With basketball and wrestling in the regional and state finals rounds, spring sports are starting to enter the spotlight where baseball and softball teams are set to open seasons this weekend.

Around Baldwin County, there are plenty of storylines between new coaches, new classifications for defending champions and postseason streaks for other programs that all get put on the line starting Thursday.

Bayshore Christian baseball moved up to Class 2A after two straight 1A titles thanks in part to the two-time 1A player of the year John Malone and Orange Beach softball jumped up to Class 4A after two 2A championships in a row in addition to increased enrollment.

Also on the Eastern Shore baseball diamond, Bayside Academy was Competitive Balance Factored up to Class 4A following a state runner-up and state quarterfinal finish the last two seasons in 3A.

Coaching trees cross paths

Some of the new head baseball coaches included Kyle Hunter and Charles Basford at Fairhope and Daphne, respectively. Both were former assistants at their schools where Hunter also spent seven years as head coach of the Baldwin County Tigers and recorded two straight state quarterfinal appearances.

Basford was an assistant in Daphne for six years before he led the Elberta program for two years and earned a Class 5A Area 1 title last season. The Trojans’ head coach for some of that time, Owen Davis, has now taken over the Warriors’ vacant head coaching job and will be the next skipper to lead Elberta.

Scarbrough’s stint in Foley starts Thursday

Another familiar face to be seen in a new dugout will be Tony Scarbrough who was named the newest head softball coach in Foley over the summer after 36 seasons at Baker which saw seven state championships and more than 1,700 wins.

Now Scarbrough will remain in the largest classification but moves from Area 2 to Area 1 where the Lions are joined by Fairhope and Daphne. Last year, Foley finished third in what was a four-team group and won only one game in the area tournament.

This year, the Lions open at home against Alma-Bryant as one of the first softball games of the year.

Opening Day schedules subject to change

The Robertsdale baseball team will be the first local squad to play a game with their road trip to St. Luke’s set to have the first pitch thrown at 3 p.m. instead of 3:30 p.m. in the face of projected rainstorms throughout the afternoon.

They’re followed closely by Bayside Academy, Gulf Shores and St. Michael Catholic which all have 4 p.m. first pitches scheduled to start the season. Below are games on the docket for Baldwin County teams this weekend according to Scorebook Live where all times and locations were subject to change.

Stay tuned to Gulf Coast Media’s social media for updates around the local diamonds and continued sports coverage around Baldwin County.

Local teams in action this weekend

BASEBALL

Thursday, Feb. 16
Robertsdale at St. Luke’s, 3 p.m.
Gulf Shores at McGill-Toolen (in Spanish Fort), 4 p.m.

MGM at Bayside Academy, 4 p.m.
St. Michael at Davidson, 4 p.m.
Bayshore Christian at Theodore, 5:30 p.m.
Faith Academy at Daphne, 5:30 p.m.
Baldwin County at Cottage Hill Christian, 6 p.m.
St. Paul’s at Spanish Fort, 6 p.m.

Friday, Feb. 17
Bayside Academy at McGill-Toolen (at UMS-Wright), 4 p.m.
Elberta at Faith Academy, 4 p.m.
Hillcrest at Orange Beach, 4 p.m.

St. Michael at MGM, 4 p.m.
Robertsdale at Fairhope, 5 p.m.
Foley at Murphy, 5:30 p.m.
Gulf Shores at Theodore, 6:30 p.m.
Prattville at Spanish Fort, 6:30 p.m.
Saraland at Daphne, 6:30 p.m.
Foley at Murphy, 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, Feb. 18
Bayside Academy at Hernando, 11 a.m.
Davidson at Orange Beach, 11 a.m.

St. Michael Catholic at Prattville, 11 a.m.
Northridge at Spanish Fort, 1:30 p.m.
Orange Beach at Cottage Hill Christian, 1:30 p.m.
Thomasville at Daphne, 1:30 p.m.
Shelby County at Fairhope, 2 p.m.

SOFTBALL

Thursday, Feb. 16
Alma-Bryant at Foley, 6:30 p.m.
Baldwin County at Satsuma, 6:30 p.m.
Daphne at MGM, 7 p.m.

Fairhope at Spanish Fort, 7 p.m.

Friday, Feb. 17
Hartselle at Gulf Shores, 3 p.m.
Hayden at Gulf Shores, 4:45 p.m.
Jackson and Theodore at Foley, 5:30 p.m.

Theodore at Daphne and Elberta, 7 p.m.
Elberta at Foley, 7 p.m.
Daphne at Foley and Elberta, 8:30 p.m.

Saturday, Feb. 18
Foley at MGM, 9 a.m.

Gulf Shores at Brooks, 9 a.m.
Elberta at Daphne and Theodore, 10 a.m.
Foley at Elberta, 11:30 a.m.
Foley at Daphne, noon
Daphne at Jackson, 1 p.m.
Elberta at MGM, 1:30 p.m.
Daphne at Foley, 1:30 p.m.
Foley at MGM, 2:30 p.m.
Theodore at Daphne, 3 p.m.