The high school baseball season is two weeks from the state tournament. Here’s a look at the best region in each of the eight classifications.
Class 7A
Region 7 – This is the Forsyth County region (excepting Milton from Fulton County), and it possesses four of MaxPreps’ top 16 teams in the class. They are No. 2 Denmark, No. 8 Forsyth Central, No. 12 South Forsyth and No. 16 Lambert. Denmark is the front-runner with a 20-5 overall record, 9-2 region mark and two-game lead over Forsyth Central and South Forsyth. The Danes are led by All-America pitcher/first baseman Francesco Capocci. He and Milton’s Luke McNeillie are perhaps the state’s top pitching prospects. Note that another top Forsyth County program, North Forsyth, is playing in Class 6A this year, to give an idea of the county’s baseball prowess. But also note that Forsyth schools were 1-4 in the state playoffs last season, so it still has something to prove this spring.
Class 6A
Region 2 – This is a toss-up. Region 7 has No. 2 Blessed Trinity, No. 4 Pope and No. 7 Lassiter while Region 1 has No. 1 Houston County, No. 3 Tift County and No. 6 Lee County. Give the edge to Region 7 with defending champion Pope. Blessed Trinity and Lassiter also have won recent state titles, and Lassiter was a Class 6A semifinalist last season. Blessed Trinity (20-4, 12-0) and Houston County (20-4, 10-0) appear to have things in hand in these regions, though Houston County is playing Tift County (20-3, 8-2) in a double-header Thursday.
Class 5A
Region 8 – Loganville has won four of the past five state titles in this class and is joined by No. 7 Winder-Barrow, No. 9 Jefferson and No. 16 Flowery Branch. Jefferson was the Class 4A champion in 2018. Loganville (16-7, 8-0) will play at Winder-Barrow (15-7, 7-1) on Monday and Wednesday next week, probably to decide the region title.
Class 4A
Region 8 – Perhaps the best region per capita statewide, this league features No. 1 Cherokee Bluff and No. 2 North Oconee along with No. 7 Walnut Grove and No. 8 North Hall. North Oconee is the defending 4A champion. Cherokee Bluff (21-1, 12-1) beat North Oconee (19-2, 12-1) 6-2 on March 1 in the teams’ only scheduled meeting.
Class 3A
Region 6 – This is the only 3A region with three top-10 teams – No. 2 Ringgold, No. 6 Gordon Lee and No. 10 Bremen. Ringgold (17-5, 7-0) has never won a state title. Gordon Lee (14-6, 6-2) won Class A titles in 2018 and 2019. Those teams play April 18 and 19. Also watch Region 3, which lacks the depth but features No. 3 Calvary Day and No. 4 Savannah Christian, cross-town rivals with matching 15-5, 7-1 records.
Class 2A
Region 6 – Honorable mention goes to a pair of regions with four top-16 teams. Those are Region 1 (No. 3 Jeff Davis, No. 9 Worth County, No. 12 Cook and No. 13 Fitzgerald) and Region 3 (No. 5 Appling County, No. 7 Vidalia, No. 10 Brantley County, No. 11 Toombs County). But the most interesting race is taking place in Region 6, where No. 2 Mount Paran Christian (17-2, 10-1) is chasing No. 4 North Cobb Christian(18-6, 11-0). NCC, the Class A Private runner-up last season, beat Mount Paran, a Class A Private semifinalist last season, 4-3 in eight innings March 18. The two Cobb County private schools meet again April 22.
Class A Division I
Region 6 – There’s something to be said for four-team Region 5, with No. 1 Prince Avenue Christian and No. 4 Social Circle, but Region 6 has nine teams overall, and No. 5 Whitefield Academy (16-4, 10-0) and No. 7 King’s Ridge Christian (17-3, 10-0) are headed for a showdown Monday and Wednesday at King’s Ridge. St. Francis (12-8, 8-2) and Mount Vernon (10-5, 5-4) are also pretty good out of this region.
Class A Division I
Region 1 – Defending Champion Charlton County (17-2, 11-1) is pulling away in a region that has two other top-10 teams. Those are No. 6 Lanier County (14-9, 10-4) and No. 10 Clinch County (15-7, 10-4).
The top four teams in each region make the playoffs. The top two play at home in the first round.
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