A series-opening 5-2 victory in their Select Division III state quarterfinal best-of-3 baseball series has the Menard Eagles a win away from the state tournament next week in Sulphur.

The Eagles (23-8), seeded fourth, beat No. 5 Dunham (24-12) Thursday in a game that started an hour late due to the heavy rain earlier in the day. They meet again at Menard this evening at 6:30 against No. 5 Dunham of Baton Rouge. A free live stream is available at 446Sports.com/446Sports on YouTube or Facebook.

The if-necessary Game 3 would be played Saturday at noon. The series winner gets a semifinal matchup against either No. 1 St. Charles Catholic or eighth-seeded Pope John Paul II.

In Select Division I, the No. 6-ranked ASH Trojans start their three-game quarterfinal series today against third-seeded Archbishop Rummel in New Orleans at Mike Miley Stadium. First pitch is 4 p.m., with Game 2 set Saturday at noon and if necessary Game 3 to follow. A free live stream will be available at CrescentCitySports.com.

Also today, No. 5 Rapides goes to fourth-seeded Family Christian in a 4 p.m. quarterfinal game. Schools in the smaller divisions play single games in the playoff, not series.