High school softball teams across Mobile and Baldwin counties spent the first week of May battling through double-elimination area tournaments to punch their tickets to the AHSAA regional round, with the last local bracket set to wrap up Friday.
The only area tournament still in progress involves Bayshore Christian, which enters as the No. 2 seed in Class 1A, Area 1 behind top-seeded Fruitdale and ahead of No. 3 McIntosh. The winners of that bracket will join a long list of area-area programs already locked into next week’s regional tournaments, which run May 10-13. Most teams from the coverage area that advance will play their regional games in Gulf Shores, while other regional sites around the state include Montgomery, Albertville and Florence.
Several local matchups went the distance before area champions were decided. In Class 2A, Area 1, Orange Beach swept J.U. Blacksher in two games, 10-0 and 15-4, sending both teams on to regionals. Class 3A, Area 1 needed four games to settle, with Mobile Christian ultimately topping Cottage Hill Christian and Chickasaw to claim the top spot; both Mobile Christian and Cottage Hill Christian advance.
Class 4A, Area 1 turned into one of the more competitive brackets in the region, with Escambia County, St. Michael Catholic and W.S. Neal trading wins across eight total games before Neal and St. Michael emerged as the two teams moving on. Williamson and Vigor were eliminated in the process.
In Class 5A play, Elberta needed a comeback to beat LeFlore twice after LeFlore had opened by knocking off B.C. Rain, with Elberta and LeFlore both advancing out of Area 1. In Area 2, Satsuma won the top seed by beating St. Paul’s Episcopal twice, with both Satsuma and St. Paul’s punching regional tickets after St. Paul’s had eliminated Faith Academy along the way.
Class 6A brought two of the area’s most closely watched brackets. In Area 1, Saraland rolled to the top seed with wins over Blount and McGill-Toolen Catholic, while McGill-Toolen held off Citronelle in a pair of one-run games to claim the second regional berth. In Area 2, Baldwin County and Robertsdale split a marathon six-game bracket that also included Gulf Shores and Spanish Fort, with Baldwin County and Robertsdale ultimately advancing to regional play.
The area’s largest classification, 7A, saw Theodore capture the top seed in Area 1 by outlasting Mary G. Montgomery, Alma Bryant, Baker and Davidson across a full slate of games, with Theodore and Mary G. Montgomery both moving on. In Area 2, Fairhope and Daphne each won a share of games against Foley and Murphy before Fairhope claimed the top spot over Daphne, sending both Baldwin County programs to the regional round.
With the Class 1A, Area 1 bracket the only one left to finish, the region’s regional-bound field is nearly complete. Teams that punch their tickets this week will have only a few days to prepare before regional play opens May 10, with berths in the state tournament on the line for the teams that come out on top.