The road to Columbus and the dream of a state title is under way for area softball teams.
Region tournaments in Regions 7-AAA, 7-AAAA, 8-AAA, and 8-AAAA are slated to begin Saturday. Region 8-AAAAA began its tournament on Wednesday with a pair of play-in series.
Buford (Class AAAAA) and East Jackson (Class AAA) both already have qualified for the 2017 state tournament in their respective regions and will be looking to defend their 2016 state titles.
The Lady Wolves (18-4) rolled through Region 8-AAAAA while the Lady Eagles (15-10), after graduating the bulk of their championship team, finished second in Region 8-AAA during the regular season.
But those aren’t the only teams in the northeast Georgia area with legitimate shots to secure spots in the Elite 8, which is scheduled for Oct. 26-28 at the Olympic Softball Complex in Columbus.
Jackson County won the Region 8-AAA regular season crown and knocked off East Jackson twice during the regular season. Jefferson and Stephens County battled down to the final day in Region 8-AAAA and both clinched spots in the state tournament last week. The Dragons won a dramatic 1-0 decision on Tuesday to seal state berths.
Commerce (16-3) is tied for eighth in winning percentage in Class A after winning just 12 total games the past two seasons. The Lady Tigers were 15th in the Public power rankings.
Banks County (17-5), meanwhile, has the second-most wins in all of Class AA.
Here is a look at the northeast Georgia regions and a brief look-ahead of each region tournament:
Region 8-AAAAAA
The league is still winding down the regular season and will hold its tournament beginning on Tuesday. Apalachee won the regular season with Dacula finishing second. Those two teams will play a one-game playoff for the region title. The other four teams in the region -- Habersham Central, Lanier, Winder-Barrow, Gainesville -- will have the No. 3 vs. No. 6 and No. 4 vs. No. 5 teams play a best two-of-three series with the winners of those series playing a one-game playoff to determine the No. 3 seed with the loser taking the No. 4 seed.
Region 8-AAAAA
It opened tournament play on Wednesday with a pair of first round best-of-three series. Flowery Branch swept Clarke Central 15-0 and 16-1 while Walnut Grove took a pair of 15-0 wins to knock out Cedar Shoals to advance. The losers were eliminated.
Buford won the top seed with a perfect 5-0 region mark, while Loganville earned the No. 2 seed by virtue of a tiebreaker. Both teams got automatic berths into the state playoffs.
The Lady Red Devils finished tied with Flowery Branch and Walnut Grove but got the second seed based on fewest runs allowed in the head-to-head matchups. Walnut Grove took the No. 3 seed by virtue of its head-to-head win over the Lady Falcons.
Buford (18-4) outscored its region opponents 47-2 during the regular season.
The Lady Wolves also are the defending Class AAAAA state champion and have won 10 consecutive state titles spanning four different classifications. Walnut Grove was the state runner-up to the Lady Wolves last season.
The Lady Wolves are once again considered the favorite to win the state title but Loganville (18-6) and Flowery Branch (13-11) both could make runs to Columbus. Walnut Grove is rebuilding with a young team and finished 10-13 in the regular season. Look for the region as a whole to make a strong playoff run, however.
Region 7-AAAA
The top three teams automatically advanced to the state tournament. Marist, the defending region champ, who also finished third last year in the Class AAAA, and Chestatee finished as the top two seeds. Blessed Trinity finished third.
The region tournament will begin on Saturday with a play-in game between White County and West Hall to determine the final playoff team.
The first round on Monday will be one game with the White County-West Hall winner vs. Marist and and Chestatee vs. Blessed Trinity winners advancing to the championship series.
The championship and consolation series will be a best two-of-three series beginning on Wednesday, Oct. 4.
Region 8-AAAA
Will open its tournament on Saturday with a pair of first round best-of-three series. Jefferson (14-7) and Stephens County (13-5) earned the top spots and the automatic berths into the state tournament.
A double-elimination championship bracket will begin on Tuesday at Jefferson.
Expect a tough region tournament. The Lady Dragons and the Lady Indians played tough non-region schedules as well and 8-AAAA may be the most balanced region in the classification. Both teams dropped games to third place Oconee County (13-9).
The top four teams in the region are a combined 54-26 on the season. No. 4 seed Madison County (15-6) has the most overall wins in the region.
Region 8-AAA
Also houses a defending state champion in East Jackson. But, Jackson County (19-7) swept the Lady Eagles (15-10) during the regular season and clinched the No. 1 seed with a win over Morgan County last week.
East Jackson, which graduated five seniors off last year’s championship team including its top pitcher, will be the No. 2 seed. Both the Lady Panthers and the Lady Eagles earned automatic bids into the state tournament.
The 8-AAA tournament begins Saturday with best-of-three play-in series and a double-elimination championship bracket begins on Tuesday at Jackson County.
The Lady Panthers may have the best shot to get to Columbus but do not discount the defending state champions, as they have demonstrated they know what it takes to win.
Region 7-AAA
Opens its tournament on Saturday with a pair of best two-of-three play-in series. A double-elimination bracket will be held in its entirety on Wednesday at East Hall.
The Lady Vikings (16-8) stormed through the regular season while the Nos. 2-6 teams were all separated by just one game. Only the Lady Vikings have clinched a spot in the state tournament. The regular season will not end until Thursday so the rest of the seeding will not be determined until after tiebreakers are applied.
Only Greater Atlanta (10-9) besides East Hall, finished with an overall winning record as the region as a whole was young and rebuilding. The Lady Vikings are a heavy favorite to win the region tournament. Union County was the only team able to knock off East Hall during the regular season.
Five of East Hall’s losses came to higher classification teams that have all qualified for the state tournament in their respective classifications. However, no team from 7-AAA has advanced to Columbus since Dawson County in 2014.
Region 8-AA
Banks County went undefeated in region play to take the No. 1 seed and qualify for the state tournament.
Region 8-A
The regular season ended on Thursday. Both Class A Public and Private use a 24-team team bracket for the state playoffs set by the final power rankings. Commerce (16-3) won the regular season over Prince Avenue Christian and is 15th in the Public rankings. George Walton and Towns County finished in the top four in the region but the Lady Indians (9-9) sat 26th going into Thursday’s regular season finale. Commerce last advanced to Columbus in 2013 and last made the playoffs in 2014.
