THE LATEST LINE: DISTRICT BASEBALL FULL OF SUSPENSE

District tournaments for high school baseball teams get under way this week and the three local tourneys figure to feature all kind of suspense and excitement.

Perhaps the most intriguing is the Class 2A, District 2 event in Chaffee. Notre Dame has drawn wide acclaim as arguably the area's top team all season -- yet Kelly earned the No. 1 seed by virtue of a win over the Bulldogs. And Chaffee isn't far behind. Those three are certainly among the area's top squads for any class.

Then you throw some potential spoilers into the mix -- Scott City posted a big win over Kelly just a few days ago -- and things get really interesting.

Down in Sikeston, site of the 4A, District 1 meet, things should be wide open, mainly because this is definitely not one of the more talented crop of 4A teams this area has seen in recent years.

Sikeston earned the No. 1 seed, but it sure wouldn't be a surprise if either Cape Central or Farmington emerge. And Jackson and Poplar Bluff aren't all that far behind either.

Over in Advance, everybody is expecting a rematch between Oran and Advance for the 1A, District 2 title. Oran finished second in the state last year after beating Advance in the finals. But the Hornets recently blanked the Eagles to earn the top seed. You can bet Oran is looking for revenge.

Stay tuned. It should be an exciting week of baseball.

* Speaking of excitement regarding the prep playoffs, the Cape Central girls soccer team has got to be salivating at its chances of making a serious run at the 4A Final Four.

First, the Lady Tigers will probably have to get past Jackson -- which will be no easy task -- in this week's district tournament finals.

But if that does happen, then the Lady Tigers certainly appear to have finally received a little bit of a break with the draw.

Even though Central has put together three straight brilliant seasons -- losing a total of just three games during that time -- the last two years the Lady Tigers were eliminated in the sectional round by the eventual state champion.

But this year, Central is the state's highest-ranked team in its portion of the bracket; the Lady Tigers are ranked eighth. Only one other ranked squad, No. 10 Hazelwood Central, is in districts one through four -- the districts that will provide one of the Final Four berths.

No team can be taken lightly in the playoffs. But this sure looks like it could be the Lady Tigers' breakthrough season on the state level.

* Today is a big day for the SEMO softball team as the NCAA Tournament bracket will be revealed, meaning the Otahkians will finally learn where and who they'll be playing later this week.

The SEMO squad and its supporters will gather at the University Center on campus at about 7 tonight as the NCAA bracket is revealed through a satellite hookup.

* Good luck to Brad Palmer as he begins a new job outside the media industry.

Brad was the voice of the Cape Central Tigers on KZIM the past seven years and he's been one of the truly nice and classy guys on the local radio scene.

~Marty Mishow is a sports writer for the Southeast Missourian