Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

LAPLACE — Softball playoffs were underway early this week, with two local teams coming off of a first round bye while others saw the season come to an end.

This evening, No. 3 seed St. Charles Catholic will host No. 14 Loyola Prep in the regional round of the playoffs. The winner will face either Northlake Christian or D’Arbonne Woods Charter in the quarterfinals later this week.

No. 2 Riverside Academy jumped into action after press time Tuesday, hosting No. 18 Delta Charter. A win would advance the Lady Rebels to face either No. 7 Sacred Heart or No. 10 Covenant Christian in the quarterfinals. Riverside’s biggest competition in Division IV are Catholic – P.C., St. Frederick and Cedar Creek.

The 2023 softball state semifinals and finals will take place April 28-29 at Frasch Park in Sulphur.

Hahnville, the No. 16 seed in Division One, fell to No. 17 Ponchatoula in a close-matched game that ended in a score of 9-10. In Division Three, No. 20 seed St. James fell 9-2 to No. 13 Rosephine. Meanwhile, West St. John’s young team got a No. 26 placement in Division Four and took a difficult 21-0 loss to No. 7 Oakdale.

Baseball

The LHSAA named baseball playoff pairings Tuesday morning in a new format with five select and five non-select divisions. Each bracket contains 24 teams for non-select and 20 teams for select, excluding Division Five select, which includes only 10 teams. Divisions One-Three compete in a best-of-three contest through the quarterfinal round. The semifinals and championship will take place May 9-13 at McMurry Park in Sulphur.

Hahnville and Destrehan are at the middle of the pack in Division One with a No. 16 and No. 14 ranking, respectively. Hahnville will host No. 17 Fontainebleau in the bi-district round this week, while Destrehan will host No. 19 Ruston. Both teams will be in for a David versus Goliath challenge if they advance to the regional round. Hahnville would face No. 1 West Monroe, while Destrehan would take on No. 3 Sulphur.

Lutcher is sitting pretty with a No. 1 ranking and a first round bye in Non-Select Division Two, waiting to compete against the winner of the bi-district game between Franklin Parish and Minden. In Division Three, No. 16 St. James will have a tough challenge against No. 17 Springfield in the bi-district round.

On the select side of the playoffs, top-ranked St. Charles Catholic grabbed a first round bye and will play a regional game next week against No. 16 Houma Christian or No. 17 Haynes Academy. With a No. 11 ranking, Riverside Academy also earned a first round bye and will spend this week preparing for a regional game against No. 6 Sacred Heart to be played between April 25 and April 29.