The chase for a Class 5A state baseball championship continues tonight for a pair of local teams.

Both Pearl River Central and Picayune return to the baseball diamond, weather permitting of course, as the baseball playoffs resume after a break of a few days.

This will be the first round of action for the Blue Devils, who won the Division 8-5A title. Pearl River Central will host Stone County tonight at 7 in the first game of the best of three South state quarterfinal series.

Game two is set for Friday in Wiggins at the same time, while a third game would be back in Carriere if necessary Saturday afternoon.

The Tomcats swept McComb 12-2 and 1-0 in the opening round of the playoffs this past weekend.

Picayune, which finished second in Division 8-5A behind PRC. also swept its opponent in the opening round of the postseason dispatching Moss Point 8-4 and 4-1.

The wins marked the fourth straight time this season that Picayune had beaten the Tigers. For their winning efforts, the Maroon Tide advances to face Pearl beginning tonight on the road at 6 p.m. Game two is set for Picayune at 6 Friday night and a third and deciding game if necessary will take place Saturday back in Pearl.

The winner of the Picayune-Pearl series will face the winner of the South Jones-East Central series beginning next Friday, May 10.

The winner of the PRC-Stone series will face the winner of the Pascagoula-West Jones series. Pascagoula is the defending Class 5A state champion, and knocked off PRC en route to the state crown last season.

The Panthers carry a 15-11 record into the playoffs, meeting West Jones (also 15-11) in a second-round series beginning at 7 p.m. Thursday at Ingalls Field. While the Panthers had a first-round bye, the Mustangs beat Brookhaven in two straight to win their opening series.

Game 2 of the series is set for 7 p.m. Friday in Soso. A third game, if necessary, would be at 2 p.m. Saturday back in Pascagoula.

East Central swept Long Beach over the weekend in another opening round series.