The Brookhaven Lady Panthers and the West Lincoln Lady Bearshope to make a return appearance in Jackson for the State SlowpitchSoftball Championship finals Saturday, Oct. 16. They both wererunners-up last year. They first must survive three rounds ofplayoff games before reaching the finals.

The state playoffs start today for area teams with the first round.The second round will be played on Saturday, Oct. 9. The SouthState Championship round is Tuesday, Oct. 12. Each round willobserve the best-of-three format, with all games played in the samelocation.

The local teams participating in the playoffs are Brookhaven, WestLincoln, Bogue Chitto, Wesson, Franklin County, Lawrence County,North Pike and McComb.

Brookhaven’s Lady Panthers (16-8, 3-0), coached by Lisa Covington,are the defending 5A South State Champions of 2009. The Pantherswon their district this year and will host the West Jones LadyMustangs. Game time is 5 p.m. at the Lady Panthers SoftballComplex.

West Lincoln’s Lady Bears (6-13, 0-2), coached by Andrew Redd, arethe two-time defending 1A South State Champions. The Bears wererunners-up in their district and travel to Sebastopol. Game time is4 p.m.

The Bogue Chitto Lady Cats (18-6, 2-0), coached by Scott Leggett,look to capture the gold in slowpitch softball after winning thefastpitch championship five months ago. The Cats won their districtand will host the Mount Olive Lady Pirates. Game time is 5p.m.

Wesson’s Lady Cobras (8-10, 4-0), coached by Jackie Johnson, arelooking for some big things as they make a return trip to theplayoffs. The Cobras won their district and host the Lumberton LadyPanthers. Game time is 5 p.m.

Franklin County’s Lady Bulldogs (14-6, 6-0), coached by Dana Smith,hope to have better results as they gear up for the playoffs. TheBulldogs won their district and host St. Patrick Lady Irish. Gametime is 3:30 p.m.

The Lawrence County Lady Cougars, coached by Courtney Shivers, hopeto make a strong appearance in the playoffs. They were runners-upin their district and travel to face the Poplarville Lady Hornets.Game time is 4:30 p.m.

The North Pike Lady Jaguars (19-5), coached by Sonya Wallace, havehigh hopes to make it to the State championship finals. The Jagswon their district and host the Columbia Lady Wildcats. Game timeis 5 p.m.

The McComb Lady Tigers, coached by Cody Hall, were runners-up intheir district and travel to face the Wayne County Lady War Eagles.Game time is 6 p.m.