GHSA Championships in Columbus
Today’s schedule for area teamsClass AAAAAADalton vs. Conyers Heritage, 4Class AAAARidgeland vs. Marist, 8Class AAACalhoun vs. Cook County, 8Class AADade County vs. Harlem, 6Class A publicGordon Lee vs. Wilcox County, 2
If Gordon Lee or Calhoun is to win yet another GHSA fastpitch softball championship this season, it will come via a different route.
There are still eight teams in each bracket, but with the addition of the new Class 7A the schedule of the three-day event in Columbus has changed quite drastically. The new schedule will make Championship Saturday an even more difficult path for those teams that fall into the losers bracket, with the real possibility of teams having to win three or four games that day.
With all winners-bracket finals set for Saturday morning, even teams that go undefeated will have to win two games on the final day.
"It's a little bit crazy this year," said Gordon Lee coach Dana Mull, whose team came through the losers bracket last year to win its sixth state title. "The fact that our winners-bracket-final game is on Saturday makes that game extremely important. That changes everything. If you lose that game, you would have to play three more."
Calhoun coach Diane Smith agrees. The Lady Yellow Jackets are attempting to capture their fourth consecutive state title, and their veteran coach is certain of only one thing.
"You definitely want to stay in the winners bracket, because if you don't you can wear your tails out on Saturday," Smith said. "Dana and I were talking about it, and we're not real fond of it. It's different, but we will play whenever they say so."
Calhoun and Gordon Lee, along with Dalton, Ridgeland, Dade County, Trion and Christian Heritage, each will play one game today. In the past, Thursday winners would play again that night, with winners-bracket finals Friday night.
This week, today's winners will play Friday morning and, if they win again, at 9 a.m. Saturday, meaning at least a four-hour wait between games. All championship games are set to begin at 3 p.m., with "if necessary" games to follow at 5. In the past title games started at noon.
"I'm sure there are going to be a lot of complaints," Mull said. "There has been a lot of talk about reducing the championship brackets to four teams, so I think they want people to complain so that this might be the last straw. They could then justify going to a smaller bracket.
"I know they had to get the other classification in, but this is not what we expected."
Contact Lindsey Young at lyoung@timesfreepress.com or at 423-757-6296; follow on Twitter @youngsports22