A handful of Southwest Louisiana high school baseball teams will have a chance to earn a spot in next week’s state championship tournament with wins in single-elimination quarterfinals games over the next two days.

Play begins today with Lacassine looking to continue making history when it travels to face Anacoco at 5 p.m in a nonselect Division V game.

The No. 13 Cardinals (15-12) won a regional-round game for the first time with a 13-8 win over No. 4 Elizabeth last week. Before winning two postseason games this year, the Cardinals had one playoff win since 1996. No. 5 Anacoco (21-11) has lost in the semifinals each of the past two seasons.

In Thursday’s games, DeQuincy will host Welsh and Grand Lake will travel to Oak Grove in Division IV while Fairview travels to Pitkin in Division V.

No. 3 DeQuincy (17-11) knocked off rival Vinton in the regional behind a stellar pitching performance by Reese Ashworth, who struck out 12 while tossing a no-hitter in an 11-1, five-inning win. No. 11 Welsh (16-15) advanced with a 7-5 win at No. 6 LaSalle.

DeQuincy is 0-7 in the quarterfinals since reaching the semifinals in 2001. Welsh’s two playoff wins are the first for the Greyhounds since they reached the 2018 Class 2A championship game before losing to Loreauville.

No. 9 Grand Lake (14-9) will be looking for a return trip to Sulphur when it faces top seed and recent nemesis Oak Grove (14-12). The Tigers beat the Hornets in the 2021 and ’22 Class 1A championship games. Grand Lake has been to the state tournament each of the past five seasons the playoffs have been played but has yet to win a championship, losing in the title game three times and semifinals twice.

No. 11 Fairview (14-6) last appeared in Sulphur in 2016, when it won the Class B title with a 14-3 win over Grace Christian. The Panthers have won a pair of squeakers in the postseason, beating Maurepas 2-0 in the opening round and Quitman 2-1 in the regionals. No. 3 Pitkin beat No. 14 Stanley 8-1 in the regionals.