BREAKING: Clay-Chalkville will play in area tournament Wednesday

From Trussville Tribune staff reports

CLAY — A last-minute change to the Class 6A, Area 12 tournament now has Pinson Valley and Gardendale playing in the winner’s bracket finals Tuesday at 4 p.m. The loser of that game will then take on Clay-Chalkville in the loser’s bracket final on Wednesday at 4 p.m. with the championship game at 6 p.m. to follow.

The change in schedule was due to senior team members at Clay-Chalkville opting to attend their senior awards night banquet, honoring themselves and their classmates, rather than attend the softball game scheduled for Tuesday night.

Without those three athletes, Clay-Chalkville would have been forced to forfeit their final game and would have faced a potential fine from the Alabama High School Athletic Association.

“Gardendale is being very gracious in rescheduling the games for our girls,” Clay-Chalkville Principal Michael Lee said. “We appreciate the help of the AHSAA and Jefferson County Board of Education for their work in making sure our team can participate in both events.”

The event the seniors are attending Tuesday night is an award ceremony that includes representatives from several state colleges, including the Univ. of Alabama, Auburn Univ. and UAB, awarding scholarships to students.

“This is not a simple awards banquet,” Lee said. “This is an awards program that has been on our schedule since last year’s event. We have to schedule our auditorium well in advance because of the number of events in the auditorium during the spring. We scheduled this before the AHSAA tournament dates were set.”

Clay-Chalkville lost 15-0 to Pinson Valley Monday, but defeated Center Point to advance to the loser’s bracket finals.