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Portageville softball team moving from fall to spring season
PORTAGEVILLE, Mo. -- The Portageville softball team will continue its chase for its first state championship, but they won't be doing it in the fall.
After a unanimous vote by the school board, the softball team switched its season from fall to spring, which will take place beginning in the 2016-17 school year.
The change was primarily made to give girls the opportunity to play both volleyball and softball. With both sports competing the same season, it limited opportunities according to Portageville athletic director Jim Bidewell.
"Being a small school and having both sports it gives our girls the opportunity to play both volleyball and softball," he said.
Portageville, which enrolls 244 high school students according to the last MSHSAA count, made the switch from spring to fall after the 2012-13 season and have competed in the fall state playoffs the past three seasons. The Bulldogs finished third in the state tournament the past two seasons with a combined 49-13 record.
There was no push back or opposition on moving from an, arguably, more competitive fall league to the spring.
"It was unanimous," Bidewell said. "Everything went smooth."
Putting the transition at ease for most was the launch of the spring playoff two seasons ago. Previously, spring acted as a non-championship sport but that changed during the 2013-14 school year when spring received its own postseason tournament. Kennett is the two-time defending spring softball champions who competed alongside New Madrid County Central, Malden and Scott City last spring.
"If there was not a spring state tournament then we would probably still be in the fall," Bidewell said. "In the past, there wasn't anything to play for. Now that there is, it gives our girls the opportunity to participate in volleyball if they want to and not have to choose."