It’s state tournament time. Which eastern Idaho teams are challenging for titles?

EASTERN IDAHO – Eleven area teams are headed north for state softball.

Malad, which finished runner-up in the 3A tournament last season, is the highest local seed, coming in at No. 3.

Tournaments begin Thursday with championships set for Saturday.

Here’s a look at eastern Idaho teams and matchups.

6A at Coeur d’Alene and Lake City

Highland, the District 5-6 champion, is seeded No. 4, and takes on No. 5 Mountain View.

The Rams (21-5-1) are the highest scoring team in 6A and have scored in double figures in 13 of their past 15 games.

Defending champion Owyhee is the top seed and would be a second-round mathup for the Rams should they get by Mountain View.

Thunder Ridge, which beat Rigby in the district tournament to advance, is also powered by its offense, which scored nearly 12 runs per game.

The Titans (14-13-1) are seeded sixth and play No. 3 Lake City.

5A at Post Falls High

The 5A District 6 race was competitive, but at the end, it was Blackfoot celebrating a district tournament title, beating No. 1 Bonneville twice.

The Broncos (17-9) are the No. 3 seed and play Lakeland in the tournament opener.

Blackfoot has never won a state trophy, but has been playing well down the stretch, winning four straight games entering the tournament.

The Bees (18-9) also qualified out of District 6 and are seeded fourth.

Bonneville will face Pocatello (19-6) on Thursday.

The Thunder have won seven of eight, which includes a pair of forfeit wins over Century.

Bonneville and Pocatello split a doubleheader on April 18. The Bees took a third matchup 17-6.

4A at Filer HS

Despite finishing 1-3 in the Mountain Rivers Conference during the regular season, Sugar-Salem (13-10) finished with five straight wins, including sweeps of Teton and South Fremont in the district tournament to earn the state berth.

The Diggers open with No. 3 Gooding.

Marsh Valley also made some noise in the South East Idaho Conference tournament, beating Snake River and Bear Lake to advance despite winning just one conference game during the regular season.

As the eighth seed, Marsh Valley (8-18-1) plays top-seeded Kimberly in the opener.

Preston is the third area team to make the bracket.

Preston (22-2) had little trouble in the district tournament and enters averaging more than 12 runs per game.

The Indians are seeded No. 5 and play No. 4 Weiser on Thursday.

3A at Timberlake High

Area teams had a successful state tournament last season with Malad finishing runner-up and North Fremont taking third.

Both return to the tournament this season, with Malad seeded third and North Fremont No. 7.

The Dragons (21-4) won the South East Idaho Conference and North Fremont (19-6) went unbeaten in the Nuclear Conference.

Malad opens with No. 6 Kellogg.

North Fremont takes on No. 2 Parma.

Firth (10-15) advanced to the district tournament championship game to earn the area’s third spot in the 3A bracket.

The Cougars are seeded No. 8 and open with top-seeded and defending champion Nampa Christian.