The second week of April begins with high school softball playoff spots up for grabs across the Southern Six as teams continue to jockey for positioning in the dramatic final weeks of their region races.
Huge matchups this week include Gulfport taking on Ocean Springs and D’Iberville in 7A, George County battling Picayune in 6A, Stone and Vancleave clashing in 5A, Pass Christian playing Poplarville in 4A, and St. Patrick meeting West Marion in 3A.
In Region 4-7A, D’Iberville sits atop the standings at 5-0 but faces a tough test with Harrison Central (3-3) and Gulfport (4-2).
Ocean Springs is 4-1 and looks to keep pace with the Lady Warriors playing the Lady Admirals and St. Martin (1-5) this week. Ocean Springs and D’Iberville face off on April 15 and April 18.
Biloxi, seeking its first region victory, plays St. Martin and Harrison Central this week.
In Region 4-6A, George County and Picayune meet in a home-and-home matchup this week with first place on the line. Game 1 is in Picayune on Tuesday while the rematch is in Lucedale on Friday. Both teams enter the week at 5-1 in region play.
Hancock is 4-2 after a series split with West Harrison (2-4) last week. The Lady Hawks take on Long Beach (2-4) this week while the Lady Hurricanes have a home-and-home series with the Pascagoula Lady Panthers, who are still in search of their first region win.
Region play wraps up next week with the Lady Rebels taking on Pascagoula, Hancock facing Picayune, and Long Beach battling West Harrison.
Region 4-5A has East Central atop the standings at 6-1. The Lady Hornets take on the hottest team in the division, traveling to Wayne County (5-2) on Friday night.
Stone High (3-3) and Vancleave (3-2) battle in a home-and-home series this week with huge seeding implications.
The Lady Bulldogs and Lady Cats battle in Vancleave on Tuesday night while Wiggins will be the site for Thursday night’s game.
The four teams in this race have all but wrapped up playoff spots.
Gautier is 1-4 in region play while the Laurel Golden Tornadoes are still in search of their first region win.
The Poplarville Lady Hornets lead the way in 8-4A at 5-0. Poplarville hosts Pass Christian (3-1) on Tuesday night and Greene County (2-2) will be at home to play Bay High (1-4) on Tuesday night.
Bay High and Pass High meet on Thursday night in this region’s four-team race for playoff positioning. Moss Point is still in search of its first region win and hopes to play the spoiler role.
In 8-3A, the St. Patrick Lady Irish face a must-win situation against West Marion this week to keep their region title hopes alive. The Lady Irish and the Lady Trojans will be the top two seeds in the region regardless of this week’s outcome and will have home-field advantage in the first round of the playoffs.
OLA continues to seek its first region win.
In 8-1A, the Resurrection Lady Eagles are also looking to pick up their first region win this week, hosting East Marion on Tuesday and traveling to Lumberton on Thursday.
