Colbert Heights’ Trenisha King got some help from an old friend when it came to landing an opportunity to play junior college softball. Especially when new out-of-state scholarship reductions imposed on Mississippi junior colleges made the prospect of doing so somewhat uncertain.

King recently signed to play next year at Northeast Mississippi Community College, where she will join former Colbert Heights teammate Kristen Claunch.

King said Claunch helped make Northeast coaches aware of her, and that relationship might have helped King keep a spot in the recruiting class after a new rule cut the number of out-of-state players Northeast could sign from four to two.

“She told me they were having some problems with the number of recruits they could get out of state,” King said. “I was worried for a little bit. They called me back a couple weeks after that and I was one of the two recruits they picked. I had my eye on that school on that school for a little while, and they knew who I was from Kristen. But I felt pretty fortunate.”

King, who is entering her senior season this spring, was a first-team all-area selection as an infielder at Colbert Heights last year, batting an area-high .520 with 13 home runs, 18 doubles and 55 RBIs.

She also was one of the area’s top pitchers, and she looks forward to being part of a one-two punch with Claunch, who’s also a pitcher, again next year.

“I never thought in a million years that me and her would be going to the same college,” King said. “But I’m excited to be there with her because I’ve done it with her for so long and it will give me somebody to help me out and look up to. Some people might see it as a bad thing maybe because we’re so alike and we pitch the same, but I think it’s going to be good.”

Lauderdale County’s Jake Newton signs with Calhoun

This week wasn’t all about football players signing to play at the next level.

Lauderdale County’s Jake Newton took the next step in his baseball development, signing to play for Calhoun Community College next

season.

A middle infielder, Newton batted .396 with 15 doubles, nine triples, eight home runs and 50 RBIs as a junior for the Tigers during their run to the Class 3A semifinals last year.

He also had a 3.14 ERA and a 4-0 record as a pitcher and was a first-team all-area and all-state selection.

A three-sport athlete at Lauderdale County, Newton said baseball is his first love,

“I’ve always wanted to play baseball at the next level, and it feels real good to be able to,” he said. “I was real anxious about signing and I was real eager to get it over with.

“I think I’m a real coachable person, and I’m just going to do whatever the coach tells me to do. I’m just trying to become a better baseball player. Hopefully it will work out for me in the long run.”

Florence’s Twesme signs for golf

Florence golfer Patrick Twesme also recently committed to a junior college, signing to play for Wallace State next year.

Twesme was a first-team all-area selection as a junior last year. He advanced from a tough section and made it through sub-state to the state tournament, where he finished 18th.

New playoff format

for volleyball

Taking a cue from its basketball postseason, the AHSAA approved plans last week to institute a “super regional” format for the volleyball playoffs beginning this fall.

The new format combines four regional tournaments statewide into two super regionals, eliminates the sub-state round and, like the state volleyball tournament and basketball regionals, will feature teams from all six classifications playing at the same site.

The old format used high school sites for regional tournaments, which only included teams from the host school’s classification.

Huntsville’s Von Braun Center will host the North Super Regional and Montgomery’s new multi-purpose complex at Cramton Bowl was approved to host the South Super Regional.

“This is the first year, and I’m sure there will be some kinks to work out, but we’re really excited about it,” Lexington volleyball coach Melissa Hammond said.

“It seems like it would get you more prepared for the state tournament because of the atmosphere and everything. Having Class 1A through 6A is just like how it is at state. When you’re just going to another high school to play in the regionals, there’s not comparison to the atmosphere there to how it is at the state tournament.”

The new playoff format includes three rounds. The top two finishers in each area tournament will advance to the super regional tournaments, each of which will include 96 teams total from all six classifications. The top four finishers in each classification from each super regional advance to the Elite Eight state

tournament.

Also last week, the AHSAA Central Board approved keeping Oakville Indian Mounds Park near Moulton as the site for the state cross country championships for the next three years.

Bryan App can be reached at

256-740-5730 or bryan.app@

TimesDaily.com.