The 2021 GHSA Baseball state playoffs begins this Thursday with a jam-packed opening round of action. Across the board, there are top matchups in each of the classifications and early upsets and can be expected. Today’s blog will highlight what every team represented in the final regular rankings will be faced with in the first round.
In Class 7A, there are no matchups hat pin two top 10 teams, but the depth of the classification presents plenty of challenging matchups. No. 1 Grayson hosts Camden County, which carries a four-game winning streak into the playoffs. No. 2 Parkview hosts Colquitt County and No. 3 North Paulding faces a McEachern team that they have previously defeated 6-0 on March 10. No. 4 Walton had a 10-game winning streak snapped by North Paulding in its season finale and now the Raiders will open up the playoffs against a strong Newnan team that carries a 14-11-1 record into the playoffs. No. 6 Cherokee is 20-9 on the season and will host Mountain View in the first round, No. 7 Brookwood will visit unranked and No. 2 seed Tift County, No. 8 Mill Creek hosts Milton, No. 9 Campbell hosts Cobb County rival North Cobb and No. 10 East Coweta hosts Harrison.
In Class 6A, No. 1 ranked Buford carries a perfect 29-0 record into its home series against Alexander—which is 18-0 and has won its last four games. No. 2 Carrollton hosts Habersham Central, No. 3 Allatoona hosts Sequoyah for the first time this year and No. 4 Houston County hosts Tucker. No. 5 River Ridge hosts a solid 17-13 Kennesaw Mountain team and No. 6 Winder-Barrow will host No. 10 ranked South Paulding in the classification’s only top 10 matchup in the first round. Additionally, No. 7 Lassiter visits Cambridge, No. 8 Lakeside-DeKalb hosts Lee County and No. 9 Pope hosts Riverwood.
The top matchups to watch in Class 5A are No. 8 Calhoun at Villa Rica, No. 10 Eastside at St. Pius and Walnut Grove at No. 2 Decatur—which has won 19-straight games entering the postseason. In Class 4A, Cairo will visit No. 9 Perry, No. 7 Flowery Branch will visit Fayette County and Central-Carroll will visit No. 1 ranked Marist.
Class 3A has seen a multitude of teams crack the top 10 throughout this season and the first round features intriguing matchups like Westminster at No. 3 Franklin County, West Hall at No. 2 Ringgold, Sandy Creek at No. 5 Oconee County and No. 7 Hart County at Redan.
In Class 2A, No. 1 Vidalia hosts Washington County, No. 2 Bremen hosts Rabun County, No. 3 Pace Academy hosts Dade County and No. 4 Elbert County hosts a solid Heard County team. Class A Private No. 1 Wesleyan faces Tallulah Falls in its postseason opener and No. 2 ranked Tattnall Square hosts Trinity Christian. In Class A Public, No. 1 ranked Gordon Lee will take on Glascock County and No. 2 Schley County hosts Lake Oconee Academy
Class 7A First Round
Thursday, April 29 *Game 3 April 30
R4#3 Brookwood at R1#2 Tift County
R2#4 McEachern at R3#1 North Paulding
R6#3 South Forsyth at R7#2 Dunwoody
