By BRET H. MCCORMICK, Journal Sports
Glenmora went on the road and earned an upset victory in the first round of the Division III Select softball playoffs.
The 22nd-seeded Lady Wildcats (6-13) scored 10 runs in the first inning, pounded out 18 hits in the game and defeated No. 11 Country Day (18-5) 20-2 in three innings to advance to the second round of the playoffs.
Second baseman Kaitlyn Verret led Glenmora’s offensive attack, going 3-for-4 with two doubles and seven RBIs. Center fielder Teegan Webster-Wilkes added three hits, including a double, with four RBIs and four runs scored. Right fielder Jordyn Pearson finished 4-for-4 with three RBIs.
Pitcher Kadence Cloud gave up four hits and two runs in the first inning before settling in for a 1-2-3 second and then getting the final two outs of the game with the bases loaded in the third inning.
Glenmora will travel to Farmerville today to play No. 6 seed D’Arbonne Woods (14-13) at 5:30 p.m in the second round.
In other first-round softball playoff action, both Peabody and Northw00d-Lena were shut out in road defeats.
Peabody (10-18), the 19 seed in Division II Select, fell 15-0 in three innings against No. 14 De La Salle (10-13-1).
No. 22 Northwood-Lena (12-13) lost 17-0 in 3 innings against 11th-seeded St. John (17-8) in Division IV Select.
The second round of the playoffs featuring the five parish teams that received first-round byes – Tioga, Pineville, Alexandria Senior High, Buckeye and Menard – will be played today and Tuesday.
BASEBALL PLAYOFF PICTURE COMES INTO FOCUS: Today is the final day of the baseball regular season with brackets to be announced on Tuesday and the first round of the playoffs starting this weekend.
Nine of the parish’s teams are projected safely into the postseason, while Peabody (7-22) sits right on the bubble at the No. 20 spot in Division II Select. All parish teams play in select divisions with the top 20 teams making the postseason, except in Division V, where only the top 10 advance.
Tioga (16-10), ASH (16-10) and Pineville (10-17) are all safely in the Division I Select playoffs.
Tioga, which currently sits sixth in the power ratings, swept a pair of district games from Grant last week before losing to Opelousas Catholic on Friday. ASH, ninth in the power ratings, swept West Ouachita in district play and finishes the regular season at St. Mary’s today.
After starting the season 1-15, Pineville has won nine of its last 11 to move into the playoff picture. The Rebels, who sit 17th in the power ratings, defeated Ouachita twice and Kaplan last week and finish their season today at Mangham.
Buckeye (21-7) and Menard (19-8) both sit at the No. 4 spot in Division II and Division III, respectively. The Panthers finished off a perfect District 2-3A season with two shutout wins over Bunkie, while the Eagles defeated Grant and swept Glenmora to finish 10-0 in District 4-2A.
The two teams finish their seasons against one another today at Buckeye.
Glenmora (17-8), which rebounded from its two losses to Menard to sweep a district doubleheader from Rapides, sits 14th in the power ratings heading into its season finale at Sulphur today.
Three of the parish’s teams are expected to make the Division V playoff bracket. Grace Christian (24-8) sits at the No. 2 spot with Rapides (14-16) fifth and Oak Hill (7-20) at ninth.
DISTRICT TRACK MEETS SCHEDULED: Parish track and field teams will compete in their respective district meets this week as athletes look to qualify for regionals and eventually the state meet to be held next month in Baton Rouge.
ASH and Pineville will compete in the District 2-5A meet at Ruston High School on Wednesday. Also held on Wednesday will be the District 4-2A meet featuring Menard and Glenmora at Rosepine and the District 3-1A meet, where Northwood-Lena will compete at Mansfield High School.
Tioga and Peabody will travel to Franklin Parish on Thursday for the District 2-4A meet. Grace Christian will host the District 5-B meet that also features Rapides at Pineville High School on Thursday.
The District 2-3A meet featuring Bolton and Buckeye will be held at Marksville High School on Tuesday.
SOFTBALL PLAYOFF SCHEDULE
Today
Division II Select
No. 1 Buckeye (23-7) vs. No. 16 The Willow School (12-4), 5 p.m.
Division III Select
No. 22 Glenmora (6-13) at No. 6 D’Arbonne Woods (14-13), 5:30 p.m.
Tuesday
Division I Select
No. 3 Tioga (23-6) vs. No. 14 Caddo Magnet (13-11), 6:30 p.m., Ward 10 Recreation Complex
No. 6 Pineville (19-13) vs. No. 11 Lafayette (14-10), 5:30 p.m.
No. 8 ASH (16-15) vs. No. 9 Captain Shreve (21-9), 5 p.m., Johnny Downs Sports Complex
Division III Select
No. 4 Menard (20-10) vs. No. 13 University (16-7), 5 p.m.