The Benton Tigers and Haughton Bucs are scheduled to start their non-select Division I second-round series Friday.
District 1-5A champion Benton (27-5-2), the No. 6 seed, hosts No. 22 St. Amant (18-16) at 6 p.m. Game 2 is scheduled for Saturday at noon. Game 3, if necessary, is scheduled to follow Game 2.
Haughton (22-14), the No. 18 seed, faces defending state champion and No. 2 seed Sam Houston (26-8) just north of Lake Charles in Moss Bluff at 6. Game 2 is scheduled for Saturday at noon. Game 3, if necessary, is scheduled to follow Game 2.
In a non-select Division IV first-round game, No. 22 seed Plain Dealing (12-16) visits No. 11 Delcambre (13-16) at 6.
Benton received a first-round bye and hasn’t played an official game since defeating Natchitoches Central 7-3 on April 11. The Tigers did sweep Loyola in scrimmage games April 15.
St. Amant swept No. 11 Central-Baton Rouge 8-7 in 10 innings and 7-0 in the first round. The Gators went 6-6 in District 5-5A. Three other 5-5A teams — No. 7 Walker, No. 8 Dutchtown and No. 23 Live Oak — are in the second round.
Last week, the Gators used seven pitchers in the 10-inning first game against Central. Center fielder Anden Millet went 3-for-5.
Tucker Miller pitched a two-hitter with three strikeouts and one walk in the second.
Last year, St. Amant was swept by Sam Houston in the first round.
Benton reached the semifinals before falling to No. 1 seed Live Oak 2-0.
The Tigers have gotten production at the plate up and down the lineup. They have also gotten effective performances on the mound from several pitchers.
Haughton swept No. 15 Southside 3-2 in nine innings and 7-6 in the first round.
Sam Houston received a first-round bye.
Sam Houston and Southside are both in District 3-5A. The Broncos and Sharks split their district series with Southside winning 4-0 and Sam Houston winning 5-2.
Top-seeded Barbe is also a member of 3-5A along with No. 9 seed Sulphur. The Broncos won 11 of their last 13 regular-season games with the two losses against Barbe 5-2 and 8-1.
Sam Houston has a veteran pitching staff that includes McNeese signee Owen Galley.
Haughton got clutch performances on the mound last week from Seth Jorstad, Ashton Neighbors, Brady Bockhaus, Brody Beach, Aubrey Ramsey and Bryce Benoit.