Slight delay for softball playoffs

SSC co-champs Rosemount, Farmington are No. 1 seeds

Rosemount continued its journey toward what the Irish hope will be a third state softball championship in four years when they defeated Burnsville 7-1 in a first-round Section 3 playoff game Wednesday afternoon.

First-round games were postponed from Tuesday to Wednesday because of heavy rain Tuesday afternoon. Rosemount, which tied Farmington for the South Suburban Conference championship, is 18-3 after its first-round victory. Burnsville is 4-16 overall.

Rosemount will play host to fifth-seeded East Ridge (10-10), a 5-2 winner over Hastings, in the second round at 4:30 p.m. Thursday.

In other first-round games in Section 3, third-seeded Eastview (10-11) defeated Two Rivers 6-1 and No. 2 seed Park of Cottage Grove downed seventh seed Eagan 6-2.

Eastview and Park play a second-round game Thursday afternoon in Cottage Grove. Also on Thursday, Eagan (8-13) plays at Two Rivers and Burnsville travels to Hastings for elimination games.

The double-elimination tournament continues next week at the M-Health Fairview Sports Complex in Woodbury. The championship game is 3 p.m. Thursday, May 30.

Rosemount went into the playoffs as the second-ranked team in Class 4A. The top-ranked team, South Suburban co-champion Farmington, is the No. 1 seed in the Section 1 playoffs. Farmington (18-3) defeated eighth seed Rochester John Marshall 15-1 in a first-round game Wednesday. The Tigers will play Owatonna in the second round at 3:30 p.m. Thursday at Todd Park in Austin, where the rest of the Section 1 tournament will unfold.

Fourth-seeded Owatonna defeated fifth seed Lakeville North 10-4 in the opening round. North plays Rochester John Marshall in an elimination game Thursday.

Lakeville North’s first-round opponent, Owatonna, was 15-5 overall and shared the Big 9 Conference championship with Winona. North entered the playoffs 7-10 overall.

Rochester Century tripped up third-seeded Lakeville South 2-1 on Wednesday, sending the Cougars (10-9) to the elimination bracket, where they will face Rochester Mayo on Thursday afternoon in Austin .

The Section 1 championship game is 5 p.m. May 30 at Todd Park. A South Suburban Conference team has won the section tournament every year it has been held since 2017. Farmington is the defending champion.

South St. Paul defeated Apple Valley 6-4 in a first-round game in the Class 3A, Section 3 tournament Wednesday. Apple Valley plays St. Paul Highland Park in an elimination game at 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 28, at the M-Health Fairview Sports Complex.

The state tournament is June 5-7 at Caswell Park in North Mankato. This is the first year of a three-day softball tournament after the Minnesota State High School League approved adding a day to the event.