The MPSSAA region softball playoff seeds have been released, with Howard County squads split up between three classifications.
Howard is seeded third in Section II of the 4A North bracket, earning an opening-round bye before squaring off on the road against second-seeded Blake on Monday, May 11.
There are eight Howard County teams in the 3A East region, with Mt. Hebron earning the top seed in Section I and River Hill earning the top spot in Section II. Those two teams, along with Reservoir and Glenelg — who are seeded second and third, respectively, in Section II — have opening-round byes.
Marriotts Ridge is the county's top-seeded team in the 2A South region, earning the second seed in Section I and a first-round bye.
Hammond takes on Oakland Mills in a first round 2A South match-up, while Atholton hosts Wilde Lake and Centennial welcomes Long Reach in opening round 3A East showdowns. All three of those games are scheduled for Thursday at 4 p.m.
Here's a full seed breakdown for each of the brackets containing Howard County teams:
4A North: Section I: 1. Perry Hall; 2. Western; 3. Dulaney; 4. Catonsville; 5. Kenwood; 6. Mergenthaler; 7. Southwestern. Section II: 1. Sherwood; 2. Blake; 3. Howard; 4. Paint Branch; 5. Springbrook.
3A East: Section I: 1. Mt. Hebron; 2. City; 3. Centennial; 4. Poly; 5. Digital Harbor; 6. Long Reach. Section II: 1. River Hill; 2. Reservoir; 3. Glenelg; 4. Atholton; 5. Wilde Lake.
2A South: Section I: 1. Patuxent; 2. Marriotts Ridge; 3. Calvert; 4. Hammond; 5. Oakland Mills; 6. St. Charles. Section II: 1. Gwynn Park; 2. Frederick Douglass; 3. Largo; 4. Southern (AA); 5. Friendly.