GA Power 25: March 11
March 11, 2019
PBR Georgia’s third GA Power 25 update is live, with changes all throughout the rankings, including one top-25 team making its season debut on the board.
There’s a ton to report on here, too, as six GA Power 25 representatives met in Hoover, Ala., for a regional tournament. Considering a bunch of the teams on this list played each other throughout last week, there’s fluctuation up and down the rankings.
Let’s break it down.
TOP DOGS
This trio is really beginning to separate themselves from the rest of the pack. While there is some movement within this group of three, it’s difficult to imagine another team climbing into this space, at this stage in the season.
+ No. 1 Pope (11-2): The Greyhounds went 2-1 last week, but their lone loss came at the hands of a streaking Alpharetta team in extra innings. The narrow defeat isn’t enough to budge them down the rankings, ousting them from the No. 1 spot, but the gap is closing, with the Titans breathing down their necks. Pope bested Johns Creek and Chattahoochee this week in their other two games, and have North Atlanta, Northview, and Dunwoody on the slate this week.
+ No. 2 Blessed Trinity (11-3): The Titans lost just once last week in their travels to a competitive Hoover tournament that pitted them against Florida’s North Broward Prep as well as Georgia’s fellow top-10-ranked teams Winder-Barrow and Cartersville. Blessed Trinity won all three of those games before playing the national powerhouse IMG Academy (FL), where they suffered their first and only loss of the weekend. Still, with wins over the Bulldoggs and Canes on their week’s resume, the Titans made a huge effort to hurdle Parkview in the GA Power 25.
+ No. 3 Parkview (10-2): It wasn’t easy to drop the Panthers even a single spot on the board. However, with Blessed Trinity’s notable wins over two top-10 teams, compounded by Parkview’s loss to Buford, the Panthers trip just one spot down the rankings. It was still a marvelous week of action for the Lilburn program, having gone 4-1, including a 3-1 record during their time in Alabama. They notched wins over the GA Power 25’s Grayson, as well as Avant Garde (FL), Woodward Academy, and Denham Springs (LA). Vanderbilt commit Miles Garrett struck out 14 Woodward batters in his complete game effort, making an early run at Player of the Week consideration.
CLIMBING
There was a ton of movement up and down the GA Power 25 this week, which means there’s also a ton of teams to report on making climbs up the board. We’ll touch on a handful below.
+ No. 6 Loganville (7-3): Despite a 14-6 defeat to Cullman (AL) to end their showing in Hoover, the Red Devils are rising in the rankings after earning three wins prior, one each to Montverde Academy (FL), Savannah Christian, and Denham Springs (LA). And their win over Blessed Trinity back on March 2 is still fresh in our mind. There's a lot to like on this Loganville squad, and they're diving back into the deep end this week with a two-game series against region rivals Buford, on Wednesday and Friday.
+ No. 7 Buford (7-3): Well, the Wolfpack quickly proved that their six-spot drop last week might have been an overreaction to their 3-3 start, amidst their grind of a schedule. Buford put together an impressive week of action in Hoover, going undefeated (4-0), tallying wins over Cullman (AL), DeSoto Central (MS), ranked Parkview, and Locust Grove along the way. They were set to play Loganville in the tournament's title game, but the two teams decided to save the contest for later this week, when the Wolfpack and Red Devils were scheduled to meet for a two-game series anyway. It’s one of the week’s premier match-ups, ensuring that this portion of the schedule will look different come this time next week.
+ No. 10 Etowah (10-2): Get on now before it's too late, because Etowah can't stop winning. They're going on their third straight week as the unofficial "hottest team in the state." The Eagles are riding a seven-game win streak, after another three Ws last week, over ranked teams Milton and North Paulding, as well as a narrow 2-1 win against a tough Kennesaw Mountain squad. Their lone two losses this spring have come to Buford and Blessed Trinity, and both were close contests. Etowah has rapidly risen from an unranked preseason team to where they are now, the most feared "giant killers" in the state. They have three games against ranked Walton on the schedule this week, so the grind never stops.
+ No. 12 Redan (8-2): Tally two more huge wins for the Redan Raiders. Winners of four straight, Redan has now scored a whopping 50 runs in the month of March, and has held opponents to just seven combined in that stretch. Monday's 19-4 win over Grady set the tone, and Thursday's 14-3 win at rising Ringgold has made the Raiders the outright 3A favorites early on. They’re good, and not just for a team repping a 3A or lower class.
+ No. 16 Alpharetta (7-2): One of the highlights of last week's play was Alpharetta's 3-2 win over No. 1 Pope on Thursday, headlined by 13 combined Ks from Sam Stratton and Charlie Goldstein. An error in extras plated the walk-off run for the Raiders, helping them jump up a spot on this week’s GA Power 25. They also won another 3-2 contest, this time against Dunwoody, earlier in the week, and are 3-1 this month. Northview, Cambridge, and Centennial are on the schedule this week, so Alpharetta will have three more opportunities to keep climbing the rankings.
+ No. 18 Hillgrove (9-2): After debuting on the GA Power 25 last week at No. 22, the Hawks are climbing even higher in this update. They turned in three wins over Lassiter, Lambert, and Mill Creek and are undefeated in March (6-0). They split a home-and-away series against regional rivals Kennesaw Mountain tonight and again on Wednesday, which could go a long way at the start of 7A Region 3 action.
+ No. 22 Mountain View (8-2): A 12-spot fall since the preseason, the Bears looked rejuvenated last week in its 5-0 run. They started their week with a three-game sweep of Discovery, and kept its offense firing in big wins over Lee County and Newnan. Mountain View was hanging, barely, one GA Power 25 last week but did more than enough to secure a climb up the board this time around.
WELCOME…
+ No. 25 Decatur (8-3): Jordan Walker is lighting the state aflame from the batter's box and is guiding Decatur to glory so far this spring. He isn't doing it alone, though, and that's a big reason why the Bulldogs are debuting on the GA Power 25 this week. A big 10-0 win at Grayson really helped reassure us that Decatur is top-25 worthy and three more wins against Carver and at Providence Christian helped seal the deal. A 3-2 loss to Westminster to close out the weekend, is the only thing that prevented Decatur from debuting higher.
ON THE BUBBLE
+ Allatoona (7-5): They split a series with River Ridge and capped off their week with a Friday night victory over Dalton, 6-1. But, unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to stave off the Bulldogs from Decatur, one of the state’s hottest teams. Regardless, the Buccaneers are still firmly entrenched on that bubble.
+ Bremen (11-3): The 2A powerhouse is fresh off a three-game sweep Heard County and its only three losses came to notable opponents South Paulding, Decatur, and Cedartown – and all three were narrow defeats. There’s a three-game series with Callaway on deck this week.
+ Flowery Branch (6-4-1): A 3-0 week helps land the preseason GA Power 25 team back on the bubble – they earned wins over Lanier, Dutchtown, and Central. Flowery Branch has a huge two-game series with ranked Marist slated for Wednesday and Friday of this week.
+ Kennesaw Mountain (9-3-1): The 7A Mustangs are off to a solid start, and have four wins in March. They have just three losses this spring and all three came to respectable opponents: Flowery Branch, Cartersville, and Etowah.
+ North Cobb (8-1): The Warriors are riding a five-game win streak with wins over Woodstock and Lassiter over that span. With back-to-back three-game series coming up against Hillgrove and North Paulding, Kennesaw Mountain is in a position to make a case for a spot on the GA Power 25.
+ Tattnall Square Academy (10-0): The undefeated 1A program has six wins already in March with four games on the schedule this week: Wilkinson County, Trinity Christian, and St. Anne-Pacelli among them.