STATE HIGH SCHOOL BASEBALL TOURNAMENT
When: First round begins Friday. State finals are May 25-27.
Where: Site of the higher seed.
Format: Each round is a best-of-three series, with a doubleheader scheduled on the first day and an if-necessary game the next day.
2012 champions: Parkview (Class AAAAA), Loganville (AAAA), Columbus (AAA), Appling County (AA), Providence Christian (A).
2013 No. 1-ranked teams: McEachern (AAAAAA), Gainesville (AAAAA), Crisp County (AAAA), Blessed Trinity (AAA), Jefferson (AA), George Walton Academy (A-private), Gordon Lee (A-public).
For complete coverage of this tournament, go to the high school page on ajc.com.
The state baseball playoffs begin Friday with 96 best-of-three series. Here is a class-by-class look at some of the teams to beat:
Class AAAAAA: Parkview (20-6) is trying to become the first school since Evans (1988-90) to win three consecutive championships in the highest classification. The Panthers have won Region 8 and nine consecutive games since losing a game in a Florida showcase tournament during spring break.
Class AAAAA: Region 8 rivals Loganville (22-4) and Gainesville (22-3) are nationally ranked and perhaps Georgia's best teams in any class. Loganville won state titles in 2008 and 2012 and has Clint Frazier (.521, 13 HRs), a Georgia signee and a potential national player of the year. But Loganville has lost twice to Gainesville, whose ace pitcher, junior Michael Gettys, also signed with Georgia and will play in an all-star game this summer.
Class AAAA: Crisp County (22-4) has won 14 consecutive games (nine by shutout) and is 15-0 against AAAA teams. Crisp last won a state title in baseball in 1961. Second-ranked Marist (19-7) has lost only once in the classification and defeated 2012 champion Columbus (18-9) 5-4 last week.
Class AAA: Top-ranked Blessed Trinity (22-4) could win its first state title since 2006. The Titans haven't lost to a AAA team in Georgia and defeated Marist 8-0 last month. Recent state champions Cartersville, Buford and Appling County also must be reckoned with.
Class AA: Top-ranked Jefferson (23-2) has won 14 consecutive games. Buckhead rivals Westminster (18-8) and Lovett (19-7) are ranked No. 2 and 3. Westminster swept the season series and won Region 6-AA, but Lovett had several impressive victories against non-region teams.
Class A: The public-private split is good news for the public side, which has not had a state champion since Clinch County in 2003. Gordon Lee (23-2) and Charlton County (23-2) — schools some 400 miles apart — are the public teams to beat. On the private side, George Walton Academy (25-1) beat Eagle's Landing Christian (22-2) 6-1 on April 22 in what could prove to be a state finals preview.
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