SOFTBALL DISTRICTS: Bulk of tournament play begins next week

Just as baseball wraps up it’s regular season, softball follows suit with district tournaments beginning early next week.

A few preliminary games will take place Saturday. The district tournaments will wrap up next week ahead of the state tournaments May 16-18.

Here’s a look at each district bracket.

5A

Owyhee’s perfect record in Southern Idaho Conference play was spoiled by Capital on April 25, when the Eagles got the best of the Storm in a 11-10 win. Until that point, Owyhee dominated their opponents, winning by an average of 11 runs per game.

At 11-1 in SIC play, the Storm finished two games ahead of the field. The top three teams in the conference earned a bye to the district quarterfinals. No. 2 Middleton and No. 3 Eagle join the Storm in awaiting their quarterfinal opponent.

There are five play-in games Saturday to fill out the rest of the quarter final field — No. 4 Mountain View vs. No. 13 Centennial, No. 5 Borah vs. No. 12 Meridian, No. 6 Timberline vs. No. 11 Boise, No. 7 Rocky Mountain vs. No. 10 Nampa and No. 8 Capital vs. No. 9 Kuna. The five winners will be reseeded ahead of the quarterfinal round on Monday.

Four of the eight quarter finalists will earn a bid to the state tournament. Both finalists will earn a spot along with the two winners on the other side of the bracket. Two more will go to a state tournament play-in game.

The championship game is set for Thursday.

4A

Bishop Kelly and Emmett finished 1-2 in the regular season in the Southern Idaho Conference. The Knights and Huskies split their regular season meetings. They’re in the semifinals on Monday and will learn their opponent Saturday.

No. 3 Skyview faces No. 6 Ridgevue and No. 4 Vallivue plays No. 5 Caldwell Saturday. The highest seeded winner will play Emmett, while the other will go against Bishop Kelly. The championship game is Thursday, with the district champion advancing to state. The loser will play the team that emerges from the losers bracket for the other state tournament spot in the district next Saturday.

3A

Just as the baseball team did, Homedale’s softball squad finished a perfect 10-0 in the Snake River Valley Conference. Their only loss since March came in a non-conference game to Buhl April 26.

They’ll play either No. 4 McCall-Donnelly and No. 5 Fruitland on Monday. Weiser, the No. 2 seed, will face either No. 3 Parma or No. 6 Payette. Both district finalists will advance to state, which takes place Wednesday.

The winner on the other side of the bracket will also advance to state.

2A

Cole Valley Christian still has a game left in the regular season, but has already locked up the top seed in the district tournament, currently 7-0 in the Western Idaho Conference.

The district tournament begins Wednesday with all five teams in action. Cole Valley will face No. 5 Marsing and No. 3 Nampa Christian plays No. 4 Melba. The winner of that game will face No. 2 New Plymouth later in the day.

The district championship is Friday with the winner advancing to state. The loser will fall to the other side of the bracket to play for a state tournament bid next Saturday.