GHSA Playoffs: Round One Recap (Day One)

April 25, 2019
By Andy Sroka
Staff Writer

It was a thrilling opening round of GHSA playoff action. There were upsets, big come-from-behind victories, and a ton of doubleheader sweeps. The table has been set for another exciting day today, but let’s see how we got to this point.

Stay tuned tomorrow to learn the conclusion of all the game three action taking place across the state. Follow us on Twitter at @PBRGeorgia and utilize the #GHSAPlayoffs hashtag to keep up with the live action as it happens.

For now, here’s what you missed from yesterday.

POWER 25 ACTION

It might be helpful to quickly cruise through the top-25 teams in the state to see how they fared on Wednesday.

+ The following GA Power 25 teams swept Wednesday’s doubleheader and have earned a spot in the second round of the playoffs: No. 1 Parkview, No. 2 Blessed Trinity, No. 3 North Gwinnett, No. 5 Winder-Barrow, No. 6 Cartersville, No. 7 Loganville, No. 9 Walton, No. 10 North Paulding, No. 11 Marist, No. 12 Milton, No. 13 Heritage-Conyers, No. 15 Buford, No. 16 Decatur, No. 18 Starr’s Mill, No. 19 Woodstock, No. 20 Brookwood, No. 21 Etowah, No. 22 Harrison, and No. 24 Houston County.

All you need to know…

Parkview’s battle with Peachtree Ridge was tight, but the Panthers prevailed. Blessed Trinity cruised by Ridgeland and North Gwinnett did the same to Lakeside. Winder-Barrow has won 18 straight games now, with their two wins over Creekside. Cartersville exploded offensively in game one and won a narrow game two against Oconee County. Loganville, Walton, and North Paulding each won their opening series handily. Marist’s series with Pickens County was closer, but the War Eagles always had the upper hand. Heritage-Conyers has a Coffee date next week after gliding by Glynn Academy. Buford dismantled Arabia Mountain. Decatur made a statement against a tough Rome squad. Starr’s Mill won two 3-2 close calls. Woodstock was in cruise control against Camden County while Brookwood’s timely hitting pushed them past Mountain View. And Etowah, Harrison, and Houston County all dominated their opposition on Wednesday.

+ The following Power 25 teams are gearing up for a winner-take-all game three later today: No. 4 Pope, No. 8 Hillgrove, No. 14 Jefferson, No. 17 Grayson, No. 23 Mill Creek, and No. 25 Riverwood.

On the menu tonight…

We wondered if Pope was just waiting for the postseason to really step on the accelerator this spring. They were coming into the playoffs on good form, but that went out the window when they dropped game one to Creekview, 11-5. They came out swinging in game two and earned a 10-3 win, but they’ll need to be at their best to avoid what would be a shocking upset. Credit to the Grizzlies for making this a series, they’ve put together a really strong 2019.

For Hillgrove, there’s not too much cause for concern. They dominated Wheeler in game one, 7-0, but were just shut down offensively in game two. The Wildcats pulled out the 1-0, extra-inning win, forcing a game three.

Like Pope, defending champs Jefferson suffered from a slow start and dropped their first game by an uncharacteristic margin to Westminser. They countered for a trademark 8-0 win in game two, which should help them this evening.

Despite their record, the Lambert Longhorns are hardly a pushover and Grayson learned that the hard way in game two. After winning game one, 6-2, a late rally, with the help of some Rams errors, opened the door for Lambert which is way they’re both playing again today.

Mill Creek really knows how to win a tough series – they did it plenty all spring long in Region 6 play – so it wasn’t a huge surprise to see them drop a game to a sound Norcross program. Their 12-2 win over the Blue Devils in game one is more representative of Mill Creek than their 4-2 loss, so we’ll see how things play out today.

Finally, Riverwood dropped just their fourth game all spring on Wednesday to No. 3 seed East Paulding. This was always going to be a tough series, and East Paulding rallied for eight runs combined in the fourth and fifth innings of game two to hang around and play again tomorrow. This one might actually be a nail-biter for Riverwood. If there was one thing to worry when it came to them, it was how deep they were on the mound after their ace’s turn in the rotation.

MOVING ON

Obviously, there was plenty of action beyond those ranked on PBR Georgia’s Power 25. Let’s take a look at some of the teams outside the rankings that are headed to round two of the GHSA playoffs.

After coming so close to winning Region 5, Forsyth Central came out firing against South Gwinnett, winning both games on Wednesday by a combined score of 23-1. The Bulldogs will meet the Bulldogs from North Gwinnett next, in what’s going to be among the most compelling match-ups in the 7A class’ second round.

Our own Phil Kerber was on-site to see Greenbrier surge past Brunswick with two separate 12-2 wins. They’re going to face the winner of this evening’s Lee County-Stephenson contest.

South Paulding is one of the best No. 2 seeds in the 6A class and their game one comeback against Habersham Central earned them a ton of momentum in game two, which helped them secure the sweep. Harrison is next up, a team that’s playing its best baseball of the season right now.

Allatoona and Alpharetta looked evenly matched on paper, but the Buccaneers won game one by a 2-1 score and flew past them in game two, 12-0.

Coffee overwhelmed Tucker, scoring 29 runs in the two wins.

Valdosta shut out M.L. King in back-to-back contests, scoring 32 runs themselves setting up a second-round meeting with Effingham County, which slid past Lakeside-Evans last night.

