As the GHSA tournament moves into the quarterfinal round, we wanted to take a by-the-numbers look at the first two rounds, to see if any trends emerged. Below are a few intriguing observations. It will be interesting to see if these results repeat themselves or prove to be anomalies in future seasons.

Of the 48 teams still ring chasin' in AA through AAAAAAA, 28 call themselves regular-season champs. Another thirteen finished as region runners-up, while five 3-seeds are still alive and two 4-seeds carry the Cinderella mantle. All seven of those 3- and 4-seeds are in the four largest school classifications, while classes AA and AAA have only region winners and runners-up in the quarterfinals. Note: class A was excluded here due to bids being doled out by power rating, not regular-season finish, and the post-season splitting public and private schools, which are combined in the regular-season standings.

Across all classifications, just under one-quarter of opening round series (27 of 112) went to a third game, while just over one-third of round two series (22 of 64) went the distance, which makes intuitive sense as the competition level ramps up. Of those 49 non-sweeps, nearly two-thirds (31) were won by the home team.

Pitching staffs have allowed zero runs in roughly one-quarter of games (103 of 401) so far. In particular, Parkview and Woodstock in AAAAAAA, Locust Grove in AAAAA, Pike County and Appling County in AAA, and Callaway in AA have each authored three shutouts in four contests, while Gordon Lee in A-Public has yet to allow a run in two games.

Regional Supremacy Breakdown

X-Y in front of a school name indicates Region-[Regular-season place]

Class AAAAAAA
7-1 Parkview vs 4-4 Etowah
8-1 Grayson vs 4-1 Woodstock
7-2 Brookwood vs 4-3 Lassiter
6-1 Mill Creek vs 3-3 North Paulding

Region 4 flexed its muscle in the early rounds, advancing three of its five entrants to the quarterfinals. Agonizingly close to a clean sweep for the region in round one, Walton and Roswell each won the opening game of their series before dropping extra-inning contests in decisive game threes.

Class AAAAAA
7-1 Pope vs 1-2 Houston County
6-2 River Ridge vs 1-3 Valdosta
7-2 Alpharetta vs 3-2 Greenbrier
6-1 Allatoona vs 3-3 Grovetown

Not hard to pick out the cream of the crop here, as each of Regions 1, 3, 6 & 7 advanced two teams into the quarterfinals. All four teams from Region 3 won their opening round series. Only two region champs are still alive, the fewest of any classification.

Class AAAAA
7-1 Carrollton vs 3-1 Starr's Mill
8-1 Loganville vs 4-1 Locust Grove
8-3 Flowery Branch vs 1-1 Veterans
8-2 Buford vs 4-2 Ola

Region 8 staked an early claim to class AAAAA supremacy, as its top three teams are still alive. Loganville and Buford dominated each of their two series, while third place finisher Flowery Branch captured two road series wins in decisive game threes.

Class AAAA
7-1 Blessed Trinity vs 1-2 Columbus
8-1 Jefferson vs 4-1 Woodward
5-1 Cartersville vs 2-4 Spalding
6-1 Heritage (Catoosa) vs 2-1 West Laurens

Six region champs advanced here. Columbus and Spalding, one of only two regular-season fourth place finishers to get this far, knocked out the top two seeds from Region 3, the only region to not be represented in the quarterfinals.

Class AAA
5-2 Lovett vs 3-1 Southeast Bulloch
8-1 Morgan County vs 4-1 Pike County
5-1 Westminster vs 1-1 Cook County
6-1 Ringgold vs 2-1 Appling County

Whole lotta chalk here, as seven of eight region winners are still alive.  Lovett's game three, extra-inning win over North Hall prevented a clean sweep by the region champs.

Class AA
5-2 Heard County vs 1-2 Berrien
8-1 Elbert County vs 2-2 Jeff-Davis
5-1 Callaway vs 1-1 Thomasville
8-2 Social Circle vs 2-1 Benedictine

Four regions separated themselves here, with each advancing its top two teams. It's now grudge match time, with a pair of series featuring Region 5 against Region 1 and another pair pitting Region 8 against Region 2.

Class A Public
Bowdon (Region 6) vs Schley County (Region 4)
Charlton County (Region 2) vs Gordon Lee (Region 6)
Emanuel County Institute (Region 3) vs Irwin County (Region 2)
Telfair County (Region 2) vs Baconton (Region 1)

The power rating system nailed it this year, with all eight of the schools that received first round byes going on to win their second round series. Region 2 leads the way with three quarterfinalists, while the region went 5-1 overall in the first round, with the only loss coming in an intra-regional match-up.

Class A Private
Prince Avenue Christian (Region 8) vs Savannah Christian (Region 3)
Pinecrest (Region 6) vs Holy Innocents' (Region 5)
First Presbyterian (Region 7) vs Providence Christian (Region 8)
Wesleyan (Region 5) vs Tattnall Square (Region 7)

Six of eight teams that received a first round bye are still alive. Pinecrest and Providence have won two series apiece, all on the road, knocking out the 5- and 2-seeds, respectively, in the second round.