The Georgia High School Association baseball season is getting into full swing with Monday with four area regions getting their all-important region schedules under way.
In all, more than a dozen area teams will begin region play on Monday or Tuesday. Regions 8-6A, 8-A Public, and 6-A Private all began region play last week.
Gainesville and Region 6-7A will open their region schedules on Monday. The Red Elephants travel to Class 7A No. 6 Lambert to begin a three-game series.
Class 6-A No. 1-ranked Buford, fresh off an unbeaten weekend in the Perfect Game tournament in Hoover (Ala.), will jump back in Region 8-6A action traveling to nearby Lanier for a doubleheader. Habersham Central, which took two of three games against Dacula last week, opens a series with Central Gwinnett at home.
Region 8-4A, which has three teams ranked in the top six in Class 4A, also gets its region schedule under way. On Monday, No. 2 Flowery Branch opens a series at home against Cedar Shoals while Chestatee travels to No. 1 North Oconee. No. 6-ranked Jefferson also will be on the road at Madison County.
Region 7-3A also opens its region with two teams -- North Hall and Cherokee Bluff -- ranked in the top four. The Trojans, ranked second, open at home against Gilmer while the fourth-ranked Bears take on No. 1 Hart County in Flowery Branch in a big non-region battle. Lumpkin County and White County open region in Cleveland while West Hall travels to Dawson County.
Region 8-2A also will get started on Tuesday with Riverside Military Academy playing host to Elbert County and Rabun County and Banks County meeting in Homer.
(Check below for the schedule for Monday and Tuesday for northeast Georgia area teams.)
AREA BASEBALL SCHEDULE FOR Monday, March 8
(Games listed by visiting team in alphabetical order)
(Area teams highlighted in bold)
(Games begin at 5:55 p.m., unless otherwise noted)
Buford at Lanier (DH), 4:30 p.m.*
Cedar Shoals at Flowery Branch*
Central Gwinnett at Habersham Central*
Chestatee at North Oconee*
Commerce at East Jackson, 5:30 p.m.
Gainesville at Lambert, 6:15 p.m.*
Gilmer at North Hall*
Hart County at Cherokee Bluff
Jackson County at Oconee County
Jefferson at Madison County*
Lumpkin County at White County, 5:30 p.m.*
West Hall at Dawson County*
AREA BASEBALL SCHEDULE FOR Tuesday, March 9
Athens Christian at Jackson County
Elbert County at Riverside Military Academy*
Greene County at Commerce*
Rabun County at Banks County*
Union County at Franklin County
Lakeview Academy at King's Ridge, 5:30 p.m.*
(* -- denotes region contest)