R8#4 Collins Hill at R5#1 Woodstock
R7#3 Archer at R6#2 Forsyth Central
R5#4 Milton at R8#1 Mill Creek
R1#3 Camden County at R4#2 Grayson
R3#4 North Cobb at R2#1 Campbell
R8#3 Mountain View at R5#2 Cherokee
R6#4 Lambert at R7#1 Norcross
R2#3 Newnan at R3#2 Walton
R4#4 Newton at R1#1 Lowndes
R3#3 Harrison at R2#2 East Coweta
R1#4 Colquitt County at R4#1 Parkview
R5#3 Etowah at R8#2 North Gwinnett
R7#4 Duluth at R6#1 Denmark
Second Round
May 5-6
Quarterfinals
May 11-12
Semifinals
May 17-18
Finals
May 25-26
Class 6A
First Round
Thursday, April 29
*Game 3 April 30
R4#3 North Atlanta at R1#2 Valdosta
R2#4 Statesboro at R3#1 Lakeside-Evans
R6#3 Lassiter at R7#2 Cambridge
R8#4 Habersham Central at R5#1 Carrollton
R7#3 Riverwood at R6#2 Pope
R5#4 Alexander at R8#1 Buford
R1#3 Lee County at R4#2 Lakeside-DeKalb
R3#4 Heritage-Conyers at R2#1 South Effingham
R8#3 Lanier at R5#2 East Paulding
R6#4 Kennesaw Mountain at R7#1 River Ridge
R2#3 Richmond Hill at R3#2 Evans
R4#4 Tucker at R1#1 Houston County
R3#3 Grovetown at R2#2 Glynn Academy
R1#4 Northside-Warner Robins at R4#1 Westlake
R5#3 South Paulding at R8#2 Winder-Barrow
R7#4 Sequoyah at R6#1 Allatoona
Second Round
May 5-6
Quarterfinals
May 11-12
Semifinals
May 17-18
Finals
May 24-25
Class 5A
First Round
Thursday, April 29
*Game 3 April 30
R4#3 Union Grove at R1#2 Ware County
R2#4 McIntosh at R3#1 Woodward Academy
R6#3 Chapel Hill at R7#2 Cartersville
R8#4 Walnut Grove at R5#1 Decatur
R7#3 Calhoun at R6#2 Villa Rica
R5#4 Northview at R8#1 Greenbrier
R1#3 Coffee at R4#2 Locust Grove
R3#4 Tri-Cities at R2#1 Starr’s Mill
R8#3 Eastside at R5#2 St. Pius
R6#4 Grady at R7#1 Blessed Trinity
R2#3 Northside-Columbus at R3#2 Forest Park
R4#4 Jones County at R1#1 Wayne County
R3#3 Mundy’s Mill at R2#2 Harris County
R1#4 Veterans at R4#1 Ola
R5#3 Chamblee at R8#2 Loganville
R7#4 Cass at R6#1 North Springs
Second Round
May 3-4
Quarterfinals
May 8, 10
Semifinals
May 114-15
Finals
May 20-21
Class 4A
First Round
Thursday, April 29
*Game 3 April 30
R4#3 Howard at R1#2 Thomas County Central
R2#4 Shaw at R3#1 Benedictine
R6#3 Stephenson at R7#2 Heritage-Catoosa
R8#4 Chestatee at R5#1 Hampton
R7#3 NW Whitfield at R6#2 Druid Hills
R5#4 Luella at R8#1 North Oconee
R1#3 Cairo at R4#2 Perry
R3#4 New Hampstead at R2#1 Troup
R8#3 Flowery Branch at R5#2 Fayette County
R6#4 Mays at R7#1 Cedartown
R2#3 Columbus at R3#2 Islands
R4#4 Spalding at R1#1 Bainbridge
R3#3 Jenkins at R2#2 LaGrange
R1#4 Westover at R4#1 West Laurens
R5#3 Mt. Zion-Jonesboro at R8#2 Jefferson
R7#4 Central-Carroll at R6#1 Marist
Second Round
May 3-4
Quarterfinals
May 8, 10
Semifinals
May 14-15
Finals
May 19-20
Class 3A
First Round
Thursday, April 29
*Game 3 April 30
R4#3 Burke County at R1#2 Appling County
R2#4 Crisp County at R3#1 SE Bulloch
R6#3 Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe at R7#2 Cherokee Bluff
R8#4 Stephens County at R5#1 Greater Atlanta Christian
R7#3 White County at R6#2 Sonoraville
