Prep Baseball Report

GA Power 25: March 2


Phil Kerber
Georgia Scouting Director

Our second GA Power 25 update is live and it’s loaded with team’s bouncing up and down the board, including a complete new order within the top-10. Although the weekdays have been marred with rain for the first three week’s of the season, the weekends have proven to be action packed. All around the state we had loaded tournaments and significant matchups.

Here are the top headlines coming out of last week’s action, from Feb. 24 to March 1.

Top-10 Shakeup

+ No. 1 Parkview (7-1): The View Boys move from No. 2 to No. 1 in the state after an outstanding week of play. Parkview went 4-0 with four consecutive shutouts over Lassiter, Jefferson, Starr’s Mill and Blessed Trinity, capturing the Georgia Peach Tournament Championship in doing so. On the year, the Panthers have only allowed two (!!) runs in eight games, and look to be as dangerous as ever. This week, they will travel to Hoover, AL and take on Archbishop McCarthy (FL), No. 20 Hartselle (AL), and a team to be announced.


+ No. 2 Flowery Branch (8-1): The Falcons made a trip to Hoover, AL last week and came away with two wins and a loss. Although they suffered their first loss of the season, they did defeat No. 2 Hoover (AL) and No. 7 Cullman (AL), according to PBR Alabama. Taking down two of Alabama’s very best vaults them from No. 4 up to No. 2. This week, Flowery Branch hosts Forsyth Central, travel to Central, and host Dutchtown over the weekend. It may be early in the season, but the Falcons look a wagon that can’t be stopped. Class 4A and the rest of the state better take notice before it's too late.

+ No. 3 North Gwinnett (6-3): The Bulldogs travelled cross country to California to take on Valley Chrisitan (CA), St. John Boscoe (CA) and Mater Dei (CA). North Gwinnett dropped the first two games of the trip to Valley Chrisitan and St. John Boscoe, but bounced back with a two game sweep of Mater Dei. It is hard to hold these losses against the Bulldogs, as no other team in state has played such a grueling schedule this early in the season as them. North Gwinnett has a three game set against Duluth this week, and look to get back to their winning ways after dropping from No. 1 to No. 3 this week.

+ No. 4 Buford (7-1): Buford drops one spot in the rankings to No. 4 after suffering their first loss of the season at the LaGrange Toyota Invitational. The Wolves cruised by Northside-Columbus, Trinity Christian (FL), and No. 8 Russell County (AL) before falling to now No. 8 North Paulding in the championship. One of the most talented rosters in the state, the Wolves will look to get back on track this week when they travel to Hoover, AL to take on No. 13 Central Phenix City (AL), North Broward Prep (FL) and a team to be announced.
+ No. 5 Carrollton (9-0): The Trojans are up one spot from No. 6 to No. 5 after maintaining their perfect start to the season. Carrollton had a tough test against South Paulding, but prevailed 6-3, before cruising by Arabia Mountain and Alexander over the weekend. The Trojans have a two game set against Rome this week, where they will look to push their winning streak to 10 and 11 straight.

+ No. 6 Mill Creek (8-1): The Hawks put together one of the best week’s in the state with win over No. 12 Brookwood, No. 13 Allatoona, No. 15 Greenbrier and Hillgrove. At the time of playing, both Allatoona and Greenbrier were ranked within the top-10. As a result, Mill Creek moves up six spots from No. 12 to No. 6. This week, Mill Creek has a three game set with Collins Hill. We were on-hand for Mill Creek’s 2-1 victory over Allatoona last week, you can read the full game recap by following the link in the tweet below.
+ No. 7 Blessed Trinity (9-2): For a Class 4A school, the Titans consistently punch above their weight class, and this week it was no different as they move up in the top-10 to No. 7, Blessed Trinity took down Class 5A powerhouse Loganville 9-0 at the Georgia Peach Tournament before taking nail biter over Wayne County 5-4. In the championship game they came up against now No. 1 Parkview, falling 9-0. The Titans should hold their heads high though, and will continue to test their abilities this week when they travel to Hoover, AL to matchup with No. 2 Hoover (AL), Pike County, and a team to be announced.
+ No. 8 North Paulding (8-3): Making the biggest jump in the Power 25, North Paulding is up 12 spots to No. 8. The Wolfpack put together an outstanding week, starting off with a win over Rome before travelling to LaGrange to participate in the Lagrange Toyota Invitational. North Paulding kicked things off by defeating hosts LaGrange 5-3, and then pulled off two of the biggest upsets in the entire country. They shutout one of the top teams in the country, back-to-back Mississippi state champions and No. 1 ranked DeSoto Central (MS) 8-0 and then held on to beat No. 4 Buford 4-3 in the championship. This week, the Wolfpack host No. 11 Walton and Etowah.

+ No. 9 Winder-Barrow (8-1): The top ranked 6A team in the state jump into the top-10, moving from No. 14 to No. 9. Winder-Barrow went a perfect 4-0 last week with wins on the road over Archer, No. 15 Greenbrier, and Evans. They returned home on Saturday and took care of business over Effingham county. This week, the Diamond Dogs, will be tested in Hoover, AL when they meet No. 14 Smiths Station (AL), Decatur, and a team to be announced.

+ No. 10 Woodstock (8-1): The Wolverines have now gone two weeks since losing a game with wins over Marietta, Mountain View, Milton, Alpahretta, Harrison, North Forsyth, and Creekview, In six of those seven games, Woodstock has allowed two runs or less and pulled put four one run wins. The wildest win of them all came Saturday at Creekview in an offensive battle that saw a total of 35 runs scored in eight innings and the Wolverines come away victorious 18-17. This week they take on Lambert, newcomer No. 23 North Cobb and Hillgrove.

Newcomers

+ No. 19 East Coweta (8-2): The Indians enter the rankings for the first time this season at No. 19. East Coweta bounced back from two losses to Northgate and Harris County two weeks ago to go 3-0 with a win over Columbus and two game sweep over Pebblebrook. This week the Inidans have a loaded schedule that should shed more light on whether or not they are a pretender or a contender. They face a two game set against Campbell before travelling to Starr’s Mill for the Starr’s Mill Classic featuring the hosts, No. 22 Ola, and Denmark.

+ No. 23 North Cobb (7-1): North Cobb has been one of the early season surprises this year, winning their first seven games of the year, including one over No. 13 Allatoona, before dropping their first to No. 11 Walton over the weekend. The Warriors will be tested this week with games against Lassiter, No. 10 Woodstock and a gritty Cherokee team.

+ No. 24 Lee County (7-1): Lee County has quietly been taking care of business against the deep south of the state, with a loss to No. 18 Locust Grove being the only blemish on their resume. This week, the Trojans will take on the always tough Thomas County Central, Hardaway, and Rickards (FL) on Friday in the FL/GA Border Battle at Thomasville High School.

The Official GA Power 25 Rankings

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