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PAGE 7B May 2026
No. 1 Jax State overcame a 4-0 deficit to earn its first CUSA Softball Championship crown with a 7-4 victory over No. 3 Liberty on Saturday, May 9, 2026. Designated player Amber Reed tallied a pair of RBIs, including a game-tying sac fly as part of a four-run fourth inning and a run-scoring double in the home half of the sixth that served as the game-winning run. Outfielder Kailey Martin put the nail in the coffin with a two-run shot on the ensuing at-bat. Pitcher Mackinley Portillo (9-6) earned the win after controlling the Liberty lineup in 4.2 innings of relief, allowing just one run on two hits with a pair of strikeouts. With the title game on the line, she retired the final six batters of the game to secure the victory. Reed and Portillo were joined on the CUSA Softball Championship All-Tournament Team by infielder Jaci Underwood, outfielder Haleigh Cushingberry and Morgan Nowakowski, the championship’s Most Valuable Player. Nowakowski hit .636 (7-11) with eight RBIs, which is tied for the second most in a tournament in CUSA Softball Championship history. The Lady Flames (29-28) opened the scoring with back-to-back home runs from Brynn McManus and Savannah Jessee, who both continued their impressive runs at the CUSA Softball Championship. Both were honored for their efforts on the all-tournament squad after combining for 14 RBIs, eight runs and four homeruns. The Gamecocks learned their regional placement during the 2026 NCAA Division I Softball Selection Show on Sunday, May 10, on ESPN. Jacksonville State was selected to the Tallahassee Regional. The Gamecocks opened the regional tournament with a 2-1 loss to No. 6 UCF. In the elimination game, Jax State fell to No. 3 Florida State 11-0 in five innings. Jacksonville was making its first NCAA Softball Tournament appearance since 2018. 2026 State Baseball Finals JSU Softball Wins CUSA Title Below is the AHSAA 2026 State Baseball Finals schedule. The games will be placed a both Choccolocco Park in Oxford and at Jacksonville State University. Monday, May 18, 2026 (Oxford) 2A Game 1: Ariton (32-8) vs. Mars Hill Bible (30-10), 4 PM Tuesday, May 19, 2026 (JSU) 2A Game 2: Ariton (32-8) vs. Mars Hill Bible (30-10), 10 AM At CHOCCOLOCCO PARK, OXFORD 4A Game 1: Bibb County vs. Westbrook Christian, 11 AM 3A Game 1: Gordo (34-8) vs. Glenwood (33-8), 2 PM Wednesday, May 20, 2026 (JSU) 4A Game 2: Bibb County vs. Westbrook Christian, 10 AM 3A Game 2: Gordo (34-8) vs. Glenwood (33-8), 4 PM At CHOCCOLOCCO PARK, OXFORD 6A Game 1: Hartselle (31-11) vs. Spain Park (35-8), 11 AM 1A Game 1: Hubbertville vs. Fayetteville (21-18), 2 PM Thursday, May 21, 2026 (JSU) 6A Game 2: Hartselle (31-11) vs. Spain Park, 10 AM 1A Game 2: Hubbertville vs. Fayetteville (21-18), 4 PM At CHOCCOLOCCO PARK, OXFORD 5A Game 1: American Christian vs. Faith Academy, 11 AM 7A Game 1: Hewitt-Trussville (32-9) vs. Auburn, 2 PM Friday, May 22, 2026 (JSU) 5A Game 2: American Christian vs. Faith Academy, 10 AM 7A Game 2: Hewitt-Trussville (32-9) vs. Auburn, 4 PM
Submitted Photo New Athletic Park Opens Gadsden State Community College celebrated the official opening of its new athletic park with a ribbon cutting ceremony on Thursday, April 30, 2026 bringing together college leadership, community partners, alumni and supporters. The event, held in the courtyard area of the new complex, highlighted the college’s continued investment in student-athletes and campus facilities, as well as the strong partnerships between the college, the city and the Alabama Community College System. The athletic park serves as a major enhancement to Gadsden State’s athletics program, providing modern facilities for competition, recruitment and community engagement. Alabama Red Snapper Season
Courtesy of David Rainer Alabama Dept. of Conservation and Natural Resources Anglers who fish in Alabama waters will gain more access to the state’s iconic reef fish, the American red snapper, starting the Friday before Memorial Day. Instead of incorporating weekend openings for part of the red snapper season, the 2026 season for private recreation anglers and state-licensed charter boats will be open seven days a week, starting May 22, 2026. The season will remain open until the NOAA Fisheries allocation of 664,552 pounds is projected to be met or December 31, 2026, whichever comes first. “Under state management we have the ability to adapt our red snapper season to meet the needs of anglers who fish in Alabama,” said Chris Blankenship, Commissioner of the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (ADCNR). “With the season open 7 days a week, it will give our private anglers and state licensed charter boats more flexibility when planning their fishing trips so they can fish when the weather and sea conditions are favorable. We are excited to provide more opportunities to catch red snapper this year and anticipate another successful season.” Charter boats that are federally permitted are regulated by NOAA Fisheries and follow federal guidelines. The season for federally permitted for-hire reef fish vessels will open at 12:01 a.m., local time, on June 1, 2026, and will close at 12:01 a.m., local time, October 26, 2026. Kevin Anson, ADCNR’s Marine Resources Division (MRD) Director, said the estimated harvest for private recreational anglers and state-licensed charter boats was 623,029 pounds of red snapper in 2025, about 40,000 pounds below the season allocation. MRD monitors the reef fish harvest through Snapper Check, a mandatory reporting system for red snapper, greater amberjack and gray triggerfish. The University of South Alabama (USA) will conduct the phone survey for the first time this year. Select anglers started receiving the calls from USA in January 2026. Anglers selected to participate in the phone survey will see the call listed as coming