Four Lincoln County and three area slowpitch softball teams havequalified for the state playoffs this week. Action begins Tuesday,Oct. 7. All games are played in the best-of-three format.

Representing Lincoln County in the playoffs are Brookhaven,Bogue Chitto, Enterprise and West Lincoln. The area teams includeFranklin County, Lawrence County and North Pike.

Brookhaven (Class 4A) is the Division 6 runner-up and travels toface D’Iberville (Division 8 champ). The Lady Panthers (15-11)begin play at 4 p.m.

“I am proud of the girls for making the playoffs,” saidBrookhaven head coach Lisa Covington. “If we hit the ball, weshould be okay.”

Covington announced the Panther starters. They include HannahLowman at shortstop, Karlee Martin at second base, Casey Risher atthird base, Sabrina Delaughter in left field, Sarah Ayers in rightfield, Brianna Ashmore at pitcher, Christen Benson at catcher,Brittany Bateman at first base, Brooke Hosick in right field andErica Bridwell in left-center.

Bogue Chitto (Class 1A) finished runner-up in Division 7 and ison the road to face East Webster (Division 5 winner). The Lady’Cats (16-10) are defending state champions and begin play at 4:30p.m.

“It’s good to back in the playoffs again,” said Bogue Chittohead coach Scott Leggett. “The girls have worked hard. We facedEast Webster last year in South State. They’re a pretty good team.They start eight seniors. They are very well known.

“It’s our second time in slowpitch to play them,” continuedLeggett. “We played them twice in fastpitch.”

Leggett released the starting lineup for the ‘Cats. They areDarcy Miller at left center, Kelli Howard at shortstop, JosiePorter at right center, Amanda Owen at first base, Holli Miller atthird, Blaine Myers on the mound, Chris May in right feild, AdrianWallace in left field, Toy Smith catching and Bradi Davis at secondbase.

“This has been a slow season for everyone in the area,” addedLeggett. “We won a lot of one-run ball games. Our defense isplaying well. Our hitting is the biggest thing right now. Some dayswe’re hitting well and sometimes we’re not.”

West Lincoln (Class 1A) captured the Division 7 title and willentertain Nanih Waiya (Division 5 runner up). The Lady Bears are 19-7 on the season. The first game begins at 4 p.m.

“We have a better draw in the bracket than last year,” said WestLincoln head coach Andrew Redd. “This year we have a pretty goodchance to make it to the south state finals. We have a pretty fairshot but we have to play well. Our defense has pulled us out a lotthis year. We have to hit better.”

The Bears starting lineup includes right centerfielder JulieCase, left center Ashley McCaffrey, shortstop Alexis Cook, leftfielder Kerri Easley, second baseman Hannah Knouse, catcher HaleyAinsworth, third baseman Shelby Lofton, right fielder Lana Laird,pitcher Jessica Franklin and first baseman Stephanie Smith.

“I was glad see all of Lincoln County in the playoffs,” addedRedd. “That says a lot about the girls athletics in Lincoln County.I am glad to see all the schools do well.”

Enterprise (Class 2A) finished as runner up in Division 7 andtravels to Union (Div. 5). The Yellow Jackets are 18-8 on theseason. The first game begins at 5 p.m.

“We are excited about making it to the playoffs,” saidEnterprise coach Steve Sasser. “Union is good defensively. They area lot like us. They hit the ball, not with a lot of power. We likeour chances. We played a tough schedule this year. We played toughteams.”

The starting lineup for Enterprise features Sarah Burke in leftfield, Erika Rutland in left center, Kaitlyn Moak in right center,Ann Marie Cole in right field. Samantha Richardson at first base.Kolbi Lewis at second base, Ashley Greer at shortstop. and KarlaHux at third base. Lacey Orr is the pitcher and Hannah Russell isthe catcher. Amy Lambert is the extra hitter. Chynna Coughlan willcatch the second game.

Franklin County (Class 3A) won the Division 6 title and willhost Purvis (Division 8 runner up). The Lady Bulldogs (16-4) arecoached by Dana Smith.

North Pike (Class 3A) is the Division 6 runner-up and travels toNewton County (Div. 5). Under Sonya Wallace, the Summit-based LadyJaguars finished 11-10 on the season.

Lawrence County (Class 4A) comes in as Division 6 champ and willentertain East Central (Division 8 up). The Monticello-based LadyCougars (14-5) are coached by Courtney Shivers.