By Staff
The Alabama High School Athletic Association's softball playoffs will undergo a major change next spring.
AHSAA Executive Director Steve Savarese predicts “will make high school softball even bigger and better than before.”
The AHSAA Central Board of Control, in its annual July meeting, approved unanimously a format to create four regional tournaments for the softball playoffs-similar to the regional tournament format basketball has enjoyed since 1994.
The playoff format for softball has included area tournaments, two sub-state rounds at home sites where two schools met in a best-of-3 series, and a 48-team state tournament with eight teams in each of six classes competing in a double elimination tourney.
The new format will still start with an area tournament. Instead of two sub-state rounds, the winner and runner-up will now advance to one of four regional tournaments to be held at Gulf Shores, Montgomery, Birmingham and Huntsville.
Each regional will include eight teams in a double elimination tourney in each of six classes.
The winner and runner-up in each class will advance to the state tournament the next week.
She organized the new regional format after the AHSAA Softball Committee recommended it in May.
The format will also reduce travel expenses, said Savarese.
T.R. Miller High School softball coach Greg White is glad of the change.
I hated the old format,” White said.
W.S. Neal head softball coach Jeff Haney was unable to be reached for quotes before press time on Wednesday.