The high school baseball season is on the line for the Douglas Trojans and South Umpqua Lancers on Thursday. Both teams take the field in 4A play-in games with the hopes of advancing to the first round of the state playoffs.
Douglas, which finished as the second team in the Far West League, hosts Valley Catholic at 4 p.m. The Trojans finished the league season on a four-game winning streak to clinch the home play-in game. Douglas is coming off an 8-1 loss against South Umpqua in a non-league game played on Monday.
Valley Catholic went 14-6 overall this season and finished third in a difficult Cowapa League. Five of the six teams in the Cowapa finished the year ranked in the top 25 by the OSAA. Only one team in the Far West League finished the season in the top 25. That was league champion North Bend at No. 20.
The South Umpqua baseball team finished tied with Douglas in the Far West League standings, but wound up as the third seed due to the head-to-head tiebreaker with the Trojans. The Lancers travel to face Sweet Home for a play-in game Thursday at 5 p.m.
South Umpqua finished the season hot, going 10-2 over its last 12 games. Sweet Home was also a tough team to beat down the stretch. The Huskies went 8-1 over their last nine games.
Play-in game winners will advance to the first round of the 4A state playoffs, which begin May 24.
In other action on Thursday, 1A Umpqua Valley Christian hosts 3A Cascade Christian in a non-league game at Legion Field. First pitch is scheduled for 7 p.m. Oakland softball squares off with Monroe in a Special District 3 playoff game at North Douglas High School at 2 p.m. The winner of the game advances to play North Douglas at 4:30 p.m.