The baseball championship of Cherokee County will be played out at Truist Park this week as Etowah and Woodstock are set to decide the Class 7A championship in a best-of-three series that begins Friday at the Braves’ home field.
Both swept their semifinal series against Gwinnett County teams this week, Woodstock over defending champion Parkview 4-3, 6-4 and Etowah over Mill Creek 3-2, 4-2.
Woodstock beat Etowah in two of three games in the regular season – all three games decided by one or two runs – and finished one game ahead in the Region 5 standings.
There’s an all-Cobb County final in 6A as Pope is playing Allatoona in a series that starts Thursday, also at Truist Park.
These county championships aren’t unprecedented as Etowah beat Woodstock in the 2017 championship series when Etowah’s star player was Drew Waters, the former Braves first-round pick and current AAA prospect. (Woodstock has its own Braves connection, as former Braves All-Star right fielder Nick Markakis played for the Wolverines.)
The 2017 Woodstock-Etowah final wasn’t played in the Braves’ stadium, though. It was the only previous appearance in a state final for either Cherokee team.
The Pope-Allatoona final also has been done before. Pope beat Allatoona for a championship in 2018. That was Allatoona’s only previous trip to the finals. Pope has won it four times.
Pope and Allatoona, also region rivals, split their season series and finished tied with 14-2 region records, both ahead of third-place Lassiter, which also made the state semifinals.
The other state finals will be played at the Rome Braves’ Adventhealth Stadium (4A, 5A), the Gwinnett Stripers’ Coolray Field (3A, A Private) and Georgia Southern’s Clements Field in Statesboro (2A, A Public).
The 5A final matches programs of the century – Cartersville (five state titles since 2000) vs. Loganville (six state titles this century). They’ve never met in a state final.
Also in Rome will be LaGrange and North Oconee in 4A. LaGrange’s 2004 state title marks the only time that either program has reached the finals.
In 3A at Gwinnett, Pike County, the 2019 champion, will play the winner of Tuesday’s Redan-Pierce County series finale. Redan, DeKalb County’s only remaining team, and Pierce split a doubleheader Monday.
In A Private, North Cobb Christian is awaiting the winner of the Wesleyan-Mount Paran Christian series, which concludes Tuesday afternoon. Mount Paran is the defending champion.
In Statesboro, Thomasville will play the Lovett-Vidalia winner in 2A, and Charlton County will play defending champion Metter in A Public.
State finals schedules:
Truist Park (Atlanta Braves)
Thursday, May 19
5 p.m. – Class 6A – Allatoona vs. Pope doubleheader
Friday, May 20
Noon – Class 6A – Allatoona vs. Pope, if necessary
5 p.m. – Class 7A – Etowah vs. Woodstock doubleheader
Saturday, May 21
7 p.m. – Class 7A – Etowah vs. Woodstock, if necessary
Adventhealth Stadium (Rome Braves)
Friday, May 20
5 p.m. – Class 4A – LaGrange vs. North Oconee doubleheader
Saturday, May 21
Noon – Class 4A – LaGrange vs. North Oconee, if necessary
5 p.m. – Class 5A – Cartersville vs. Loganville doubleheader
Monday, May 23
7 p.m. – Class 5A – Cartersville vs. Loganville, if necessary
Coolray Field (Gwinnett Stripers)
Monday, May 23
5 p.m. – Class 3A – Pike County vs. TBD doubleheader
Tuesday, May 24
Noon – Class 3A – Pike County vs. TBD, if necessary
5 p.m. – Class A Private – North Cobb Christian vs. TBD doubleheader
Wednesday, May 25
7 p.m. – Class A Private – North Cobb Christian vs. TBD, if necessary
Clements Field (Georgia Southern)
Monday, May 23
5 p.m. – Class 2A – TBD vs. Thomasville doubleheader
Tuesday, May 24
Noon – Class 2A – TBD vs. Thomasville, if necessary
5 p.m. – Class A Public – Charlton County vs. Metter doubleheader
Wednesday, May 25
7 p.m. – Class A Public – Charlton County vs. Metter, if necessary
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