All Tri-City Area softball teams qualify for postseason

All four Tri-City Area softball teams qualified for the Louisiana High School Athletic Association state playoffs in their respective classes when brackets were released Wednesday afternoon.
In Class 3A, Berwick is the No. 18 seed, and Patterson is the No. 24 seed, while in Class 4A, Morgan City is the No. 21 seed. In Division IV, Central Catholic is the No. 8 seed.
Postseason play will begin almost immediately, locally, as Patterson will travel to face No. 9 Iota High School Thursday at 5:30 p.m. The game will be played at Iota Elementary.
Friday, Morgan City and Berwick will play in their respective playoff contests. Morgan City will make a four-plus hour road trip to north Louisiana to face No. 12 Franklin Parish at 4 p.m. Meanwhile, Berwick will make an even longer trip as it will travel five-plus hours to virtually Arkansas to face No. 15 North Webster at 4 p.m. at Randy McMahen Park. The park borders the Louisiana/Arkansas state line.
The area’s lone first-round home game will be Monday when Central Catholic hosts No. 9 seed and district foe Vermilion Catholic at 5 p.m.
Below are previews of the Patterson, Morgan City and Berwick first-round playoff games. Look for a preview on Central Catholic’s first-round contest in Friday’s newspaper.
Patterson
The Patterson Lumberjills will travel to face an Iota team Thursday that recorded a 20-9 overall mark and finished 10-4 in District 5-3A.
Iota was 11-5 this season against teams from Class 3A.
It finished district with an identical record at No. 7 seed Mamou. The district features three teams in Class 3A’s top 10 as Crowley is the No. 4 seed, too.
Iota has won three straight entering the postseason. Its last loss came April 2 to Pine Prairie.
The squad has two common opponents with Patterson as each has faced North Vermilion and Erath. Iota fell to North Vermilion but beat Erath, while Patterson fell to both teams.
Patterson finished the regular season with an 8-16-1 mark and a 2-4 record in District 8-3A. The Lumberjills are 3-6 against Class 3A competition this season.
In addition to a first-round upset, Patterson will be looking to snap a losing streak as the Lumberjills have dropped their final three games entering the postseason.
District 8-3A also is strong this postseason as it features three teams among Class 3A’s top 10 seed, with two in the top 5 of Class 3A. North Vermilion is the No. 2 seed, Kaplan is the No. 5 seed and Erath is the No. 6 seed.
Morgan City
Morgan City will face a Franklin Parish squad Friday that finished the regular season with a 17-14 overall mark. The squad finished 4-2 in District 2-4A and 4-3 overall against Class 4A teams.
Franklin Parish dropped its season finale to St. Frederick 9-8 Tuesday.
Morgan City and Franklin Parish have won common opponent this season in Loreauville. Franklin Parish lost to Loreauville, while Morgan City defeated the Iberia Parish squad.
Morgan City enters Friday’s contest with an 8-12 overall mark, including a 3-3 record in District 7-4A. The Lady Tigers finished 3-5 against Class 4A competition this season.
Morgan City won its regular-season finale against South Lafourche Saturday.
Berwick
Berwick will face a North Webster squad that finished 13-9 overall and won the District 1-3A title with a 4-0 mark. North Webster also finished 4-0 against Class 3A competition.
North Webster won its last regular season game as it defeated C.E. Byrd Monday. It had won seven straight before falling to Logansport April 5.
Meanwhile, Berwick won six straight near the end of March before dropping its final game of the month. The Lady Panthers dropped their final regular season game at home to Ascension Catholic Tuesday 7-3.
Berwick finished the regular season with a 14-13 overall mark, including a 3-3 record in District 8-3A. The Lady Panthers also finished 5-5 against Class 3A competition.