[Stardust]

What: Kentucky High School Athletic Association State Softball Tournament.

Where: Jack C. Fisher Park, Owensboro.

When: Thursday through Saturday.

Tickets: $5 for Thursday’s first-round games; $10 for all day Friday and $10 for all day Saturday. All-session passes good for Thursday, Friday and Saturday’s games are available for $15 each. Tickets can be purchased online 2012khsaasoftball.eventbrite.com.

Parking: Free.
Thursday's First-Round Games

Double-elimination format, all times central: Game 1 – Nicholas County (27-8) vs. Estill County (31-9), 5 p.m. Game 2 – Boyle County (30-11) vs. Oldham County (34-6), 5 p.m. Game 3 – North Laurel (35-5) vs. Ashland Blazer (25-4), 5 p.m. Game 4 – Christian County (31-6) vs. Ryle (20-13), 5 p.m. Game 5 – Louisville Mercy (31-8) vs. Bullitt East (27-9), 7 p.m. Game 6 – Scott County (32-7-1) vs. Greenwood (36-5), 7 p.m. Game 7 – Owensboro Catholic (29-10-2) vs. Johnson Central (30-10), 7 p.m. Game 8 – Lone Oak (35-4) vs. Green County (37-3), 7 p.m.
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Friday's Games

Game 9 – Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner, 9 a.m. Game 10 – Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 winner 9 a.m. Game 11 – Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner, 9 a.m. Game 12 – Game 7 winner vs. Game 8 winner, 9 a.m. Games 13, 14, 15 16 – Elimination Games, 11 a.m. Games 17, 18, 19, 20 – Elimination Games, 1 p.m. Game 21 – Game 9 winner vs. Game 10 winner, 3 p.m. Game 22 – Game 11 winner vs. Game 12 winner, 3 p.m. Games 23, 24 – Elimination Games, 5 p.m. Games 25,26 – Elimination Games, 7 p.m.
Saturday's Games

Game 27 (Winner’s bracket final) – Game 21 winner vs. Game 22 winner, 9 a.m. Game 28 (Elimination game) – Game 25 winner vs. Game 26 winner, 9 a.m. Game 29 (Loser’s bracket final) – Game 27 loser vs. Game 28 winner, 11 a.m. Game 30 (Championship game) – Game 27 winner vs. Game 29 winner, 1 p.m. Game 31 (If necessary) – If winner of Game 29 beats winner of Game 27 then game would immediately follow Game 30.

What to expect: The top two ranked teams in the final Kentucky High School Softball Coaches Association state poll – 2011 state champion Allen County-Scottsville and 2011 runner-up Louisville Ballard - were knocked out in their respective regional championship games, but there are still numerous quality teams in the tournament. There are 11 of the 16 teams who were ranked in the final top 25 poll, including six who were ranked in the top 10.

The team to beat is Greenwood, which finished No. 3 in the final coaches’ poll and beat Allen County-Scottsville in the 4th Region championship game, 4-3. Greenwood won the state championship in 2007.

Other top teams are: Louisville Mercy, which finished No. 4 in the final coaches’ poll; Christian County, which finished ranked fifth and is the first-round opponent of Ninth Region champion Ryle; Green County, which was ranked seventh; Scott County, which finished eighth; Owensboro Catholic, which finished ninth and has won state record five state titles (1998, 1998, 2003, 2005 and 2009) and North Laurel, which finished No. 10.http://nky.cincinnati.com/article/AB/201...news|text|