Jacksonville State, Oxford darling hosts for AHSAA baseball finals. Coaches say keep it that way

JACKSONVILLE — Chris Heaps knows a thing or two about playing in AHSAA championship games.

Heaps took over as the baseball coach at Russellville in 2013 and has led the Golden Tigers to five Class 5A state championships.

So when he heaped praise on venues at Jacksonville State and Choccolocco Park hosting state championship series this season, it held water.

"We love going to Choccolocco and playing, it’s a great venue"  Heaps said. "I thought the atmosphere was great, fields were in awesome shape. I liked the playing surfaces here better than what we’ve had in the past. I’ll be honest with you, I don’t know if they plan to keep it here, but I’d be totally fine with it."

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The state championship series has been played at Montgomery's Riverwalk Stadium and Paterson Field since 2000.

This year, a conflict in schedules created the move to Choccolocco Park in Oxford and Rudy Abbott Field in Jacksonville. The announcement was made in January.

"The feedback that we've heard from the coaches players and the fans has been nothing but positive," Jacksonville State athletics director Greg Seitz said.

"I think that our relationship and partnership with the AHSAA and hosting Northeast Regional certainly has allowed us the opportunity to put our best foot forward and to give everybody a great experience."

Heaps was not the only coach to praise the venues following six games in Oxford and 11 games at Rudy Abbot Field.

"I love Choccolocco Park and JSU," Etowah coach Blake Bone said. "I think it was a great venue. I wouldn't mind seeing it here. Everybody here treated us well. We got a police escort today, that was a great experience for (the players) to come over here."

The softball championship tournament also is held at Choccolocco Park, something AHSAA Executive Director Alvin Briggs said could play a role in where the state championships are played in the future.

The AHSAA had staff members traveling back-and-forth throughout the week between Oxford and Jacksonville, with the two venues approximately 30 minutes apart.

"Greg Seitz and his staff, the city of Jacksonville and the city of Oxford have been first class," Briggs said. "We knew that coming over here because (they host) our (North Regional in) basketball. We weren't expecting anything less than first class.

"After this is over, we will assess where we are and go from there. We'll have some discussions and see if we can figure out what we need to do going forward."

Briggs did not specify a timeline for making a decision on the future. The AHSAA still has one year remaining on its contract with Montgomery, but with Major League Baseball in charge of scheduling for the minor league Montgomery Biscuits, the future is unclear.

"This is something that we want to host again," Seitz said. "We have Choccolocco Park and the city of Oxford being able to host first game and us the (second and third) games, I think is such a great partnership for all involved."

Riverwalk Stadium, home to the Biscuits, the Double-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays, has dimensions built for minor league baseball teams. Multiple coaches agreed the dimensions at JSU are better suited for high school ball.

Another factor: Riverwalk Stadium has a capacity of 7,000 fans. Rudy Abbot Field has a smaller capacity of 2,020.

"I think this was more fan-friendly and a better environment for high school," Piedmont coach Matt Deerman said. "The stadium isn't as big and the fans are right on top of you. It feels like a bigger crowd. The dimensions make it more high school friendly."

As is the case when state championship series are held in Montgomery, certain local teams benefit from the proximity.

Piedmont, roughly 15 minutes from Jacksonville, had noticeable fan support during Game 1 of Class 3A last Monday. Attendance announced was 1,842. Two-thirds of the crowd favored the local team. Capacity for the park is 2,020.

"It's a dream come true for these kids to get played in their hometown basically," Deerman said. "And then to play on in this great facility. It was it was electric."

Etowah, which played in the Class 4A state championship series, is approximately 40 minutes away.

"It was fun," Etowah junior Andrew Pierce said. "I saw a lot of relatives. I'm not sure everyone in the stands could make it if was somewhere else. It was awesome being close to home, seeing family and friends in the stands."

Jacob Shames contributed reporting to this story.

Contact Ehsan Kassim at 256-300-5313 or ekassim@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @Ehsan_Kassim.

This article originally appeared on The Gadsden Times: AHSAA baseball championships: Jacksonville State makes strong impression