Several area teams advanced to the second round of the state softball playoffs Wednesday.
In the Class AAA tournament, Union County, the third seed from 7-AAA, advanced sweeping Lovett 17-0 and 9-3 on the road. The Lady Panthers will travel to Southeast Bulloch in the second round. Region 8-AAA champion East Jackson also advanced sweeping Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe 5-0 and 7-4 in Commerce.
North Hall also advanced from 7-AAA. [Click here for a look at North Hall's win over Cedar Grove.]
Lumpkin County, however, was swept by Region 5-AAA champ Westminster in a pair of close games, 9-8 and 11-9. Jackson County also was bounced from the tournament losing 9-1 and 9-5 to Ringgold on the road.
East Hall, the Region 7-AAA champion, will open its tournament Thursday taking on Pace Academy at East Hall Park.
In Class AAAAA, Region 8-AAAAA was dominant with both teams in action -- Walnut Grove and Flowery Branch -- moving on to the second round in impressive sweeps. Flowery Branch swept Region 6-AAAAA champion Decatur 16-6 and 11-3 on the road. With the win, the fourth-seeded Lady Falcons will now travel to Ware County in another best-of-three series. The Gators upset Locust Grove in the first round but are the No. 3 seed from Region 2-AAAAA. No. 2-ranked and No. 2 seed Walnut Grove outscored Lithia Springs 30-1 in a pair of wins.
Region 8-AAAAA champ Buford opens its tournament Thursday at home against North Springs and Loganville opens its best-of-three series with Riverwood on the road on Thursday.
In Class AAAA, Region 8-AAAA champion Jefferson was pushed to a third game after splitting its doubleheader with Heritage-Catoosa. The Lady Dragons dropped Game 1, 8-6, but rallied to keep the series alive with a 4-2 victory in the second game. Game 3 will be Thursday in Jefferson.
White County was sweep out of the Class AAAA tournament by Region 5-AAAA champ Chapel Hill, 8-0 and 9-1.
In Class AAAAAA, Region 8-AAAAAA was swept out of the playoffs as Dacula, Apalachee, Winder-Barrow, and Lanier all fell on Wednesday to Region 5-AAAAAA teams.
