MISSOURI SOFTBALL ORDERS MORE DISTRICT CROWNS

High school district softball tournaments have taken on a new look this year, with the number of districts for each class across the state doubling from eight to 16.

That means there will be twice as many district champions, and some local teams hope to take advantage of the new-look format.

While defending Class 2A state champion Kelly has not had any problems in district tournaments -- the Lady Hawks have won 12 straight district titles -- the area's larger schools have had trouble competing in districts that usually featured some of the best squads from the St. Louis area.

But with all the districts now being trimmed to either four or five teams, local squads won't have to tangle with St. Louis teams until at least the sectional round.

Missouri State High School Activities Association officials said the move to smaller districts was made so that softball conforms with other sports that have always featured fewer teams in each district and an additional playoff round -- sectionals.

In years past, district softball champions went directly to the state quarterfinals.

"I think it's a good move," said Jackson coach Becky Riney. "It's going to allow more teams to win districts."

Cape Girardeau Central will host the four-team Class 4A, District 1; Perryville will host the four-team Class 3A, District 1; and Kelly will host the five-team Class 2A, District 2. All the tournaments start Saturday.

The district winners will advance to Thursday's sectional round that will also be played at local sites: 4A at Jackson, 3A at Perryville and 2A at Kelly.

Following is a look at how each of the local districts stack up:

Class 4A, District 1

Jackson is the top seed, with Cape Central second, Poplar Bluff third and Sikeston fourth.

Jackson and Central are both 19-6. Even though Jackson won both meetings against Central this year, the teams appear to be fairly even so this district should be up for grabs between the local rivals.

"It should be an interesting tournament," said Central coach Don Lang. "Jackson has had a very good season and so have we. And you can never count out Poplar Bluff."

Saturday's games pit Jackson against Sikeston at 10 a.m. and Central against Poplar Bluff at noon. The winners meet at 4:30 p.m. Monday for the title. All the games will be at Arena Park.

Class 3A, District 1

Host Perryville is seeded first, followed by Ste. Genevieve, Park Hills Central and Doniphan.

Perryville is 17-9 and Thursday the Lady Pirates beat Ste. Genevieve 5-0 in a preview of what could be the district finals.

The entire tournament will be played Saturday at the Perryville City Park.

Perryville meets Doniphan and Ste. Genevieve faces Park Hills, both games at 10:30 a.m., then the finals are set for 12:30 p.m.

Class 2A, District 2

It will be a major surprise if Kelly doesn't win its 13th straight district title.

The Lady Hawks' 11-7 might not sound overly impressive, but virtually all of the losses were to larger schools. When it comes to Class 2A, Kelly is annually one of the state's top teams.

Seeded behind Kelly are Notre Dame, Crystal City, East Prairie and St. Vincent.

Notre Dame and St. Vincent -- both playing fall softball for the first time -- are 10-10 and 4-14, respectively.

Saturday's games feature East Prairie against St. Vincent at 1 p.m. and Notre Dame against Crystal City at 2:30. Kelly will then take on the East Prairie-St. Vincent winner at 4.

The title game is set for 4 p.m. Monday. All the action will take place at Kelly High School.