Had we known in advance that this softball season would be so rain-plagued, we could have debated whether that would help or hurt teams in qualifying for the New Jersey state tournament.  But now that the cutoff has come and gone, the answer seems clear:  an amazing ten of the 12 JSN-area teams are in the states.  While qualification itself was the goal for a number of squads, a few have their eyes on making a deep run in the tournament.

Here are the scenarios for each of the local teams:

North 1, Group III:

Four local teams are in this field, three of whom drew low seeds.  But West Milford snagged the top seed, despite suffering a couple of losses following 16 straight wins to start the season.  Having the top position is obviously a bonus for the Highlanders, but will they be able to reclaim the form that had them playing so well earlier in the season?  West Milford opens at home with 16th seed Roxbury.

Holding down the 10th seed in this section is Montville, an extremely strong team for such a low position.  The Mustangs showed their strength this past week with an impressive victory over West Milford.  But to make a run in the state tournament, Montville will have to become road warriors.  The trip begins with a first-round matchup at seventh seed Mount Olive.

Speaking of trips, Lakeland spent a week at Disney World back in April, playing three games as well as enjoying the Magic Kingdom.  But the Lancers struggled a bit upon their return to rainy northern Jersey.  Of late, though, Lakeland has looked good.  The Lancers will be the 13th seed and face a tough first-round foe in fourth seed Sparta.

Passaic Valley rounds out the local quartet in this group.  The Hornets are the 14th seed and visit third-seeded Old Tappan in the first round.  This team has been a bit inconsistent, but has shown on its better days that it can compete with some of the very best squads around, so an upset is hardly impossible.

North 1, Group II:

Another section chock-full of teams, as 15 schools qualified for the playoffs.  Three are from our area, including Pequannock, which will play out of the #2 seed.  The Panthers have been strong all season long, and will hope to win the Morris County Tournament title before starting its run at a sectional crown.  Pequannock hosts 15th seed North Warren in its first state game, and could have a rematch with Jefferson (which it beat in the MCT) in the semifinal round.

Another team looking to carry its regular-season and county tournament success into the states is fourth seed Pompton Lakes.  The Cardinals know about winning sectional titles, having captured the North 1, Group I title the last two years.  But this more inexperienced squad will have to contend with the larger schools in Group II since Pompton Lakes moved up this season.  They'll open with 13th seed Pascack Hills in the first round, and may very well face a very strong Indian Hills team in the sectional semifinals.

While the Panthers and Cardinals eye a sectional title, Mountain Lakes falls more into the "happy to be here" category.  The Lakers will be the 10th seed and travel to play seventh seed Hawthorne in the first round.  If they win there, they would almost surely pay a visit to Pequannock in their next game.

North 1, Group I:

As the smallest school in the Northern Hills Conference for many years, Butler's goal in most sports has been simply to survive and reach the states, where the playing field is more level.  The Bulldogs did exactly that this season, qualifying for this section as the 12th seed.  Butler will see how it compares with smaller schools starting with fifth seed Belvidere in the first round.

North 2, Group I:

Whippany Park draws the fourth seed in this section, and will enjoy a first-round bye before hosting fifth seed Hudson County Prep.  That game appears to be winnable for the Wildcats, but their sectional semifinal foe will be High Tech, which reached the state final in Group I last year and has a strong team again in '09.

North Non-Public A:

As always, this is a very difficult section featuring a couple of traditional powers.  DePaul has had a solid season but it was only good enough to earn the 9th seed.  The Spartans will go on the road in the first round to meet eighth seed St. Dominic Academy.  DePaul has a good chance to win that game, but the prize would be a matchup with top seed Immaculate Heart, ranked among the top five in the state.   -- Paul Mencher for Jersey Sports Now