It was a near-perfect set-up for Southwest Washington softball fans, that day in 2005.
On one field at the South End Recreation Area in Tacoma, Prairie was playing for the Class 4A state championship. A few yards away on the next field over, Columbia River was playing for a Class 3A state championship.
There were some fans who would watch a few pitches here, then walk over there to see a few pitches from the other game.
If the same thing happens this season — if two Clark County teams are playing in the 4A and 3A championship games — fans will need the Millennium Falcon, with its light speed in working order, to watch both games.
The 4A and 3A state softball tournaments have been split up. And not just by a few blocks or a few miles. Spokane is the new home for the 4A tournament. Lacey will be the new digs for the 3A tournament.
Gone are the days when three, four, or five teams from Clark County will be playing at the same facility throughout the final two days of the softball season.
Surely, the moves will affect turnout from Southwest Washington fans. Parents will follow their children anywhere, and a handful of faithful fans will travel, too.
But in years past, if a Clark County team would win a semifinal game on a Saturday morning, word would spread quickly, and fans would get in their cars for the two-hour trip and make it to Tacoma in time for the championship game.
Don’t suppose anyone will be boarding a flight from PDX to Spokane if a Clark County 4A team makes it to the finals this season. And we doubt there will be too many students making the journey to Spokane for the Friday portion of the tournament. It could be lonely over there for our teams.
Don’t think that it is unlikely for a team from Clark County or the rest of the teams in the Greater St. Helens leagues to make the finals, or that it’s a rare feat.
Last year, Kelso beat Heritage in the Class 4A state title game. Mountain View made it to title game in 2007. Prairie won it all in 2006, after losing in the final in 2005, the same year River played for a title.
History has shown that if you survive the 4A or 3A Greater St. Helens League, there is a good chance at a long state playoff run. Kelso won the past two 4A titles and now is a 3A team.
And I’ve only noted the championship game participants from the past six years. Almost every other year there are teams that make the semifinals, or advance through the consolation bracket. Just two years ago, Union and Prairie played for third place.
While fans will no longer be able to watch both tournaments, those who attend either tournament will enjoy modern, safer facilities.
That was a big reason for the change, according to Mike Colbrese, the executive director of the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association.
Requests from the WIAA to Tacoma to make changes to SERA were denied. The WIAA wanted netting over the four main fields at SERA, where most of the fans gather to talk about the tournament, buy concessions and merchandise, or look at the official bracket.
“Heads!” warnings shouted throughout the tournament were not enough for some fans to escape a knock to the noggin by a softball — which, by the way, is not that soft.
The new homes in Spokane and Lacey have higher backstops, limiting the screaming foul ball/missiles that target the poor dude buying a hot dog.
The downside is that each facility has four softball fields, not six, such as SERA.
There are a couple of other places with six or more fields, which would allow for two classifications in one locale, but Colbrese said those either had safety concerns such as SERA or the availability of the fields could not be guaranteed to the WIAA for the duration of the tournaments.
From The Columbian’s point of view, our coverage likely will look a little different.
Spring sports championships are difficult on Sports staffs anyway. Softball, baseball, boys soccer, track and field, and tennis are all decided on the same day in the different classifications in various locations throughout the state.
We will do our best with the limited resources, but darn, we will miss 4A and 3A softball — traditionally a wonderful experience for Clark County teams — in the same place.
Paul Valencia covers high school sports for The Columbian. He can be reached at 360-735-4557 or e-mail at paul.valencia@columbian.com.
