Adel-DeSoto-Minburn Softball Head Coach Lindsay Stanford explains how an upcoming change to the state tournament from the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union can make game scenarios interesting.

The IGHSAU has announced that beginning in 2026, the softball format will move from single elimination to double elimination. Stanford believes that it will be a good change because it will give teams another chance to fight their way back into the winning bracket. She says that in the five years that ADM has made the state tournament, when they’ve lost before the championship match, it seems to suck the air out of the players, even though they still have more games to play. Stanford outlines that girls who play outside of high school are accustomed to that style already.

“I think the girls playing travel ball, they’re used to that, like you can lose and you got to fight your way back, and never say die and that mentality of continuing to go out even if you might’ve had a bad game, there’s still something that you could be fighting for and the championship isn’t out of sight.”

Stanford is interested in seeing how that changes up the environment, as it will give teams opportunities to rebound from earlier losses. The IGHSAU notes that the Harlan Rogers Sports Complex in Fort Dodge has a five-year plan of adding three more championship fields for a total of five.