From our friends at PYAA:
Welcome to the 2026 Southern States Championship. Saturday should be a fun day of competing for the girls and we’re ecstatic for them to have a shot at claiming the first Southern States Championship!
The Southern States Championship will be played at Friendship Park in Picayune, MS. Shared below is the address and attached is a map of the fields. We’ll be running 4 turf fields Saturday, Fields 1-4, and we did our best to schedule the games so the action stays moving.
Friendship Park
1701 S. Haugh Ave.
Picayune, MS 39466
Some reminders for Saturday:
1. There will only be one gate station on Saturday coming in from Highway 43 on South Haugh Avenue. If you are coming in from the West/South, if your GPS routes you to get off of the Nicholson exit, please note that the gate on Friendship Park road coming off of Hwy. 11 will be closed 🚫. Easiest route would just be to get off the South Picayune exit and take Hwy. 43 to South Haugh Avenue.
2. Cash only at the gate. Adults $10 (12 and older), Kids – $5 (Ages 6-11), and Ages 5 and under FREE.
3. PAP only, no team registration fee. $35 6U-8U; $50 10U-12U.
4. Playing Rules: rules for the Southern States Championship are attached. Please familiarize yourself with your age division and have your team and lineup prepared once the prior game is complete.
5. We are providing game balls.
6. In addition to the facility’s restrooms, we’ll have a 4-stall restroom trailer w/ AC set up.
7. We have a stocked concession stand ready to serve you. Cash and cards are accepted at the concession stand.
8. It’s HOT – tents are okay and encouraged. Let’s just do our best to keep them out of paths and walkways.
A few final notes:
Tom Stanley of USA Softball of South MS stepped up to provide some help with this tournament so I really want to give him a shoutout and kudos for the support. He has put a tremendous amount of time and years into doing this. I’m not sure if he ever really gets a break. So if you see him around on Saturday, please give him a shout for helping with this tournament so that the kiddos have this opportunity to play.
Another note – Austin Lee is the UIC for this tournament and he prides himself on getting the rules right. Umpires are human and no one is perfect. No one knows that whole rule book. But Austin has been doing this a while and spends countless hours reviewing scenarios relating to the rules. His crew is committed to upholding the rules as they stand and maintaining a quality level of play.
Lastly, it means the world to me that every one of you played a huge part in making this tournament happen. I believe it’s going to be something we can all look back on in a few years and just think of where it all started. You are an integral part of what I believe can become something amazing for the Southern region of rec softball. This is the culmination and you made it come together! Many of you committed to this only within the past two weeks and I understand how hard that is to get your parents on board and your team prepared and ready. Really excited for y’all and excited to watch all these talented girls play some quality ball while having FUN on Saturday. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach me at (601) 347-4783.
Good luck to everyone and look forward to seeing you and meeting you on Saturday!
Many thanks,
Hoyt Hughes
