and Aarav Thakkar, Research Triangle
3A Singles Champion: Jackson Grathwohl, Pine Lake Prep
3A Singles Runner-Up: Rex Wang, North Stanly
3A Doubles Champion: Alfred Ye and Nimish Kandekar, NCSSM Durham
3A Doubles Runner-Up: Sam Avent and Nick Avent, Greene Central
4A Singles Champion: Tejas Sridhar, Lake Norman Charter
4A Singles Runner-Up: Luke Borders, East Burke
4A Doubles Champion: Theo Buchholtz and William Bradford, Carrboro
4A Doubles Runner-Up: William Seymour and Dylan Bender
5A Singles Champion: Luke Durham, Western Alamance
5A Singles Runner-Up: Graham Powers, Hickory
5A Doubles Champion: Timothy McDowell and Adam Boylston, Western Alamance
5A Doubles Runner-Up: Rex Dover and Tyler Cunningham, South Point
6A Singles Champion: Isaac Lewis, T.C. Roberson
6A Singles Runner-Up: Will Kaufman, Charlotte Catholic
6A Doubles Champion: Owen Phillips and Carter Harris, East Chapel Hill
6A Doubles Runner-Up: James O’Brien and Luke Enea, T.C. Roberson
7A Singles Champion: Shaw Akula, South Central
7A Singles Runner-Up: Blake Barclay, Marvin Ridge
7A Doubles Champion: Gareth Lim and Jai Rao, Grimsley
7A Doubles Runner-Up: Ward Suttle and Ben Owens, R.J. Reynolds.
8A Singles Champion: Rishit Sharma, Green Level
8A Singles Runner-Up: Bryant Ross, Charles E. Jordan
8A Doubles Champion: Sebastian Mazur and James Barrow, Charles E. Jordan
8A Doubles Runner-Up: Neel Varadan and Stephen Gervase, Green Hope
This story was originally published May 5, 2026 at 4:55 PM with the headline "NC playoff update: One day after tragedy, Stuart Cramer falls in baseball playoffs."
