KELLY, PERRYVILLE SOFTBALL TEAMS TO COMPETE IN STATE QUARTERFINALS

Kelly will be looking for revenge while Perryville will be looking to make more school history as the high school softball playoffs continue today.

Perryville takes on Lutheran South in a Class 3A quarterfinal game at noon while Kelly face Linn in a Class 2A quarterfinal contest at 2 p.m.

Both games will be played at Kirkwood Park in St. Louis, with the winners moving on to next weekend's state final four in Columbia.

Kelly, which has played in 14 straight quarterfinal games, will try to avenge last season's 2-1 loss to Linn. The Lady Hawks won the state title in 1997 before being ousted in the quarterfinals a year ago.

"We are very excited," said Kelly coach Rhonda Evans, whose squad is 22-3 and has won 19 of its last 21 games. "We've talked about this all season long -- getting back to the quarterfinals."

Led by ace pitcher Marissa Essner, the Lady Hawks rolled into the quarterfinals by virtue of Thursday's 8-4 sectional victory over Twin Rivers.

Linn, sporting a 20-6 record, slipped past Clopton 4-3 Thursday to make the quarterfnals.

Meanwhile, Perryville finds itself in the quarterfinals for the first time ever after routing Windsor 10-0 in five innings in Thursday's sectional.

The Lady Pirates' record is only 15-14, but they have played extremely well after a slow start.

"Right now, I think these kids feel we're destined," said O'Neal. "Nobody picked us to be here. We lost a lot of great players from last year and we're young, but we have talent.

"I know we're going to be the underdogs (today), but you never know what can happen. These are special kids and they're fun to work with."

Perryville will face a strong Lutheran South team that is 24-4 and boasts one of the state's top pitchers in Jenny Rice. The Lady Lancers rolled past Sullivan 8-1 in the sectional round.

Lutheran South beat Perryville 3-0 earlier this season in the Jackson Tournament, but two of the Lady Lancers' runs were unearned.

Even though Rice is a dominant hurler, Perryville's bats have come alive lately. O'Neal figures if the Lady Pirates can keep it close, they have a shot at pulling off a huge upset.

"Rice is a tremendous pitcher and they may kill us, but they're more of a pitching team than a hitting team, and if we can hold them to just a few runs, we'll have a chance," he said.