Overview of the first round

Posted 4/25/19

Colquitt County was eliminated by Lassiter in three games in the first round

of the Georgia High School Association Class 7A playoffs.

Highs and lows of Round 1

Before we officially put an end to the first round of the Georgia High School Association state baseball playoffs (a handful of Class 1A series will conclude on Friday), let's take a brief look back before we head to the next round:

Class 7A

Overview:

11 of the 16 first-round matchups resulted in sweeps.

Best Series:

Newnan at North Cobb - The fourth-seeded Warriors from Region 3 gave the Region 2 champions all they could handle before Newnan took a 15-2 victory in the third and final game.

Biggest Upset:

Etowah sweeping Lowndes - The Eagles, who fell to No. 4 in Region 4 after dropping two of three to Lassiter in the last week of the regular season, swept Lowndes (the Region 1 champion) 6-0 and 12-2

Biggest Surprise Still Playing:

North Forsyth - Not many expected the Raiders to make the playoffs, much less win a first round game. But North Forsyth swept Archer and will get a crack at top-ranked Parkview in the second round.

Keep an eye on:

Region 4, which is the only region to have all of its seeds advance to the second round. Walton, Woodstock and Etowah swept their series, while Lassiter ousted Colquitt County in three games.

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Class 6A

Overview: 

11 of the 16 first-round matchups resulted in sweeps.

Best Series: 

Creekview at Pope - After splitting the first two games on Wednesday, Creekview looked to be in position to pull the upset. But down to the last strike, Will Lantis' single scored the tying and winning runs as the two-time defending champions survived and advanced.

Biggest Upset: 

River Ridge at Creekview - For River Ridge, a team who started the season 0-7, the resilient Knights held on for a one-run victory after splitting with Cambridge on Wednesday.

Biggest Surprise Still Playing: 

Grovetown - The Warriors struggled to get in the playoffs, then pulled a stunning sweep of Region 2 runner-up Richmond Hill. 

Keep an eye on: 

Region 6, which took three of four against Region 7, regarded one of the toughest in the classification this year,

Don't Overlook: 

Apalachee, who made its first postseason trip in school history and defeated Alexander 10-9 in Game 2. The Wildcats didn't win the series, but they set a positive foundation. Also, South Paulding's sweep of Habersham Central was the Spartans' first postseason series win.

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Class 5A

Overview: 

13 of the 16 first-round matchups resulted in sweeps.

Best Series: 

Ware County at Starr's Mill - Starr's Mill won a pair of one-run games to sweep the series, but it was much tougher than anyone expected.

Biggest Upset: 

Whitewater at Statesboro - Playing as the third seed from Region 3, Whitewater needed three games to oust the second-seeded Blue Devils and advance to meet Harris County in the second round.

Biggest Surprise Still Playing: 

Whitewater - The Wildcats are the lowest seeded team remaining in the Class 5A bracket.

Keep an eye on: 

Region 8, which still has three teams left (Loganville, Buford and Walnut Grove)

Don't Overlook: 

Southwest DeKalb, who swept a pair of games from Clarke Central to win its first state baseball playoff series since 1978.

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Class 4A

Overview: 

14 of the 16 first-round matchups resulted in sweeps.

Best Series: 

Pickens at Marist - The Dragons may have been swept, but they proved to be a formidable opponent for the War Eagles.

Biggest Upset: 

St. Pius X at Troup - The Lions scored late to win the first game 6-2, then they rode that momentum to a 3-2 victory in Game 2 to upset the Tigers.

Biggest Surprise Still Playing: 

Perry and Denmark - The only two No. 4 seeds to advance. Perry defeated Burke County in three games, while Denmark swept Region 6 champion Northwest Whitfield. The Danes, in their first season of existence, not only made the postseason, but they won their first round series, too.