R5#4 Westminster at R8#1 Franklin County
R1#3 Long County at R4#2 Morgan County
R3#4 Savannah at R2#1 Pike County
R8#3 Hart County at R5#2 Redan
R6#4 Coahulla Creek at R7#1 North Hall
R2#3 Upson-Lee at R3#2 Liberty County
R4#4 Thomas at R1#1 Pierce County
R3#3 Windsor Forest at R2#2 Mary Persons
R1#4 Tattnall County at R4#1 Harlem
R5#3 Sandy Creek at R8#2 Oconee County
R7#4 West Hall at R6#1 Ringgold
Second Round
May 4-5
Quarterfinals
May 10-11
Semifinals
May 15, 17
Finals
May 21-22, 24
Class 2A
First Round
Thursday, April 29
*Game 3 April 30
R4#3 Putnam County at R1#2 Worth County
R2#4 Toombs County at R3#1 Bleckley County
R6#3 Columbia at R7#2 Model
R8#4 Rabun County at R5#1 Bremen
R7#3 Coosa at R6#2 Lovett
R5#4 Heard County at R8#1 Elbert County
R1#3 Berrien at R4#2 Westside-Augusta
R3#4 Washington County at R2#1 Vidalia
R8#3 Union County at R5#2 Callaway
R6#4 Washington at R7#1 Pepperell
R2#3 Bacon County at R3#2 Dodge County
R4#4 Oglethorpe County at R1#1 Thomasville
R3#3 Jasper/Moticello at R2#2 Jeff Davis
R1#4 Fitzgerald at R4#1 Jefferson County
R5#3 Haralson County at R8#2 Banks County
R7#4 Dade County at R6#1 Pace Academy
Second Round
May 4-5
Quarterfinals
May 10-11
Semifinals
May 15, 17
Finals
May 21-22, 24
Class A Private
First Round
Thursday, April 29
*Game 3 April 30
R4#3 Heritage-Newnan at R1#2 First Presbyterian Day
R2#4 Paideia at R3#1 Savannah Christian
R6#3 Mt. Pisgah at R7#2 Walker
R8#4 Tallulah Falls at R5#1 Wesleyan
R7#3 North Cobb Christian at R6#2 King’s Ridge
R5#4 Mt. Vernon at R8#1 Athens Christian
R1#3 Strong Rock Christian at R4#2 St. Anne-Pacelli
R3#4 Aquinas at R2#1 Whitefield Academy
R8#3 Athens Academy at R5#2 Hebron Christian
R6#4 St. Francis at R7#1 Mt. Paran Christian
R2#3 Eagle’s Landing Christian at R3#2 Savannah Country Day
R4#4 Trinity Christian at R1#1 Tattnall Square Academy
R3#3 Calvary Day at R2#2 Landmark Christian
R1#4 Stratford Academy at R4#1 Brookstone
R5#3 Holy Innocents’ at R8#2 Prince Avenue Christian
R7#4 Darlington at R6#1 Fellowship Christian
Second Round
May 4-5
Quarterfinals
May 10-11
Semifinals
May 15, 17
Finals
May 21-22, 24
Class A Public
First Round
Thursday, April 29
*Game 3 April 30
R4#3 Montgomery County at R1#2 Pataula Charter
R2#4 Lanier County at R3#1 Metter
R6#3 Trion at R7#2 Crawford County
R8#4 Lake Oconee Academy at R5#1 Schley County
R7#3 Georgia Military at R6#2 Bowdon
R5#4 Marion County at R8#1 Commerce
R1#3 Pelham at R4#2 Johnson County
R3#4 McIntosh County Academy at R2#1 Charlton County
R8#3 Social Circle at R5#2 Taylor County
R6#4 Mt. Zion-Carroll at R7#1 ACE Charter
R2#3 Clinch County at R3#2 Claxton
R4#4 Treutlen at R1#1 Seminole County
R3#3 Emanuel County Institute at R2#2 Irwin County
R1#4 Baconton Charter at R4#1 Wilcox County
R5#3 Chattahoochee County at R8#2 Washington-Wilkes
R7#4 Glascock County at R6#1 Gordon Lee
Second Round
May 4-5
Quarterfinals
May 10-11
Semifinals
May 15, 17
Finals
May 21-22, 24
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