High school softball: District previews

Class 1 District 1

at Neelyville

* Teams: No. 1 Delta (10-7), No. 2 Naylor, No. 3 Neelyville, No. 4 Couch, No. 5 Thayer, No. 6 Van Buren

* Schedule: Tuesday, Couch vs. Thayer, 4 p.m.; Neelvyille vs. Van Buren, 2 p.m.; Wednesday, Naylor vs. Neelvyille/Van Buren winner, 2 p.m.; Delta vs. Couch/Thayer winner 4 p.m.; Friday, championship, 4 p.m.

* Notes: Defending district champion Chaffee moved up to Class 2, leaving Naylor as the most recent Class 1 District 1 champion. Naylor won the title in both 2003 and 2004. Delta, district winners in 2000, 2001 and 2002, lost in the district finals last season. Delta defeated Naylor 11-0 in early September.

Class 2 District 2

at Perryville City Park

* Teams: No. 1 Kelly (21-6), No. 2 Crystal City (16-4), No. 3 Chaffee (9-12), No. 4 St. Vincent, No. 5 South County Tech, No. 6 St. Pius

* Schedule: Thursday, St. Vincent vs. South County Tech, 3:30 p.m.; Chaffee vs. St. Pius, 3:30 p.m.; Friday, Kelly vs. St. Vincent/South County Tech winner, 3:30 p.m.; Crystal City vs. Chaffee/St. Pius winner, 3:30 p.m.; Saturday, championship, 10 a.m.

* Notes: Kelly, Crystal City and Chaffee all won district titles last year, with Chaffee's coming in Class 1. The Hawks were eliminated by Class 2 runner-up Strafford in the sectionals, following a Class 2 state title in 2004.

Class 3 District 2

at Perryville City Park

* Teams: No. 1 Notre Dame (24-2), No. 2 Herculaneum (16-3), No. 3 Festus (15-7), No. 4 Windsor, No. 5 Perryville, No. 6 Ste. Genevieve, No. 7 Sikeston

* Schedule: Thursday, Windsor vs. Perryville, 3:30 p.m.; Festus vs. Ste. Genevieve, 5:30 p.m.; Herculaneum vs. Sikeston, 7:30 p.m.; Friday, Notre Dame vs. Windsor/Perryville winner, 4 p.m.; Festus/Ste. Genevieve winner vs. Herculaneum/Sikeston winner, 6 p.m.; Saturday, championship, 10 a.m.

* Notes: Notre Dame has made it to back-to-back final fours, including a runner-up finish last season. Second-seeded Herculaneum has never won a district title.

Class 4 District 1

at Farmington

* Teams: No. 1 Seckman (19-7), No. 2 Farmington (20-4), No. 3 Jackson (16-9), No. 4 Central (12-11), No. 5 Poplar Bluff, No. 6 Hillsboro

* Schedule: Wednesday, Central vs. Poplar Bluff, 4:30 p.m.; Jackson vs. Hillsboro, 6 p.m.; Thursday, Seckman vs. Central/Bluff winner, 4:30 p.m.; Farmington vs. Jackson/Hillsboro winner, 6 p.m.; Saturday, championship, 11 a.m.

* Notes: Jackson defeated Seckman 1-0 late in the season. The Indians have not won a district title since 1999. Poplar Bluff is the defending district champion.

-- Jeremy Joffray