IESA Headlines

2018 IESA Girls Softball State Finals Begin This Friday in Normal

The 41st annual Illinois Elementary School Association (IESA) Girls Softball State Tournaments will be held this weekend (September 21-22) at Champion Fields in Normal. This is the 18th year that the tournament has been split into Class A and Class AA based on a school's 7th-8th grade enrollment. Over 230 schools entered the softball state series and began competition at the regional level.

The starting times of the games Friday and Saturday are staggered by class. The Class A quarterfinals begin Friday at 10:00 a.m. The Class AA quarterfinals get under way at 10:30 a.m. The four quarterfinal winners advance to semifinal games Saturday morning with the third place and championship games set for Saturday afternoon. On Saturday, the Class A semifinals get under way at 10:00 a.m. with the third place game set for 2:00 p.m. and the championship game at 4:00 p.m. The Class AA semifinals begin at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday with the third place game at 2:30 p.m. and the title game at 4:30 p.m.

The price of admission on Friday will be $5.00 for adults and high school students and $2.00 for students (K-8) and senior citizens (62 and over). Children younger than kindergarten are admitted free both days. The winning teams on Friday will play two games on Saturday. Fans attending the games Saturday will receive a wristband that is to be worn all day and will be used for entry to the facility throughout the day. The price of admission for the wristband Saturday will be $7.00 for adults and high school students and $3.00 for senior citizens (62 and over) and students (K-8).

Complete pairings for each state final, plus the FanZone, can be found at www.iesa.org. Click on the Girls Softball line in the orange box at the top of the IESA Web Site Home Page. Scores will be updated on the IESA website after each game.

IESA girls softball began in 1978 and was a one-class state series until 2001 before the split to Class A and Class AA competition bringing eight teams in each class to the state final.

Here is a look at each of the 2018 Softball State Final Tournaments:

For more information, please contact the IESA Softball Administrator Leslie Alappattu at 309-829-0114 or leslie@iesa.org.