One of the most interesting round two match-ups is going to be at Loganville when the defending champs host Carrollton. The Trojans went 26-5 this spring and are absolutely capable of pulling out the upset – though the Red Devils are as daunting a match-up as ever.

Thomas County Central earned a couple close wins over Jones County to set themselves up with a round-two series against Wayne County next week.

Kell dominated the Atlanta-area Jackson program, outscoring them 29-2. The series sweep sets them up with a second-round match-up with the Buford Wolves.

Ola won both its games against Veterans by 10-0 marks and they’ll meet McIntosh next round.

On the 4A bracket, No. 1 seeds Blessed Trinity, Cairo, Woodward Academy, Cartersville, North Oconee, and Mary Persons are all moving on.

For the 3A side, here are the No. 1 seeds that have already punched their next-round tickets: Fannin County, Pike County, Cook, Pace Academy, Benedictine, and Appling County.

The 2A No. 1 seeds moving on: Rockmart, Harlem, Thomasville, Bremen, Bleckley County, Social Circle, and Jeff Davis.

UPSETS

Frankly, they might have been the favorites in the series, but as a No. 4 seed, Etowah’s overpowering two-game sweep of Lowndes deserves some added credit here. The Eagles story is well told. They earned a reputation as giant slayers in 7A but had an uneven finish to the regular season. This sweep will surely get them back on track.

Kennesaw Mountain scored a slight upset of East Coweta last evening, sweeping the Indians in Sharpsburg with a pair of slim wins.

We detailed it further above, but Wheeler, Norcross, and Lambert each took a game from ranked Hillgrove, Mill Creek, and Grayson.

The North Cobb Warriors are hanging tight with Newnan. As a No. 4 seed, they dropped game one 5-1, but stormed back to take game two by a 7-4 score. For a game three between a No. 1 and a No. 4 seed, this series is totally up for grabs.

Creekview throttling Pope in game one was something no one saw coming. We’ll see how they fare in game three.

The 14-8 Grovetown Warriors faced a 23-7 Richmond Hill squad and swept them on Wednesday, in a No. 3 over No. 2 upset. Grovetown will play Houston County next, one of the hottest teams in the state.

Union Grove stole game one from No. 1 seed Harris County, though they bounced right back for a 12-3 win in game two.

We’ll outline it more in our Stories of the Day section below, but Denmark joined Etowah and Model as the only No. 4 seeds to sweep their No. 1 counterparts on Wednesday.

Elsewhere on the 4A bracket, Flowery Branch dropped Burke County handily as the lower seed, setting up a big-time series with Cartersville next round.

Coincidentally, on the class 3A board, the only two No. 1 seeds to lose yesterday were the top two on our GA Power 25: Jefferson and Ringgold. We covered Jefferson above, but Ringgold also managed to lose to their No. 4 competition on Wednesday. After winning game one, 4-1, they were thwarted on offense, losing game two to Cherokee Bluff, 2-1.

The South Atlanta Hornets won class 2A’s Region 6 but were overloaded by Model from Rome on Wednesday. The Blue Devils shut out South Atlanta in both games and scored 24 runs in game one and added another 10 in game two. It was among the most lopsided series on Wednesday and it came in a series that featured a No. 4 seed upsetting a No. 1.

STORIES OF THE DAY

Denmark, a 13-15 program representing Region 7, was paired with Northwest Whitfield in the first round, a 20-7 No. 1 seed. And, well, the Danes extended their win streak to six games by sweeping the Bruins. Someone on our staff called Denmark a team poised to score an upset, though sweeping Northwest Whitfield is a phenomenal accomplishment for the young program. They’ll be squaring off against St. Pius X next round, a No. 3 team that bested a No. 2. It should be a lot of fun to see who can keep this momentum going.

Finally, the Apalachee Wildcats sneaked into the playoffs on the final day of the regular season. The playoff berth, even as a No. 4 seed, was a monumental moment for the program. It was the first time in their team’s history that they’d be playing in the GHSA playoffs. Playing with house money, Apalachee dropped the first game to Alexander – a 25-4 program and winners of Region 5 – and trailed game two by eight runs. But, stunningly, the Wildcats climbed all the way back into the game and actually earned a walk-off win on an inside-the-park home run to complete the full comeback.

It was an awesome moment and perfectly depicts why this is the most exhilarating state high school tournament in the country.

GAME THREE, WINNER TAKE ALL

Here’s what you can look forward to tomorrow:

7A

North Forsyth @ Archer
Norcross @ Mill Creek
Wheeler @ Hillgrove
Lambert @ Grayson
North Cobb @ Newnan
Lassiter @ Colquitt County

6A

Creekview @ Pope
Northgate @ Dacula
Lee County @ Stephenson
Apalachee @ Alexander
River Ridge @ Cambridge

5A

Union Grove @ Harris County
Whitewater @ Statesboro
East Paulding @ Riverwood

4A

LaGrange @ Stephens County
Perry @ Burke County

3A

Cherokee Bluff @ Ringgold
Hart County @ Lovett
Redan @ Morgan County
Westminster @ Jefferson
Coahulla Creek @ North Hall
Rutland @ Worth County

2A

Lamar County @ Elbert County
Vidalia @ Washington County
Berrien @ Westside