Eight softball teams from the Savannah area will play in the Georgia High School Association Softball state playoffs this week. The teams are Richmond Hill High School, South Effingham High School, Effingham County High School, Islands High School, Savannah Christian Preparatory School, Calvary Day School, St. Vincent's Academy, and Bryan County High School. Still, there will be something different for these teams in the first two rounds this year.
The Georgia High School Association is switching from the best two-out-of-three format to a super regional system for the first two rounds. So, the 1, 2, 3, and 4 seeds in each quadrant of the state playoffs will play in a double elimination. The No. 1 seed will host all four teams. Two teams from the area will host Super Regionals, South Effingham and Bryan County High School, because they won their respective regions.
The GHSA website says that the change to the state tournament is because there aren't enough qualified umpires for state playoff games. It will also help ensure that there are three umpires at every playoff game instead of just two, like in the last few years.
Games will take place from Tuesday, October 18, through Friday, October 21. The super-regional winner between the top four seeds will move on to the Elite Eight, which will be played at the South Commons Softball Complex in Columbus, Georgia. Below are the Super Regionals with which the local teams will be at or hosting.
GHSA 7A
Richmond Hill @ North Paulding High School Thursday Day 10/20 & Friday 10/21
GHSA 6A
South Effingham Hosting Tuesday 10/18 & Wednesday 10/19
Effingham @ Alcoy High School Site Tuesday 10/18 & Wednesday 10/19
GHSA 4A
Islands High School @ Cairo High School Site Tuesday 10/18 & Wednesday 10/19
GHSA 3A
Savannah Christian @ Pike County High School Site Thursday Day 10/20 & Friday 10/21
Calvary Day School @ Crisp County Site Thursday Day 10/20 & 10/21
St. Vincent's Academy @ Harlem High School Site Thursday Day 10/20 & 10/21
GHSA 1A Division 1
Bryan County High School Hosting Tuesday 10/18 & Wednesday 10/19
Photo Credit - Bryan County High School & South Effingham High School Twitter pages.
Optim Orthopedics supports Benedictine Military School, Calvary Day School, Richmond Hill High School, Savannah Country Day, South Effingham High School, and St. Vincent's athletics. Benedictine Military School's team doctor is Dr. David Sedory. The team doctor for Calvary Day School, South Effingham, and Richmond Hill is Dr. David Palmer. Savannah Country Day and St. Vincent's team doctor is Dr. Thomas Alexander. Remember, Optim Orthopedics gets you back into the game!
