State softball tournament will move to single-elimination format in 2019

The Kentucky High School Athletic Association on Wednesday voted to change the state softball tournament format to a single-elimination event effective beginning in the 2019 season.

The Board of Control also voted to not use the international tiebreaker rule in the 2018 state tournament, which it had previously decided to do.

The KHSAA’s site agreement with Jack C. Fisher Park in Owensboro also is up for review after this season’s state tournament. Knowing what the format will look was important for the organization to identify before pursuing a renewal in Owensboro or exploring alternative bids.

Any interested site will have to be able to block off four days for the event. Currently the state softball tournament is contested as a double-elimination event over three days. The change was precipitated by a desire to reduce stress on the arms of pitchers — some girls will throw hundreds of pitches in a single day as their team tries to make rally in the loser’s bracket — and to make it better resemble the state baseball tournament, which is a single-elimination event. The tournament would still be played using winners from each of the 16 regions.

“You’ve got to be able to not say that we can have it every day but Friday, every day but Saturday, then you start looking at the hotels and some of the community support, etcetera,” KHSAA Commissioner Julian Tackett said of considerations for a potential site. “But first you’ve got to find a facility. I think the number one thing you can do is start looking for a place that’s built for softball. That’s what I think the softball community wants more than anything. Just like Whitaker (Bank Ballpark) is built for baseball, we need something that’s built for softball, and not necessarily slow-pitch and retrofitted.”

This story was originally published February 21, 2018 at 1:04 PM with the headline "State softball tournament will move to single-elimination format in 2019."