Beyond dumping copious amounts of rain across the South last weekend, Hurricane Barry forced the postponement of the 10u and 12u all-star state tournaments to this weekend.
Columbia 10u will be in Mendenhall Friday through Monday for the AAA state tournament, with the winner advancing to the Invitational World Series in Ruston, La., Aug. 3 through Aug. 8. The all-stars kick off the tournament Friday night at 6 against Walthall and will play either Iuka or Laurel American in the second round.
With a victory Friday night, they would play at 11 a.m. Saturday while a loss would have them play at 9 a.m. Round 3 will have Columbia 10u play at either 5 or 7 Saturday night, depending on results. The semifinals are set to take place Sunday at 2 p.m., with the championship scheduled for 4:30. If a second game is needed in the championship round, it would be at 7 Monday night. Humphreys County, Pike County, Laurel National and Greene County round out the eight-team field.
Columbia 12u begins its voyage into claiming a state title Friday afternoon at 4 against Yazoo City in Kosciusko. The all-stars will play either Wayne County or Cleveland in the second round Saturday. If it’s in the winners’ bracket, it will be at 1 p.m., and it would be at 9 a.m. in the losers’ bracket. A loss in the losers’ bracket would eliminate Columbia, while a victory would have it play at 5 p.m. in the third round.
The all-stars would play in the fourth round at either 1 p.m. or 3 p.m. Sunday and in the semifinals at 5. The championship will be at 6 Monday night, and the second game, if necessary, would be at 8.
Joining Columbia, Yazoo City, Cleveland and Wayne County in the tournament is Pike County, Laurel National, Sumrall, Kosciusko, Greene County, Philadelphia, Lincoln County and Pontotoc. The state champion will advance to the Ozone World Series in Ruston, La., Aug. 2 through Aug. 8.
In softball, the Columbia 8u and 10u squads are set to wrap up their summers in Picayune this weekend in the USSSA Southern Nationals. Brackets were not released by press time Tuesday, but 11 teams were registered in the 10u tournament and nine in the 8u tournament. Both teams won state titles in June. Play begins Friday and concludes Sunday.
