Two No. 1-ranked teams will face top-10 opponents this weekend in the second round of the state baseball playoffs, which resume Friday. Playoffs in Class A’s divisions I and II were to begin Thursday.
No. 1 Cartersville vs. No. 8 Cambridge in Class 5A and No. 1 Fellowship Christian vs. No. 9 Walker in 2A are among 11 second-round matching top-10 teams.
Class 6A has the most compelling second round on the docket with three of those top-10 games. Those are No. 3 Pope, the defending champion, at No. 10 Woodstock; No. 4 Lassister at No. 9 River Ridge; and No. 6 Tift County at No. 5 North Atlanta.
Pope and Lassiter, both from East Cobb, are on the road against region champions because they finished behind second-ranked Blessed Trinity in region play.
Another 6A game to watch is No. 1 Houston County at home against unranked but historically powerful Marist.
In Class 7A, No. 9 Forsyth Central is playing at No. 4 North Gwinnett. That’s after Forsyth Central upset another top-10 team, No. 6 Cherokee, 9-8, 7-0 in the first round. Also in 7A, No. 5 Walton beat No. 10 South Forsyth 3-2, 2-6, 4-0 in the first round and will play unranked Region 8 champion and traditional power Buford.
In 5A, Cartersville blanked No. 10 Jefferson 11-0, 2-0 in the first round and now faces No. 8 Cambridge. In another top-10 matchup, No. 6 Villa Rica will be host to No. 7 Winder-Barrow. Villa Rica survived Kell 4-5, 11-5, 8-6 in the first round.
In 4A, two top-10 teams went out earlier this week. No. 3 Cedartown beat No. 10 North Hall 3-0, 13-7 and will face Westminster next. No. 9 Whitewater beat No. 7 Benedictine 7-5, 2-4, 11-4 and will travel to No. 5 West Laurens.
Two Class 3A top-10 teams from Region 6 will be tested. The champion, No. 6 Ringgold, is at home against No. 8 Wesleyan. The runner-up, No. 7 Gordon Lee, is on the road to No. 3 Pickens. The No. 1 Class 3A team, Harlem, had a tough first-round matchup with No. 5 Long County but rolled 10-4, 11-1 and will face unranked Thomasville, the Region 1 champion.
Class 2A’s No. 1 team, Fellowship, is playing at home against No. 9 Walker after dusting Fannin County 5-2, 2-0 in the first round. Walker got by Landmark Christian 14-4 in a Game 3 Tuesday.
Also in 2A, No. 3 Mount Paran Christian beat No. 7 ELCA 10-0, 14-2 in the first round and must play at No. 5 Model, the Region 7 champion. Mount Paran is road-bound because it was the runner-up to No. 2 North Cobb Christian in Region 6.
Class A was to begin Thursday. The only first-round game between ranked teams is No, 8 Clinch County at No. 6 Baconton Charter. The No. 1 teams are Prince Avenue Christian (I) and Charlton County (II).
All baseball playoff rounds are best-of-three series that begin with a double-header. Home team is the higher-seeded team.
Next week’s quarterfinals mark the first time that same-seeded teams can meet. When they do, the teams lower on the bracket will be the home team as determined by the GHSA’s universal coin toss this week.
Here are this weekend’s games matching top-10 opponents. Click the link for full draws and start times.
No. 9 Forsyth Central at No. 4 North Gwinnett
No. 3 Pope at No. 10 Woodstock
No. 4 Lassiter at No. 9 River Ridge
No. 6 Tift County at No. 5 North Atlanta
No. 8 Cambridge at No. 1 Cartersville
No. 7 Winder-Barrow at 6. Villa Rica
No. 9 Whitewater at No. 5 West Laurens
No. 7 Gordon Lee at No 3. Pickens
No. 8 Wesleyan at No. 6. Ringgold
No. 9 Walker at No. 1 Fellowship Christian
No. 3 Mount Paran Christian at No. 5 Model
No. 8 Clinch County at No. 6 Baconton Charter
About the Author
