Here's every Shore team in the softball NJSIAA state playoffs

The NJSIAA released the state playoff brackets for softball on Tuesday evening, and as expected the Shore is well-represented with teams in eight different brackets. Of course, none of the sections are more notable than the premier South Non-Public A bracket that features the two best teams in the state in St. John Vianney and Donovan Catholic.

Local fans will get a first taste of that elite matchup in the Shore Conference Tournament final on Thursday as the two squads will square off for the title for the third time in the last four years. Notably, Donovan was able to leapfrog SJV in power points to take the top seed after some strong competition scheduled late in the season, but the Griffins suffered their first loss of the season in that process while the Lancers are still unbeaten. In the public sections, the Shore only had one top-seeded team as Shore Regional is the favorite in Central Group 1.

The public state playoffs will begin first on Tuesday, May 26 and the non-public playoffs will begin the following day on May 2. Although because of first round byes, Friday is when the action really gets going. The lack of other one-seeds from the Shore is just the most recent example of the power point chicanery that has plagued state playoff seeding in a variety of different sports.

But that reshuffling leads to some interesting potential storylines in this year's playoffs. Take a look at all the Shore softball teams in the state playoffs below. SJV softball sails through tournament semis, showdown with Donovan is next Central Group 1 Manville (16) at Shore Regional (1) Keyport (15) at Dunellen (2) Henry Hudson (14) at South Hunterdon (3) Keansburg (13) at Highland Park (4) Roselle Park (12) at New Egypt (5) Point Pleasant Beach (11) at Middlesex (6) Central Group 2 Wall (15) at A.