District softball crowns go up for grabs

Local girls high school softball teams await the familiar call, "play ball", as the district championships begin today.

As usual, there are intriguing matchups involving teams striving to reach the top and those trying to hold on to past glory. Class 4A, District 1 (at Jackson) Cape Central, winner of its first-ever district title last season, comes in as the No. 1 seed with arch-rival Jackson the No. 3 seed.

Second-seed Poplar Bluff rounds out what could be an up-for-grabs district.

The Lady Tigers (12-13), who got off to a shaky early-season start, have shown improvement in recent weeks.

Meanwhile, the host Lady Indians (11-14) wound up their regular season with a 2-1 win over Kelly and a 3-2 win over Central.

"I think districts kind of speak for itself," said Jackson coach Julie Rushing. "It usually comes down to which team wants it the most."

Poplar Bluff owns two wins over Jackson, but lost to Cape Central.

In semifinal matchups Thursday, Jackson meets Poplar Bluff at 4 p.m., while Cape Central will face the winner of No. 4 seed Farmington and No. 5 Sikeston at 6 p.m. Farmington and Sikeston play today.

The championship game will be Saturday at 11 a.m.

Class 3A, District 1 (at Perryville)

Seeking its fourth consecutive district title, Perryville (13-13) is the top seed.

"One thing that is probably going to help us is that we play such a tough schedule," said Lady Pirate coach Lynn O'Neal.

De Soto, the second seed, should be competitive if the top seeds meet for the championship. De Soto suffered two close losses to Perryville this season, 4-1 and 5-4.

Relying on pitching and defense for most of the season, O'Neal has seen "a little more consistency with the bats recently."

In semifinal action Friday, Perryville will face the winner of No. 5 North County and No. 4 Ste. Genevieve at 5:45 p.m., while De Soto will meet No. 6 Doniphan or No. 3 Park Hills Central at 4 p.m. The first-round games are Thursday.

The championship game will be Saturday at 1 p.m.

Class 2A, District 2 at Crystal City

On paper, this district appears to be the most balanced and could offer the most excitement.

There is upstart, top-seed Notre Dame (22-3), trying to wrest the crown from No. 2 Kelly (16-5), winners of a phenomenal 15 straight district championships. Put in perspective, that is a lifetime for many players on the current Kelly squad.

Said Notre Dame coach Chris Janet, "We like our chances; we've just got to go out and play."

Kelly, which reached the 2A Final Four last year, received a bad break when one of its top pitchers, Natalie Lewer, recently suffered a broken arm in a household accident.

Far from conceding anything to the top seed, Kelly coach Melanie Heuring said, "I think we are the better team and I believe we will rally around the loss of Natalie."

And not to be overlooked is third-seed St. Vincent (13-11), which feels it can compete with anyone. The Squaws dropped a 6-5 last-inning decision to the Lady Bulldogs earlier in the season.

"That is a game we should have won," said St. Vincent coach John Lambert. "We had them down to their last strike."

In Thursday's semifinals, Notre Dame plays the winner of No. 4 Crystal City and No. 5 East Prairie at 4 p.m., while Kelly meets St. Vincent at 6 p.m. Crystal City and East Prairie play today.

The championship will be played Friday at 4 p.m.

Class 1A, District 1 at Naylor

Delta (9-9) will have only one obstacle in its path to repeat as champs in the three-team district.

That hurdle will most likely be second-seed Naylor (6-5), which starts six freshmen. Thayer is the third team.

"We've already faced Naylor when they weren't at their sharpest," said Delta coach Laura Brown on an early season 6-5 come-from-behind win. "I think they've come a long ways since then, but hopefully we have, too."

In only its second season of fall softball, Delta reached the 1A Final Four last season and should be tournament tough again having faced many larger schools on its regular season schedule.

Delta will meet the winner of the Naylor-Thayer contest at 1 p.m. Friday. Naylor and Thayer play Thursday.