Harrison, Creekview, Jefferson and West Laurens were among 8 GHSA softball champions crowned at South Commons. Harris County was the nearest team in the final eight.

Eight Georgia high school softball teams left Columbus as state champions this week. The Georgia High School Association’s fast-pitch finals ran Wednesday through Saturday at the South Commons Softball Complex, with the Columbus Sports Council as host, according to the GHSA championship page.

No Muscogee County School District team reached the final eight. The nearest team that did was Harris County, from Hamilton, about 17 miles north. It won two games at South Commons before it was knocked out.

The 8 champions

Each class played an eight-team, double-elimination tournament. These are the title games as recorded in the GHSA’s own brackets.

Class Champion Title game Runner-up
AAAAAAA Harrison 15-0 Buford
AAAAAA Creekview 5-4 South Effingham
AAAAA Jefferson 12-3 Central (Carrollton)
AAAA West Laurens 6-3, 12-7 North Hall
AAA Sonoraville 2-0 Appling County
AA Gordon Lee 5-4 Vidalia
A Trion 6-2 Wheeler County
Private Mount Paran Christian 17-7 Prince Avenue Christian

West Laurens took the long road. It lost its semifinal to North Hall 13-5, came back through the elimination bracket and then beat North Hall twice in the final. The scores come from the Class AAAA tournament bracket.

Harris County’s run

Harris County reached Columbus through two playoff series. It swept Mundy’s Mill 17-0 and 16-0, then St. Pius X 8-0 and 16-3, according to the Class AAAAA playoff bracket.

At South Commons, the Class AAAAA tournament bracket shows Harris County:

  • beat Starr’s Mill 1-0 in the first round
  • lost 6-5 to Jefferson, the eventual champion, in the quarterfinals
  • beat Wayne County 6-5 in the elimination bracket
  • lost 7-3 to Central (Carrollton), the eventual runner-up

How Columbus teams did

Four Columbus high schools made the state playoffs. All four went out in the first-round series.

  • Northside took Jackson County to a third game in Class AAAAAA. It lost 12-0, won 7-4 and then lost 10-2, according to the Class AAAAAA playoff bracket.
  • Hardaway lost 18-1 and 17-2 to West Laurens, which went on to win the Class AAAA title.
  • Shaw lost 16-2 and 16-0 to Fayette County.
  • Columbus High lost 7-0 and 7-0 to Calhoun.

The Class AAAA results are on the Class AAAA playoff bracket.

What it means for you

The softball season is over for every Columbus school. Football and the rest of the fall schedule carry on, and our high school scoreboard and Friday night football guide have this week’s games.

The GHSA says the NFHS Network streamed every state tournament game. Schools and families who want to send us photos from the tournament, or a team’s season result, can reach us through our contact page.