Top-seeded Sussex Central High scored the game’s first eight runs before downing No. 4 Laurel, 8-4, in the DIAA softball state semifinals on Thursday afternoon.

The 21st-straight victory for the Golden Knights (21-4) sends them to the state finals, where they will take on third-seeded Caravel on Saturday. The contest is slated to be played at Caravel at a time TBA.

It will be Central’s seventh appearance in the state title game but their first since 2008.

McKenna Boyle had two of the Knights’ nine hits with four RBI. Winning pitcher Made Layfield scattered eight hits for Central, which scored four runs in the fourth to open up an 8-0 advantage.

Kaegen Brittingham had a homerun and double for the Henlopen Conference champion Bulldogs (18-5), who had a five-game winning streak snapped.

Girls’ soccer

Caravel 1, Indian River 0: Caitlin St. Leger tallied the game’s only goal in the 68th minute as the top-seeded Buccaneers edged the No. 4 Indians in the DIAA Division II state semifinals on Thursday night.

Caravel (14-1) will play in the state finals on Tuesday at Caesar Rodney against the winner of today’s matchup between St. Mark’s and Archmere.

Freshman goalie Alexandria Davidson made six saves for Henlopen Conference champion IR (14-3). Caravel finished with advantages of 7-2 in shots and 4-2 in corner kicks.

Baseball

Appo to face DMA in finals: No. 10 Appoquinimink will take on fifth-seeded Delaware Military in the DIAA baseball state finals on Saturday.

The contest will be played in Frawley Stadium at a time TBA.

The Jaguars blanked third-seeded St. Mark’s, 3-0, in Thursday’s semifinals while the Seahawks edged No. 17 Caravel, 3-2. Apo will be trying to win the program’s second straight state title and third since 2015.

Track & field

Polytech athlete sets jump record: Polytech High senior Casey Talamini-Kelemen won the triple jump and finished second in the pole vault in the Meet of Champions at Caravel on Wednesday night.

She posted a triple jump of 39-feet, 1-inch to break the 10-year-old meet record.

Ten events in the Meet of Champions weren’t completed after a thunderstorm moved through the state.

Basketball

Caravel’s Johnston wins Gatorade award: Caravel’s India Johnston has been named the Gatorade Delaware Girls Basketball Player of the Year.

The 5-foot-8 junior guard led the Buccaneers to a 10-5 record and the state semifinals this past season. Johnston averaged 19.2 points, 5.2 rebounds, 4.8 steals and 4.2 assists per game.

The only underclassman on the All-State first team, she was named Player of the Year by the Delaware Sportswriters and Broadcasters Association.

College lacrosse

Two Hens honored: Delaware junior Owen Grant and graduate student Charlie Kitchen of the Delaware men’s lacrosse team received USILA All-American honorable mention on Thursday afternoon.

It marks the first time since 2010 that two Blue Hens earned USILA All-American recognition in the same season.