With the final week of the baseball regular season set to begin on Monday, there are still several playoff spots up for grabs even as others have claimed region titles and secured playoff spots.
Class 6A No. 1 Buford claimed the Region 8-6A crown last week with a sweep of now-No. 6 Winder-Barrow. Banks County lost out on its bid for a Region 8-2A title but did secure the No. 2 seed and a first round playoff series at home.
The four playoff teams in Region 7-3A have been established -- Cherokee Bluff, North Hall, West Hall, White County -- however, region titles and positioning are still very much in doubt. The only known in 7-3A is that No. 2 North Hall has captured at least a top two finish and has a magic number of 1 to win the title outright. West Hall, White County, and Cherokee Bluff all could finish second and all also could drop to fourth.
West Hall (19-7, 11-4 Region 7-3A) currently sits alone in second place and opens a series in Oakwood on Monday with North Hall (20-4,14-1 Region 7-3A). One win for the Trojans clinches the title but the Spartans can win the region title with a sweep. The Spartans will need at least two wins to finish second.
Tenth-ranked Bluff (17-9, 9-6 Region 7-3A) opens a series with Gilmer at home on Monday and can finish second with a sweep of the Bobcats and two West Hall losses to North Hall. White County (17-9, 12-6 Region 7-3A) has completed its region schedule but can also finish second with one Bluff loss and two West Hall losses.
In Region 8-6A, Habersham Central (10-17, 8-7 Region 8-6A) clinched a playoff spot on Friday and is still in line for a third-place finish. The Raiders open a series with Lanier (10-16, 8-7 Region 8-6A) on Monday in Mt. Airy with the winner taking the No. 3 seed.
Region 8-4A is still wide open. Class 4A No. 5 North Oconee (22-4, 13-2 Region 8-4A) and No. 7 Jefferson (18-8, 12-3 Region 8-4A) both have clinched playoff spots. The Titans have clinched no worse than second place. Meanwhile, No. 6 Flowery Branch (19-7, 10-5 Region 8-4A), Madison County (10-17, 8-7 Region 8-4A), and Chestatee (16-11, 8-7 Region 8-4A) all are battling for playoff spots. North Oconee, Jefferson, Branch all can still win the region title.
North Oconee takes on Madison County while Branch and Chestatee duke it out as both series start on Monday.
(Check below for Monday's and Tuesday's schedules.)
(Rankings taken from April 17 Georgia Dugout polls)
AREA BASEBALL SCHEDULE FOR Monday, April 19
(Games listed by visiting team in alphabetical order)
(Area teams highlighted in bold)
(Games begin at 5:55 p.m., unless otherwise noted)
Apalachee at Johnson*
Chestatee at Flowery Branch*
Denmark at Gainesville, 6:15 p.m.*
Gilmer at Cherokee Bluff*
Jackson County at Walnut Grove*
Jefferson at East Hall*
Lakeview Academy at Mt. Pisgah, 5 p.m.*
Lanier at Habersham Central, 6 p.m.*
Lumpkin County at Dawson County*
North Hall at West Hall*
White County at Union County
AREA BASEBALL SCHEDULE FOR Tuesday, April 20
Lincoln County at Towns County, 5:30 p.m.
Mt. Pisgah at Lakeview Academy, 5:30 p.m.*
Social Circle at Commerce*
(* -- denotes region contest)
