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By KEVIN ECKLEBERRY

Daily News

A new high-school softball season is almost here.

The Callaway, LaGrange, Troup, and LaGrange Academy softball teams will be on the field next week as the 2020 season gets underway.

All four teams will participate in the Callaway Classic, which will be held on Aug. 7 and Aug. 8 at Shuford Fields.

In addition to the four local teams, Brookstone, Rockmart, Shaw, Columbus, and Landmark Christian will participate in the Callaway Classic.

Callaway, LaGrange and Troup will be together once again on Aug. 22 for the Hope for a Day Classic at Callaway High.

Callaway and LaGrange play at 10 a.m., Troup and LaGrange meet at 11:45 a.m., and Callaway and Troup face off in the day’s final game at 1:30 p.m.

Each of the local teams has been holding summer workouts since early June, and official preseason practice will begin next week.

There has been some uncertainty during the summer about whether sports would be played during the fall because of the ongoing coronavirus issue, but Troup head coach Ryan Simpson said her players have been preparing as if there was no doubt about whether they’d play or not.

“We haven’t even mentioned to them, we might play, we might not play,” Simpson said. “It’s hey, our first game is Aug. 7.”

At Callaway, the players and coaches will get to take a test run with a preseason game against Lamar County on Tuesday, and that’ll be particularly valuable because of the new guidelines teams will have to follow because of the coronavirus.

“Lamar County is coming here for our scrimmage, so that’ll be great,” said Callaway head coach Robyn McCann. “That’ll give us an opportunity to either be wrong, or be right.”

LaGrange and LaGrange Academy, meanwhile, head into the fall with lofty expectations after tremendous 2019 seasons.

LaGrange Academy, with veteran coach Charles Parker leading the way, won the GISA Class A state championship, and most of the players from that team are returning.

LaGrange High finished second in Region 5-AAAA last season and reached the eight-team state finals in Columbus for the first time in more than a decade.

Every starter from that team is returning, including six seniors who have each been a part of the varsity program since they were freshmen.

CALLAWAY CLASSIC SCHEDULE 

AUG. 7

FIELD ONE

4 p.m. – Trinity vs. Hardaway

6 p.m. – Trinity vs. Callaway

FIELD TWO

4 p.m. – Callaway vs. Brookstone

FIELD THREE

4 p.m. – Troup vs. Rockmart

6 p.m. – Landmark vs. Rockmart

FIELD FOUR

4 p.m. – LaGrange Academy vs. Shaw

6 p.m. – Brookstone vs. Shaw

AUG. 8

FIELD ONE

10 a.m. – Troup vs. Dougherty

Noon – Troup vs. Trinity

2 p.m. – Columbus vs. Landmark

FIELD TWO

10 a.m. – Sandy Creek vs. Shaw

Noon – Sandy Creek vs. Landmark

2 p.m. – Shaw vs. Callaway

4 p.m. – Shaw vs. Trinity

FIELD THREE

10 a.m. – Rockmart vs. Columbus

Noon – LaGrange vs. Rockmart

2 p.m. – LaGrange vs. Dougherty

FIELD FOUR

10 a.m. – LaGrange Academy vs. Hardaway

Noon – Hardaway vs. Brookstone

2 p.m. – LaGrange Academy vs. Brookstone