The high school softball regular season winds down this week with the playoffs beginning Friday for 1A, 2A, 3A, and 4A while the larger classifications wrap up their schedules before the 5A, 6A, and 7A postseason starts on April 26.
In 3A, St. Patrick claimed the Region 8 title with an 8-0 win over West Marion last week. The Lady Irish will host Hazlehurst on Friday in the opener of their three-game playoff series with Game 2 set for Saturday in Copiah County. A third game, if necessary, would be back at St. Patrick on Monday.
Poplarville has claimed the top spot in 8-4A and will open the playoffs with a best-of-3 series against McComb.
Seeding in the rest of the region is still up for grabs this week.
Greene County and Pass Christian face off in a home-and-home series this week with the Lady Wildcats needing one win to claim the No. 2 seed and a playoff matchup with Raymond.
The Lady Pirates can finish anywhere from second to fourth in the standings. A sweep over the Lady Wildcats would give them the No. 2 seed with Greene County slipping to third.
Bay High would slide into the third spot if Pass is swept. A Greene County sweep or a split would send the Lady Tigers to Region 6-4A champion Lawrence County.
Richland is set to host the No. 3 seed in 8-4A beginning Friday.
East Central has clinched the top spot in 4-5A as the Lady Hornets close out region play this week against winless Laurel.
Stone, Vancleave, and Wayne County have secured playoff berths, but the Lady Bulldogs and Lady War Eagles have a crucial matchup this week as both teams battle for the No. 2 seed and home-field advantage in the first round of the 5A playoffs.
Vancleave has a doubleheader against Laurel before traveling to Wayne County on Wednesday. Stone is locked into the fourth seed and will begin the playoffs on the road as a dangerous seed.
George County needs one win this week to capture the Region 4-6A title. The Lady Rebels have put together an eight-game winning streak and will host Pascagoula on Tuesday night.
Hancock and Picayune have secured playoff spots heading into their home-and-home this week with Hancock needing a win to clinch the No. 2 seed.
A sweep by the Maroon Tide would give them the No. 2 seed and drop the Lady Hawks to third.
A Hawks sweep opens the door for West Harrison to slide into the third spot if the Lady Hurricanes sweep Long Beach. The Lady Bearcats could claim the fourth spot with a sweep over West Harrison.
Pearl River Central will play West Jones this week with the winner taking the 3-6A title.
In 4-7A, D’Iberville and Ocean Springs meet in a home-and-home with the Lady Warriors needing one win to secure the region championship. Ocean Springs can win the title with a sweep, but the Lady Greyhounds can finish no worse than second.
Gulfport and Harrison Central have secured the other two playoff spots in the region and face each other on Tuesday. The winner will secure the third spot while the loser drops to fourth and opens the playoffs against nationally ranked Northwest Rankin.
