Staff report

GRANITE QUARRY — The thing that jumps right out from the 3A West softball playoff bracket is the proximity of East Rowan and West Rowan.

With East seeded third and West 14th that means they could play again — for the fourth time — at East in the second round on May 10. East won all three meetings with the Falcons on its way to South Piedmont Conference regular season and tournament championships.

To get to a May 10 meeting, both teams will have to win first-round games on Tuesday. East (20-3) will be hosting No. 30 Central Academy of Technology & Arts (CATA), which will be traveling from Monroe, while West (19-7) will be at home against No. 19 Forestview, which will be making the trip to Mount Ulla from Gastonia.

CATA is 12-10, while Forestview is 13-7.

South Rowan (10-12-1) is in the 3A West bracket as the No. 29 seed. The Raiders will play at No. 4 Piedmont (18-3) on Tuesday.

Oak Grove is the top seed in 3A West, while Kings Mountain is seeded second.

Central Cabarrus is seeded 15th in the 3A West bracket and will be home in the first round against No. 18 Pisgah.

Northwest Cabarrus is seeded 26th and will play at No. 7 Fred T. Foard in the first round.

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In 4A, Mooresville is the No. 2 seed. South Caldwell is seeded No. .1.

The third round of the softball playoffs is scheduled for Tuesday, May 14. The fourth round is set for Friday, May 17.

The best-of-three regional championship series will be played May 21-25, with the better seeded team getting two home games if the series goes three games.

State championships also are a best of three series and will be played at Duke and UNC Greensboro.