By Stephen Ramirez
steve.ramirez@langnews.com
@SteveRRamirez on Twitter
La Serna High School felt it left a championship on the table last season.
The Lancers are now in position to do something about it.
La Serna received the No. 2 seed in Division 3 when the CIF-Southern Section released its softball playoff pairings Monday.
Nine area teams will be in the postseason, with La Serna the only local team to receive a top-four seed.
The wild-card and first round is scheduled for Tuesday and Thursday, respectively. The second round and quarterfinals are slated for next week with the finals June 5 and 6 at Deanna Manning Stadium in Irvine.
St. Paul beat La Serna, 2-1, for the Division 3 title last season.
La Serna (21-4), which went 9-1 in winning the Del Rio League, will play host to either Downey (13-13) or Cantwell Sacred Heart of Mary (13-11) on Thursday. The Vikings host the Cardinals in the wild-card round on Tuesday. Cantwell was third in the Del Rey League.
La Serna features the area’s best pitcher in Jamie Wren and one of the area’s deepest lineups.
California and St. Paul are also in the division. The Condors (14-13-1) are at Suburban League champ Cerritos (18-7) in the first round, with St. Paul (20-6) hosting Don Lugo (14-8). The Swordsmen went 11-1 in winning the Del Rey League.
St. Paul and La Serna could meet again in the title game.
Santa Fe (11-9) and La Mirada (13-15) face wild-card games on Tuesday. The Chiefs are at Mayfair (16-11), with the Matadores traveling to Chaminade (8-13).
La Habra (19-11), which shared the Freeway League title with Sunny Hills, is the lone team in Division 2. The Highlanders host Westlake (12-8).
In Division 5, rivals Montebello (15-10) and Schurr (14-9), who finished one and two in the Almont League will be at home in the first round.
The Oilers face Covina (15-12), with the Spartans getting Rancho Alamitos (10-14).

SOFTBALL PAIRINGS
FIRST ROUND
THURSDAY
DIVISION 2
Westlake at La Habra
DIVISION 3
Cal at Cerritos
Don Lugo at St. Paul
Cantwell-Downey at La Serna
WILD-CARD
TUESDAY
Santa Fe at Mayfair (at Alemany)
La Mirada at Chaminade (at No. 3 Burbank)
Cantwell at Downey
DIVISION 5
FIRST ROUND
THURSDAY
Rancho Alamitos at Schurr
Covina at Montebello