UMPQUA BASIN – The high school baseball and softball post season moves forward on Friday and there are five Umpqua Basin teams still left standing. All five local teams have reached the quarterfinals and most are making long journeys to try and keep their seasons alive. 

The Douglas softball team left Thursday for the more than 400 mile trip to Milton-Freewater and a rematch against the McLoughlin Pioneers in the 4A state playoffs. Last year, McLoughlin ended Douglas’ season in the quarterfinals with a 4-0 win. The Pioneers went on to win the state championship for a second consecutive year.

McLoughlin is now the No. 1 seed in the state, while Douglas is ranked 8th. The two sides square off with the season on the line at 5 p.m. on Friday.

The Glide baseball team is two wins away from its third consecutive berth in the state championship game, but to get there the Wildcats will have to survive a lengthy trip to Rainier, Oregon. It takes more than four hours to get from Glide High School to Rainier and the road trip will be the longest for the Wildcats over their current seven-year playoff streak. No. 8 Glide faces the No. 2 seed Columbians on Friday at 3:30 p.m.

The mileage continues to pile up for Umpqua Basin teams as the North Douglas baseball team and Oakland softball team are both headed more than three hours from home for quarterfinal games. North Douglas heads north to Knappa (near Astoria) for a 4:30 p.m. contest. Oakland heads south to Bonanza (east of Klamath Falls), also for a 4:30 p.m. start time.

The North Douglas softball team is the lone local school that will host a playoff game on Friday. The Lady Warriors welcome in Kennedy for a 4:30 p.m. start time.

– Joey Keeran | joey@bciradio.com | @joeykeeran