You didn’t have to be a seer or a fortune teller or even that close of a follower of MAIS 5A softball to have predicted who would make the state championship series that begins on Wednesday.

From the start of the season, the favorites have been the defending champion Parklane Pioneers (24-7) and the defending runners-ups from Brookhaven Academy (28-5).

Bracket play in the 5A State Tournament ended on Monday with the teams both qualifying for the 3-game series that will begin on Wednesday at Brookhaven Academy with a 6 p.m. first pitch. Game two will be held at Parklane on Thursday and is scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m.

If a third game is needed, it will be played at BA on Saturday.

The two teams met last year in the championship series with Brookhaven Academy winning game one in Pike County before the Pioneers took games two and three to claim the title.

This year the Cougars have the advantage of possibly hosting two of the three games after beating the Pioneers on Monday in the finale of the tournament’s winner’s bracket.

The win on Monday broke a 10-game win streak for Parklane. It also broke a three-game losing streak for the Cougars against the Pioneers this season.

BA won 4-2 in eight innings on Aug. 26 at PA. The Pioneers returned the favor with a 3-1 win at Brookhaven in the second regular season meeting between the district foes on Sept. 17.

In the 5A South State Tournament hosted by Brookhaven Academy, Parklane won 2-0 when the schools first met and then 13-3 later in the tournament to capture the first-place trophy.

The matchup on Monday was what fans have come to expect when Parklane and BA meet up, a pitcher’s duel between senior standouts Ann Elise Duncan and Ashleigh Reed Sharp.

Duncan began her career at North Pike and pitched in the MHSAA 4A championship series for the Jaguars as a sophomore before transferring to Brookhaven Academy. A Pearl River CC commit, Duncan recently hit 600 career strikeouts as a high school pitcher.

Sharp, who goes by AR, is a Belhaven University commit who passed the 400 career strikeouts plateau this season.

With the teams playing five times thus far in 2024, along with nine times last season, not to mention how many of these student-athletes have played travel ball over the years with members of the opposing team, then you get high pressure softball between two teams that know each other with an uncommon familiarity.

Duncan gave up one hit on Monday, to her opposing pitcher Sharp, as she walked five, and struck out nine on 100 pitches. Sharp allowed five hits, one unearned run, walked two, and struck out four on 88 pitches.

The lone run of the game came in the top of the fourth inning, when BA junior Morgan Chemin drew a walk to start the inning. Chemin then moved up a base after a sacrifice bunt by Duncan.

Chemin then moved to third on a sacrifice bunt by Alayna Daigle.

Brookhaven Academy junior Miriam Wallace hit a ball to the shortstop next, which was played for an error, allowing Chemin to score from third for what would end up being the winning run.

Annaston Poole, Swayze Poole, and Madelynn Lambert all hit doubles for the Cougars in the win.

BA left runners stranded in the first, second, sixth, and seventh innings.

With the loss, Parklane dropped to face the other 1-loss team remaining in the bracket on Monday, the Oak Forest Academy Yellow Jackets. The Pioneers never trailed and won that game 3-2 to set up the championship series with BA.