The postseason begins today for Central, Smiths Station and Russell County with AHSAA area tournaments. Meanwhile, Glenwood will begins its quest for a fourth straight AISA state championship.
Class 6A Area 7
Central won the Class 6A Area 7 regular-season title and will host the two-day tournament.
The Lady Red Devils, who have won three area championships and finished second three times in the past six years, will face No. 4 seed Smiths Station in the opener at 3 p.m. Auburn and Opelika will face off at 5 p.m.
The two winners will play at 7 p.m. The championship round in the double-elimination tournament starts at 5 p.m. Friday. The top two teams in the area tournament will advance to next week's regional.
Central has advanced to the second round of the state 7 of the last 8 years. The Lady Red Devils have made the regional semifinals twice in recent years in 2009 and 2001.
Kristine Brown leads the Central pitching staff. The offense is led by Cassidy Davis, Kristin Studds, Kaelen Scott, Brittany Russ, Katie Webb and Brown.
Class 5A Area 4
With its second straight
area championship, Russell County is the host for the three-team Class 5A Area 4 tournament.
Tallassee and Valley play at 1 p.m. today with Russell County playing the winner at 3 p.m. The championship round begins at 3 p.m. Friday.
Russell County, which was the area runner up in 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006, made it to a regional for first the first time last season.
Jessica Argue, who has committed to Central Alabama Community College, is the Lady Warriors' leading pitcher. Janie Weed leads the team's offense.
Catcher Katie White has committed to Gulf Coast College in Panama City, Fla.
The Lady Warriors (14-18), who lost third baseman Emily Holmes to an ACL injury, lost five games to three teams ranked in the top seven in Class 6A.
AISA Class AAA
The Lady Gators (32-12-1) face Prattville Christian at noon Friday in the first round.
The tournament is being played at Lagoon Park in Montgomery.
The teams split a pair of games last week.
The Lady Gators start six freshmen -- four of whom played in the state tournament last season -- and sophomore pitcher Macey Tucker (25-10), who is pitching at the varsity level for the first time.
Cailah Niles set a school record with 17 home runs. She also had 50 RBIs. Other leaders on offense include Elizabeth Perdue and Allie Kelley.
The double-elimination tournament continues through Saturday with the championship round starting at 2 p.m.
SCHEDULE
AHSAA Class 6A Area 7
at Central
Today
Game 1: Central vs. Smiths Station, 3 p.m.
Game 2: Auburn vs. Opelika, 5 p.m.
Game 3: Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner, 7 p.m.
Friday
Game 4: Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser, 1 p.m.
Game 5: Game 4 winner vs. Game 3 loser, 3 p.m.
Game 6: Game 3 winner vs. Game 5 winner, 5 p.m.
Game 7: if game, 7 p.m.
AHSAA Class 5A Area 4
at Russell County
Today
Game 1: Tallassee vs. Valley, 1 p.m.
Game 2: Russell County vs. Game 1 winner, 3 p.m.
Friday
Game 3: Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser, 1 p.m.
Game 4: Game 2 winner vs. Game 3 winner, 3 p.m.
Game 5: if game, 5 p.m.
