GAINESVILLE — On a day of upsets around the state in the opening round of the state baseball playoffs, local stalwarts Gainesville, Buford, and North Hall managed to come away with sweeps Friday to move into the second round.
It was big day for Regions 8-AAAA and 8-AAAAA, which had three teams each advance through to the second round.
Region 8-AAAA was paced by top seeds Buford and North Hall and also had No. 4 seed Madison County, which swept top 10 team and Region 5-AAAA champ Troup County, move on. North Oconee split its first two games and could make it a sweep for the region with a win Saturday over Woodward Academy.
Buford beat Whitewater in a rematch of last year’s state championship series while North Hall knocked out Carrollton at Jody Davis Field to advance.
Gainesville, the Region 8-AAAAA champ, was joined by No. 2 seed Winder-Barrow and third-seed Loganville, which all got sweeps.
The Red Elephants were pushed all the way by Alexander needing a late-game rally in Game 2 to get the sweep. They won 3-1 in the first game and held on for a 7-5 win in the clincher after trailing 4-0 after the first inning. They also got good news when Region 3-AAAAA champ Richmond Hill was swept out of the playoffs, which would give them home field all the way to the semifinals as long as they continue to advance
Winder-Barrow whipped South Paulding allowing just two runs in the doubleheader. Loganville beat East Paulding 10-8 and 6-2.
Region 7-AAA showed marked improvement after last year’s dismal playoff showing getting swept out in the first round. Dawson County pounded out a sweep over Adairsville scoring 27 runs in two victories at home. Franklin County swept Sonoraville while West Hall and Banks County were both swept out of the playoffs.
Region 8-AAA, which had all four teams advance to the quarterfinals last season, had a rough go of it Friday. No. 4 seed Oconee County was swept by Cedartown while 2015 state runner-up Jefferson, Hart County, and Jackson County all split and will go to Game 3s on Saturday.
In Region 6-AAAAAA, No. 2 seed North Forsyth took a sweep over North Gwinnett and will await the winner of the Rockdale County-South Cobb series.
FRIDAY’S FIRST ROUND STATE BASEBALL PLAYOFF SCORES
CLASS AAAAAA
North Forsyth 8, North Gwinnett 5
North Forsyth 7, North Gwinnett 2
CLASS AAAAA
Gainesville 3, Alexander 1
Gainesville 7, Alexander 5
Winder-Barrow 8, South Paulding 1
Winder-Barrow 9, South Paulding 1
CLASS AAAA
North Hall 5, Carrollton 3
North Hall 10, Carrollton 1
Buford 9, Whitewater 5
Buford 5, Whitewater 4
Madison County 6, Troup County 3
Madison County 3, Troup County 1
CLASS AAA
Dawson County 13, Adairsville 3
Dawson County 14, Adairsville 12
Calhoun 6, West Hall 2
Calhoun 4, West Hall 0
Ringgold 5, Banks County 1
Ringgold 6, Banks County 1
Franklin 7, Sonoraville 3
Franklin 6, Sonoraville 1
Rockmart 8, Jackson County 1
Jackson County 3, Rockmart 2, 10 inn
Central (Carroll) 3, Jefferson 1, 8 inn
Jefferson 9, Central (Carroll) 3
CLASS AA
Union County 7, Manchester 2
Union County 12, Manchester 3
Bremen 3, Rabun County 1
Bremen 6, Rabun County 2
CLASS A
Taylor County 14, Commerce 4
Taylor County 3, Commerce 1
FIRST ROUND STATE BASEBALL PLAYOFF SCHEDULE
Saturday, April 30
(Deciding Game 3s)
CLASS AAA
Central-Carroll at Jefferson, 1 p.m.
Jackson County at Rockmart, 3 p.m.
