East Providence’s Kelley Clancy, who pitched back-to-back no-hitters two weeks ago, will take the mound in a Division-I showdown against Mount St. Charles in a matchup on Saturday.

The Providence Journal / Ruben W. Perez

A friendly word of advice: Don’t bother trying to predict this year’s Division I softball state champion.

With sixth-place teams beating first-place teams and many games being decided by one or two runs, the parity in Division I is making it nearly impossible to identify a clear-cut favorite.

Bay View and La Salle come into this week tied for the top spot with 9-2 records, but Westerly is right on their heels at 8-2. Meanwhile, Toll Gate is breathing down the Bulldogs’ necks at 8-3.

Cumberland, Coventry and Mount St. Charles are locked in a three-way tie for fourth place at 7-4.

And right behind them are Chariho, East Providence and North Kingstown, who are tied at 6-5 and have posted decisive victories over teams ahead of them in the standings.

“There are a lot of quality teams in Division I,” said Cumberland coach Marty Crowley, whose Clippers will host 2007 state runner-up Lincoln tomorrow at 3:30 p.m. at Tucker Field. “Top to bottom this is the most balanced league that I have ever seen.”

Some intriguing matchups on tap this week:

Coventry sophomore Elise Fortier (1.3 ERA) will take the mound against Westerly’s Alison Burdick (0.96 ERA with 84 strikeouts in 73 innings), today at Cimalore Field in Westerly at 4 p.m.

Tomorrow at La Salle, Mount St. Charles’ Kelly Ryan will test her mettle against the Rams’ Jordan Tingley in a 4:30 p.m. matchup. As of last week, Ryan had given up just 11 earned runs through 65 innings and struck out 70 batters en route to a 4-2 record. Tingley boasts a 0.73 ERA and has posted four shutouts and one no-hitter, recording 69 strikeouts.

La Salle will then head to Westerly Wednesday night to face the Bulldogs in a 6 o’clock clash.

Westerly’s busy week continues with a meeting with Toll Gate, Thursday at Father Tirocchi Field in Warwick at 4 p.m.

On Saturday, East Providence’s Kelley Clancy, who two weeks ago pitched back-to-back no-hitters against Pilgrim and Lincoln, will take the mound against Mount in an 11 a.m. matchup in Woonsocket.

That night at 7, defending champion Bay View and Bengals’ ace Marian Long (1.0 ERA, 63 strikeouts in 63 innings) will head to Cumberland to take on talented Clippers hurler Jillian George, who as of last week boasted an ERA of .064 and had recorded 65 strikeouts in 65 innings pitched.

cthorn@projo.com