from AL FISH SURVEY. Anglers receiving the AL Creel survey by email will see the “University of South Alabama” in the from field of the email. During the 2025 red snapper season, MRD projected the allocation would not be met and opened the season seven days a week September 1 through the end of 2025. “That was good in respect that we tried to give anglers as much opportunity without changing the size limit or bag limit by opening up to seven days a week so we could try to reach our quota,” Anson said. “We had a good run near the end of the year when we had good weather. All in all, I felt like it was a good season.” Since state management of red snapper season went into effect on a temporary basis in 2018 (permanent in 2020), MRD has been able to provide anglers with much improved access to the fish. Under federal management, the red snapper season was as short as only three days, which prompted a rush for anglers to get on the water no matter the weather or sea conditions. “Every year that we have been operating under state management and moved away from the federal management and the very short federal seasons, the derby mentality appears to have slowly disappeared and faded from people’s memories,” Anson said. “Now, when snapper season opens, I think most people think it will be open as long as most people would like it to be open. For snapper season to be open the time of year they like to go fishing, when it’s warm and the winds aren’t so bad, I believe a lot of anglers are happy with state management and how the seasons have been managed here lately.” Anson said about the only complaint he has received is about the size of red snapper caught.
“The management path that has been chosen is one to give access to the fish with not as much regard to the size of fish harvested,” he said. “With multiple years of providing folks with as much opportunity to catch fish that has resulted in an average size of fish that is lower than what it was when we transitioned from federal management. Under federal management, the fish were much larger but at a cost of the number of days to fish. The very short seasons curtailed a lot of harvest. Lot of people were high grading (keeping only the large fish) at that time, which artificially inflated the size of the fish that were coming to the dock.” Anson said a federal stock assessment is due to be released by the end of 2026. “Depending on the results of that assessment, there may be some changes for 2027,” he said. “They have been very tight-lipped about any preliminary results.” MRD also utilizes USA’s Stokes School of Marine and Environmental Sciences to monitor the red snapper off the Alabama coast. “Since 2011, we have funded a survey with (USA’s) Dr. Sean Powers, who conducts the survey independently from us,” Anson said. " He uses his data to come up with an annual estimate of red snapper abundance. We have not received the 2025 data yet, but his research indicated the fish were a little smaller in 2024 compared to 3 to 4 years earlier. The smaller fish aligns with our dockside surveys, but his data also seems to show that there were more red snapper compared to earlier years.” The daily bag limit will be two red snapper per person per day with a minimum size limit of 16 inches total length. Anglers 16 years of age and older must have an Alabama saltwater fishing license (resident or non- resident, annual or trip), and any Alabama resident 65 or older or a lifetime saltwater license holder must have a current saltwater angler registration. The saltwater angler registration is free and available at www.outdooralabama. com/saltwater-fishing/saltwater-angler-registration. All anglers 16 years of age and older who possess Gulf reef fish, including red snapper, must have an Alabama Gulf Reef Fish Endorsement, available at www.outdooralabama.com/saltwater-fishing/saltwater- reef-fish-endorsement. Anglers under the age of 16 are not required to be licensed, possess an Alabama Gulf Reef Fish Endorsement or have saltwater angler registration, but their catch must be included in a landing report. In addition to Snapper Check, MRD’s AL Creel recreational fishing survey was recently approved and certified by NOAA Fisheries. “We are excited that AL Creel has received federal certification from NOAA Fisheries,” said Chris Blankenship, ADCNR Commissioner. “Transitioning to the AL Creel survey will allow our fishery managers to provide more accurate recreational fishing estimates that will aid in the development of timely management strategies specific to Alabama. This will benefit both our anglers and Alabama’s marine resources.” The new program has been conducted concurrently with the NOAA Fisheries Access Point Angler Intercept Survey (APAIS). After an extensive review, AL Creel recently received federal certification. Beginning in 2027, MRD plans to continue AL Creel, and NOAA Fisheries will discontinue funding of APAIS. The AL Creel survey conducts dockside interviews of recreational saltwater anglers. Weekly phone or email surveys are gathered from private anglers and state for-hire licensed vessel captains/owners (not federally permitted vessel captains/owners) to assess their fishing activities from the previous week. The catch and fishing effort information is combined to determine weekly recreational catch estimates for many managed finfish.
Photo by David Holtsford, AHSAA STATE CHAMPIONS Altamont’s William McClain (13) and Susan Moore’s Jhosue Cervantes (4) battle for position in the 2026 AHSAA 1A/3A Boys’ State Soccer finals. Susan Moore (21-2-2) roared out to a 2-0 lead over Altamont and stayed calm even when the Knights tied the match at 2-2. The Bulldogs scored two late goals in the final 90 seconds to seal a 4-2 victory. It is the Blount County school system's first-ever state soccer championship.
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