The baseball state playoffs begin Wednesday with 128 first-round series in seven classifications, each played as a best-of-three series at the home fields of the higher-seeded teams.
Here's a quick look at the first round. Brackets can be found here.
Defending champs/teams to beat: The reigning champions are Parkview (AAAAAAA), Pope (AAAAAA), Loganville (AAAAA), Jefferson (AAAA), Lovett (AAA), Benedictine (AA), Tattnall Square (A private) and Gordon Lee (A public). Jefferson and Benedictine aren't technically defending. Jefferson moved down, and Benedictine up, into AAA this season. Every 2018 champion except Lovett, the Region 4-AAA runner-up this year, won region titles this season. (Pace Academy won Lovett's tough region.) As far as teams to beat, aside from those, Bremen is No. 1 in AA now that Benedictine has moved out. Bremen's last state title came in 1990. Nationally ranked Blessed Trinity is ranked No. 1 in AAAA. Winder-Barrow is No. 1 in AAAAAA. Winder's last title came in 1979.
Best players: Ringgold center fielder Andre Tarver (signed with Mississippi State), Parkview catcher Jonathan French (Clemson), Lakeside-Evans pitcher Will Childers (Georgia), Collins Hill shortstop Nasim Nunez (Clemson) and Blessed Trinity shortstop C.J. Abrams (Alabama) are Under Armour All-Americans who'll likely go high in the June MLB Draft. French's Parkview team and Abrams' Blessed Trinity team have been considered Georgia's best pair in any classification according to national polls.
Best first-round matchups: Jefferson (24-1), the 2018 AAAA champion and ranked No. 1 in AAA, will play host to Westminster (15-12), the 2018 AAA runner-up. There are no series between top-10 teams in the first round, but using MaxPreps ratings, No. 10 Mountain View (20-9) vs. No. 11 Brookwood (21-9) should be a good one in AAAAAAA. The only other first-round series in any classification between 20-game winners are Riverwood (21-3) vs. East Paulding (20-8) in AAAAA and Northside-Columbus (22-7) vs. Eastside (23-3) in AAAA.
New to the state playoffs: Seven schools are in the GHSA state playoffs for the first time. They are ACE Charter (Class A), Apalachee (AAAAAA), Cherokee Bluff (AAA), Denmark (AAAA), East Jackson (AAA), Hampton (AAAA) and Trinity Christian (A). Cherokee Bluff of Hall County and Denmark of Forsyth County are new schools. Trinity, a private school in Coweta County, is new to the GHSA but had made the state playoffs in the Georgia Independent School Association. Apalachee, opened in 2000 in Barrow County, is the oldest of the newcomers.
Seeking first state-playoff win: Eight schools in the playoffs are looking for their first playoff victories. They are Chattooga (AA), Hapeville Charter (AA), Haralson County (AAA), Maynard Jackson (AAAAA), Mount Zion of Jonesboro (AAAAAA), Savannah Country Day (A), South Atlanta (AA) and Washington (AA). Chattooga, a northwest Georgia school, has lost nine first-round series but is home this week as a No. 2 seed from Region 7 and faces McNair of DeKalb County. South Atlanta has lost first-round series. South Atlanta is the Region 6-AA champion and faces Model of Rome at home in the first round.
Next: The second round is May 2-3, the quarterfinals May 8-9, the semifinals May 14-15 and the finals May 20-22. Only the championship series will be played on neutral fields.
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