Just seven northeast Georgia teams survived the first round of the state softball playoffs last week.
However, five region champions -- Buford, Jefferson, East Hall, Jackson County, Banks County -- all moved through and will host second round series with the chance to advance to Columbus and the "Elite Eight" championship tournament next week.
One defending state champion -- Buford in Class AAAAA -- advanced while defending Class AAA state champion East Jackson fell to East Hall in the first round.
Northeast Georgia regions dominated in the first round with three teams each from regions 8-AAAAA, 8-AAAA, and 8-AAA advancing to the second round.
Banks County, the Region 8-AA champion, needed three games to get past Pepperell in the opening round but responded with a solid 6-1 victory in the deciding game to move on. The Lady Leopards next will take on Calloway in the second round.
Commerce in Class A Public will see its first action as the fifth overall seed taking on Trion after getting a first round bye.
Class AAAAA
Region 4, led by region champ Locust Grove, swept Region 3 without losing a game. Region 8, with reigning state champion Buford and state runner-up Walnut Grove, and Region 2 each took 3 of 4 games against Regions 7 and 1, respectively.
Regions 5 and 6 split their four games. Seven of the eight region champs advanced -- only Region 3 champ Starr’s Mill did not.
Class AAAA
Region 8-AAAA champ Jefferson looked strong with an easy sweep of White County and will look a for a spot in Columbus against Northwest Whitfield. But, the team to watch for may be Region 8 third-seed Stephens County. The Lady Indians swept Chestatee behind pitcher Emma Whitfield, who is certainly one of the top pitchers in the classification.
Stephens County next will try to knock off Region 5 champion Chapel Hill for a spot in the Elite 8 in Columbus.
All eight No. 1 seeds advanced to the second round. Regions 2 and 8 each pushed through three teams into the second round with Regions 2, 3, 4, and 5 all splitting four games.
Class AAA
Power regions stepped forward in Class AAA. Region 6, led by Class AAA 2014 and 2015 state champion Calhoun, swept an overmatched Region 5 while Regions 1, 4, and 8 all had three teams advance to the second round.
The second round is expected to see some fireworks with some interesting matchups.
With East Jackson falling to East Hall, there will be a new state champion. The Lady Vikings will take on Region 6 third-seed Bremen in the second round with a chance to advance to their first-ever Elite 8 trip to Columbus.
Calhoun takes on an underrated Franklin County squad trying to return to the Elite 8.
Like Class AAAAA, seven of the eight region champs advanced, with only Lovett, which fell to Sonoraville, not able to advance through to the second round.
Region 8-AAAA champ Jackson County rolled past Lumpkin County in the first round but faces a tough, high-scoring Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe in the second round.
Class AA
Region 5 swept out Region 6 with Region 2 taking 3 of 4 from Region 1 in the first round. Regions 3, 4, 7, and 8 all split their four first round matchups.
Region 8 champion Banks County needed a third game to beat Pepperell and move into the second round. The Lady Leopards draw a Calloway team in the second round that scored 42 runs in a sweep of Douglas-Atlanta in the first round.
Defending state champion Harlem is still alive after routing Washington County in the first round.
Seven of the eight region champs advanced, with only South Atlanta, which fell to Temple, not able to advance through to the second round.
Class A
Commerce, the fifth-seed in the Public draw, gets under way this week taking on No. 12-seed Trion in the second round. Trion whipped No. 21 Jenkins County 13-1 and 13-0 in the first round.
The Lady Tigers are one of just three Region 8-A teams still left in both the Public and Private brackets. Commerce is looking for it first Elite 8 berth since 2013.
No. 18 Mt. Zion was the only lower-seeded team to advance in the first round beating No. 15 Glascock County in two games.
AREA TEAMS IN SECOND ROUND OF STATE SOFTBALL PLAYOFFS
(Area teams listed first, alphabetical order)
Class AAAAA
Buford (Region 8, No. 1 seed) vs. Miller Grove (R5, 3), 4 p.m. Wednesday (DH)
Class AAAA
Jefferson (R8, 1) vs. NW Whitfield (R6, 2), 5:15 p.m.Wednesday (DH)
Stephens County (R8, 3) at Chapel Hill (R5, 1), TBA Wednesday (DH)
Class AAA
East Hall (R7, 1) vs. Bremen (R6, 3), 5 p.m. Wednesday (DH)
Jackson County (R8, 1) vs. Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe (R6, 2), 5 p.m. Wednesday (DH)
Class AA
Banks County (R8, 1) vs. Calloway (R5, 3), 4 p.m. Wednesday (DH)
Class A Public
Commerce (5) vs. Trion (12), 5 p.m. Wednesday (DH)
