Bear River's bid for back-to-back Sac-Joaquin Section softball crowns begins next week, as does the second season for all of western Nevada County's playoff-bound teams.

And by the end of the weekend, Bruins, Falcons and Miners playing sports of all sorts will know the name of the opponent likely to be lining up against them in first-round competition, as the section is expected to announce playoff draws by Sunday.

On the softball diamond, it's likely Duane Zauner's defending champion Bruins will carry the county's banner as the area's lone representative. Bear River, which wrapped up its regular season with a 6-5 win over rival Colfax Wednesday, posted a perfect 12-0 Pioneer Valley League record and a 25-2 overall mark. Over the past two seasons, the Lady Bruins have produced a 53-6 record, including 23-1 in the PVL.

Sticking with the bat and ball, two teams in the south county are headed to the postseason. Bear River's baseball team (16-8) claimed its first outright league championship this spring, after having shared the title as a co-champion the previous two campaigns. Mike Viola's Bruins (10-2 PVL) will begin their quest for a return trip to the section championship game on Wednesday.

Just down the road from Bear River, the Falcons of Forest Lake Christian are poised for a playoff appearance in their second season since FLC returned the sport to its athletic program. Ron Phillips led his Falcons to second place in the Central Valley Christian League with a 7-3 mark and a 10-4 season record.

Forest Lake Christian will field the only western Nevada County soccer squad in the playoffs next week, as Alane Burke and Ken Raskin led their club to the CVCL crown with a strong second half of the season.

After a tough preseason slate that saw FLC struggle to an 0-8-2 start to the season, the Falcons ran through the CVL with an 11-1-3 mark. Over the final nine contests of the campaign, FLC went unbeaten with six wins and against three ties.

Also still on tap are section contests in golf and track and field.

Nevada Union's Spencer Biersdorff will serve as the county's lone representative at the section Masters meet on Monday at Stevinson Ranch Golf Club near Turlock.

And on the track and field front, Bear River and Nevada Union athletes who qualify for the divisional competition also will be in action this week. The Miners will vie for a Masters meet berth at the Division II meet on Wednesday (trials) and Friday (finals) at Bella Vista High School. Bear River's qualifiers get into gear at the Division III competition Tuesday (trials) and Thursday (finals) at Modesto Junior College.

Qualifiers from all divisional sites advance to the May 22-23 Masters Meet at Sacramento City College's Hughes Stadium.

For complete first-round matchups, see Monday's edition of The Union.