Keep an eye on: 

Region 7, as all four seeds advanced to Round 2 (Blessed Trinity, Marist, Flowery Branch and Denmark)

Don't Overlook: 

Cairo, who outscored Druid Hills 26-0 in a first-round sweep. The Region 1 champs are for real.

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Class 3A

Overview: 

10 of the 16 first-round matchups resulted in sweeps.

Best Series: 

Redan at Morgan County - No lead was safe in this series as offense prevailed. Morgan won Game 12-11 before Redan won Game 2, 6-5, in nine innings Wednesday night. Then Redan outslugged Morgan in the finale to win 13-11 and advance.

Biggest Upset: 

Hart County at Lovett - Now that it's over, you kind of saw this coming when defending Class 3A state champion Lovett had to rally for a 3-2 victory in Game 1. But the Bulldogs took the second game 4-2, then shut out the Lions 7-0 in the decisive third game for the upset.

Westminster at Jefferson: Westminster was given up for dead after getting swept by Pace Academy, Redan and Lovett in Region 5 play to end the season. But the Wildcats pulled one of the biggest upsets in all classes when they held on to beat Jefferson, the defending Class 4A champion, in three games. Jefferson, who dropped a classification before the season, entered the state playoffs with just one loss. 

Biggest Surprise Still Playing: 

Rutland - The Hurricanes lost to Worth County 5-4 in a walk-off in Game 1, but they rallied back to stun the Rams 7-6 and 5-3 to win the series.

Keep an eye on: 

Region 5, as this region flexed its muscles in the first round. Pace Academy, Redan and Westminster are all still playing.

Don't Overlook: 

Cherokee Bluff, who in its first year of existence, also made history by making the playoffs. Then they shocked Ringgold by winning the second game of the series 2-1 and forcing Game 3. They eventually lost, but they made history.

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Class 2A

Overview: 

13 of the 16 first-round matchups resulted in sweeps.

Best Series: 

Berrien at Westside-Augusta - Even though they struggled for most of the season, Berrien didn't go down without a fight. They lost Game 1, 6-5, but rallied to win the second game 5-4 to force Game 3. Westside brought their season to an end with a 3-1 victory to advance.

Biggest Upset: 

Vidalia at Washington County- Not sure if you could call it an upset, but the third-seeded Indians lost the first game of the series 3-2 before rallying to upend the second-seeded Golden Hawks in the next two games to advance.

Biggest Surprise Still Playing: 

Model - The Blue Devils barely got into the postseason. When they did, they proceeded to drub Region 6 champion South Atlanta by a combined 34-0 to sweep the series.

Keep an eye on: 

Region 2, which as usual still has the bulk of its teams still playing. Jeff Davis, Bacon County and Vidalia will be tough to beat.

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Class 1A Public

Overview: 

6 of the 8 first-round matchups resulted in sweeps.

Best Series: 

Charlton County at Bowdon - The Indians, perennial powers in Class 1A Public, took the first game 9-4 before Bowdon run-ruled the Indians 16-0 in Game 2. Bowdon was a semifinalist last year. Game 3 will be Friday at 3:30 p.m. 

Biggest Upset: 

ACE Charter at Taylor County - Making their first trip to the state playoffs in school history, the 20th seeded Gryphons swept Taylor County, who entered as the 13th seed.

Biggest Surprise Still Playing: 

Telfair County - The rebuilding Trojans, the state runner-up last year, was concerned about getting into the playoffs. They made easy work of Claxton in a sweep.

Keep an eye on: 

Region 2, who depending on what happens with Charlton County and Wilcox County (who split with ECI), could have as many as five teams playing in the second round.

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Class 1A Private

Overview: 

5 of the 8 first-round matchups resulted in sweeps.

Best Series: 

Mount Paran Christian at George Walton - The two teams went back and forth before Mount Paran Christian won 6-4 in Game 3 to take the series.

Biggest Upset: 

Hebron Christian at Brookstone - The Lions, who entered as the No. 20 seed, swept the Cougars.