AHSAA agrees to keep baseball, softball championships locally for next five years

Dec. 8—The Alabama High School Athletic Association has agreed to keep the state baseball and softball championships in Calhoun County for the next five years.

The AHSAA announced in a news release that an agreement has been reached between the city of Oxford and Jacksonville State University to host the annual championships. Oxford's Choccolocco Park will host softball, while JSU's Jim Case Stadium and Choccolocco Park will host baseball through 2027.

The eight-team AHSAA state softball championships moved to Choccolocco Park in 2021 and returned in 2022. With the baseball championships, Choccolocco Park hosted Game 1 in each best-of-3 championship series for each of the AHSAA's seven classifications in 2022. The second and third games, if needed, were placed at JSU's baseball stadium in 2022.

"We are excited to have our state championships in both sports locked in for the next five years and hopefully for many years to come," AHSAA Executive Director Alvin Briggs said in the news release. "Our experience with softball at Choccolocco Park and baseball last spring at Choccolocco Park and JSU was incredible. We had packed crowds for most of our games. Both sites provided real championship experiences and life-long memories for our teams, schools and communities that traveled to attend."

The baseball championships will be May 15-20, 2023, while the softball tournament is set for May 17-21, 2023.

"We are grateful to host the state softball finals at Choccolocco Park and to co-host the AHSAA state baseball finals with Jacksonville State University," Oxford Mayor Alton Craft said. "The city of Oxford is proud to partner with the Alabama High School Athletic Association for these premier championships, and we are looking forward to creating memorable experiences for our participants and guests."

Added Oxford Parks and Recreation Director Don Hudson: "We are very proud to host the 2023 state softball tournament and co-host the 2023 state baseball tournament. We are very pleased we have such a great working relationship with the AHSAA. We are honored to host such a prestigious event."

JSU President Don Killingsworth said in the release that his school is excited to host the baseball championship games.

"Jacksonville State is excited about continuing our longstanding relationship with the AHSAA in hosting the baseball state championships for the next five years," he said. "We look forward to partnering with the city of Oxford in hosting this tremendous event."

Added JSU athletics director Greg Seitz: "Jacksonville State couldn't be more excited to secure the AHSAA Baseball Finals at Jim Case Stadium for the next five years. We felt that the event in 2022 was a tremendous success and are proud to be a part of that going forward. Our partnership with hosting AHSAA events goes back many years, and we look forward to crowning state champions on our campus and hosting those student-athletes and their fans for many years to come."