Week 1 Baseball Rankings

In Class 7A, No. 2 ranked Parkview opened the season on Wednesday with an 11-5 win over North Gwinnett. Parkview is coming off a state runner-up season that produced a 32-8 record and the Panthers matched North Gwinnett’s 31-8 season and quarterfinal run to be the only two teams in Class 7A that had single digit losses last season. Parkview fell 3-2, 5-2 to Lowndes in last year’s championship and North Gwinnett was topped in the quarterfinals by the state champion Vikings in three games (12-3, 4-9, 3-9). Lowndes debuts at No. 1 and is off to a 2-0 start with wins over Houston County (7-4) and Jeff Davis (11-7). No. 4 Brookwood is 2-0 aafter a 5-1 win over Peachtree Ridge and a 4-1 win over Hillgrove. No. 5 North Paulding scored an 8-4 win over Rockmart in its opener following a run to the semifinals last year and No. 6 Walton followed up an 11-11 tie to North Forsyth with a 6-0 win over Kell. No. 7 Mill Creek defeated Winder-Barrow 11-1 this week and South Forsyth comes in at No. 9 and is looking to bounce back from its 6-3 loss to Buford. Dacula closes out the top 10 and will open the season Friday night against 2-0 River Ridge. Dacula is coming off a run to the quarterfinals that ended in a three-game series to Parkview.

In Class 6A, No. 1 Pope opened the season with a 6-0 win over North Atlanta and No. 2 Etowah will begin its season on Friday at Lakepoint against Class 7A Walton. No. 3 Houston County is looking to bounce back from a 6-3 loss to defending Class 7A state champion Lowndes on Friday for Game 2 against the Vikings at home. Class 5A is headlined by two-time defending state champion Loganville. The Red Devils swept McIntosh last year to win the program’s seventh all-time state title and will look to bounce back from a 5-3 loss to Oconee County in its opener Friday night against Mill Creek. In Class 4A, two-time defending state champion North Oconee debuts at No. 1 and opens its season this Friday against Class 6A No. 9 ranked Lassiter.

In Class 3A, No. 1 Harlem—which achieved a 35-1 record last year to win its first state title since 1986 and eighth-overall—topped Evans 2-0 on Tuesday and leads a crowded Class 3A field. Defending Class 2A state champion North Cobb Christian captured its first-ever title last season with a thrilling three-game series win over rival Mt. Paran and is set to open the 2024 season this Friday against 1-0 East Paulding at the Georgia Dugout Tournament at LakePoint. Class A Division I No. 1 ranked Prince Avenue Christian faces off with Gainesville Thursday night in its season opener and Class A Division II No. 1 ranked Charlton County takes the field this Friday against 2-0 Bryan County for its opener after winning its third all-time state title last season with a 36-5 overall record.