photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Lawrence celebrates a Sidra Besson goal in a 4-2 win over Free State on Thursday, April 9, 2026, in Lawrence.

Girls soccer, baseball and softball all are entering the postseason, and local teams across the three sports are beginning their playoff push with regional tournaments this week.

GIRLS SOCCER

Lawrence girls soccer entered the postseason as the No. 7 seed in the 6A East regional with a 10-6-0 record. The Lions will host their first game on Tuesday at 6 p.m. over No. 10 Blue Valley (8-7-1). A win in the semifinal would put the Lions in the regional final against the winner of No. 2 Mill Valley (13-1-2) and No. 15 Shawnee Mission West (5-9-2).

Lawrence hasn’t played Blue Valley this season, but the Lions defeated Shawnee Mission West 5-0 on April 28 and lost 2-0 to Mill Valley on April 16.

Free State is the No. 12 seed in the 6A West with a 3-12-1 record. The Firebirds start with No. 2 Maize (11-4-1) at 5 p.m. on Wednesday, and a win in the game would put the Firebirds in the regional championship against either No. 7 Manhattan (8-7-1) or No. 10 Topeka (6-9-1).

The only familiar opponent for Free State in the bracket is Topeka, which the Firebirds beat 2-0 on April 14.

In 4-1A girls soccer, Bishop Seabury finished with the No. 2 seed with a 12-3-0 record, which got the Seahawks a first-round bye. In the regional championship, Bishop Seabury will host either No. 7 Baldwin (8-6-2) or No. 10 Ottawa (7-9-0) on Thursday at 2:30 p.m. The Seahawks haven’t faced either team this year.

No. 5 Eudora (9-5-2) will start by hosting No. 12 Bishop Ward (5-11-0) on Monday at 6 p.m. in the regional semifinal. With a win, the Cardinals would advance to the regional championship against either No. 4 Kansas City Christian (12-4-0) or No. 13 Chanute (2-12-1). The Cardinals haven’t faced any of the three teams this season.

Tonganoxie holds the No. 6 seed heading into the playoffs with a 10-6-0 record and will host No. 11 Paola (5-10-1) on Monday at 5 p.m. A win for the Chieftains would put them in the regional championship against No. 3 Louisburg (13-3-1) on Wednesday at 6 p.m. The Chieftains beat Paola 2-0 on April 23 but lost 5-0 to Louisburg on April 14.

Baldwin holds the No. 7 seed with an 8-6-2 record. The Bulldogs start with Ottawa at Baldwin on Tuesday at 5 p.m., and a win would set the Bulldogs up against the Seahawks at Bishop Seabury on Thursday. Baldwin beat Ottawa 4-2 on April 7 and 2-0 on May 12.

BASEBALL

Free State holds the No. 2 seed in the 6A West regional after securing a 22-4 record in the regular season. The Firebirds will host No. 15 Liberal (9-17) on Monday. A win would put the Firebirds in a championship game against the winner of No. 7 Wichita East (12-11) and No. 10 Topeka/Cair Paravel (11-14) later on Monday. Free State didn’t see any of the three teams in the regular season.

Lawrence got the No. 15 seed in the 6A East with a 7-18 record and will start on the road against No. 2 Mill Valley (22-4) on Tuesday. A win for the Lions would put them up against either No. 7 Blue Valley West (18-8) or No. 10 Wyandotte (12-11). Lawrence lost 5-3 at Mill Valley on May 7 and didn’t play the other two teams in the regular season.

In the 4A East, No. 10 Tonganoxie holds a 14-10 record and will start with the regional semifinal on Wednesday at 2 p.m. against No. 7 Atchison (14-8) at Paola. A win would put the Chieftains against either No. 2 Paola (18-5) or No. 15 Eudora (8-12).

Tonganoxie beat Atchison 25-0 and 14-1 this season but lost to Paola in both matchups. The Chieftains beat Eudora 7-1 in their lone meeting early in the season.

No. 13 Baldwin (11-15) will start the regional tournament against No. 4 Wamego (18-6) on Wednesday. A win would put the Bulldogs in the regional championship against either No. 5 Bishop Miege (17-7) or No. 12 Santa Fe Trail (10-13) after their game.

Baldwin lost to Wamego twice this season but beat Santa Fe Trail 7-6 in extra innings and hasn’t played Bishop Miege this season.

Eudora starts with Paola on Wednesday and would face either Atchison or Tonganoxie with an upset win. The Cardinals lost to Tonganoxie 7-1 at the start of the season but beat Atchison twice, 4-3 and 6-5. The Cardinals lost 4-3 and 10-0 to Paola this year.

No. 10 Perry-Lecompton’s season ended in the 3A third regional quarterfinal with a 5-4 loss to Silver Lake on Wednesday.

SOFTBALL

Free State holds the No. 10 seed in the 6A West with a 10-13 record. The Firebirds will start in Topeka taking on No. 7 Wichita Northwest (14-12) on Wednesday. A win would put the Firebirds against either No. 2 Topeka/Cair Paravel (23-3) or No. 15 Wichita Heights (3-17). The Firebirds haven’t played any of the three teams this season.

No. 13 Lawrence entered with an 8-17 record and will take on No. 4 Blue Valley (18-6) on Thursday at Blue Valley. A win for the Lions would put them in the regional championship against No. 5 Olathe East (18-8) or No. 12 Shawnee Mission North (8-16) later on Thursday.

Lawrence lost to Blue Valley 11-9 on April 18 and 2-1 on April 25. The Lions beat Olathe East 2-0 on April 28 and beat Shawnee Mission North 12-2 on May 13.

No. 7 Tonganoxie (18-8) will start with No. 10 Baldwin (12-13) on Wednesday in Carbondale. A win for either team puts it in the regional championship against either No. 2 Santa Fe Trail (23-3) or No. 15 El Dorado (8-14) later on Wednesday.

Baldwin beat Tonganoxie 5-4 on April 28. Neither team played El Dorado, but the Bulldogs split a doubleheader against Santa Fe Trail on May 5, losing the first game 11-0 and winning the second 4-3.

No. 14 Eudora (9-13) will start with No. 3 Rock Creek (21-4) on Tuesday in the regional semifinal. With a win, the Cardinals would face either No. 6 Topeka-Hayden (18-7) or No. 11 Independence (10-12). The only familiar foe for the Cardinals is Hayden, which Eudora lost to twice, 7-3 and 8-2.

In the 3A regional, Perry-Lecompton (13-13) will start in the quarterfinal against No. 10 Royal Valley (11-14) on Tuesday. A win would put the Kaws in the regional semifinal against either No. 2 Silver Lake (22-4) or No. 15 Holton (6-18) on Wednesday, with the regional championship taking place later that day.