LAPLACE — When St. Charles Catholic softball coach Ty Monica says the road to Sulphur is never easy, he’s not talking about road construction or Baton Rouge traffic.

Monica means his Lady Comets could have a bumpy path to Frasch Park in Sulphur for the 2016 Fast Pitch 56 State Tournament, where the state champions will be crowned April 29-30.

When the Louisiana High School Athletic Association released the 2016 brackets Thursday afternoon, only two St. John the Baptist Parish teams were included.

St. Charles Catholic and Riverside Academy made it and, for the first time since 2011, they are in the same Class 2A bracket.

Riverside Academy is the No. 5 seed and will play No. 28 Pope John Paul II at 4 p.m. today.

St. Charles Catholic is the No. 8 seed and will host No. 25 seed Delcambre at 4 p.m. Monday in LaPlace. The Comets will play a tune-up game against St. Martin’s at 10 a.m. today.

“It could have been a lot better,” Monica said of his team’s playoff spot.

“I really don’t like our draw, but that’s on us. The power rankings are fair for everybody. You get what you get.”

Since 2011, St. Charles has competed in Class 3A, advancing to Sulphur three of the last four years. Riverside, competing in Class 2A, has been to the state tournament the last four years, losing three times in the semifinals and once — in 2013 — in the state championship game.

Fans who hoped for an All-St. John final will be disappointed, however. The Rebels and Comets are on the same side of the bracket, which would have them meeting again in the semifinals on Friday, not Saturday’s championship game.

“I’m not even thinking about that right now,” Monica said. “The semifinals are a long way away and we’ve got to get there first.”

Both coaches say their teams should not be deceived by their opponents’ low seeding.

Delcambre is 15-10 and the runner-up in District 6-2A. Pope John Paul II is 18-12 and the runner-up in District 10-2A.

“I think Class 2A is loaded with talent this year,” Monica said. “That’s obvious just by looking at the seven in front of us. There are some really good teams that aren’t going to make it to Sulphur this year and they probably deserve to.”

Riverside coach Tamra Regalo said the seedings don’t mean that much once team are put into the bracket.

Riverside was the No. 2 seed in 2A last year and lost in the semifinals to No. 11 seed Winnfield, 9-8. No. 5 seed Menard was the state champion.

St. Charles Catholic was the No. 2 seed in Class 3A last year and lost in the quarterfinals to No. 7 seed Brusly. No. 1 seed Curtis was the state champion.

“After being the No. 2 seed last year, I don’t think it really makes that much of a difference,” she said. “One and two, three and four, there’s not much difference. Pope John Paul won 18 games. They aren’t going to be just a walk in the park.”