Many expected Region 8-4A to be a daily and weekly slugfest as four teams were ranked in the top 10 in the initial Coaches Box baseball poll.
North Oconee, North Hall, and Cherokee Bluff came in ranked Nos. 1, 2, and 3 with Walnut Grove ninth. Those four teams opened region play last week against each other in a series of subregion crossover games.
None of the crossover games count in the actual standings. However, if they did, after the first week, none of those would sit atop the early standings. Seckinger, a brand new school out of Gwinnett County, leads the way with a 2-0 record after wins over East Forsyth and East Hall. Cherokee Bluff (7-0, 1-0 Region 8-4A) and Walnut Grove (7-1, 1-0 Region 8-4A) both had games rained out on Friday.
It was the Bears who fired the first major shot in the region on Wednesday taking down North Oconee (6-1, 1-1 Region 8-4A) while Walnut Grove was a close second beating North Hall (8-2, 1-1 Region 8-4A) in Gainesville.
The crossover games will continue through this week before everyone jumps into their subregion schedules.
The Bears take on Seckinger (4-5, 2-0 Region 8-4A) at home on Monday with a chance to stay unbeaten in region, depending on Walnut Grove’s matchup with East Hall (4-4, 1-1 Region 8-4A) at East Hall Park on Monday.
Cherokee Bluff coach Jeremy Kemp said the goal is just to stay grounded and hungry at the same time.
“We’re not going to sneak up on anyone anymore,” he said. “The rankings are good for the program. It’s nice to be recognized. But hearing how good you are sometimes works against you.
“This is a great group that has a lot of experience so we’re just trying to take things one game at a time and keep them hungry as well. Seckinger is not your normal first year school so we’re expecting another battle for sure.”
The big story on Monday will be in Gainesville, however. Either North Hall or North Oconee, the defending Class 4A state champion, will already have two region losses when they square off at Cottrell Field. Whether the crossover games count in the actual standings or not, it is unfamiliar territory for both behemoth programs.
The Titans went 18-0 in region play last season and have lost just two region contests over the past two seasons. The Trojans went 21-0 in region play last year in 7-3A and 17-1 in 2021 when they won the Class 3A state title.
Both teams rebounded from those losses on Friday. North Hall beat Madison County, 7-3, while North Oconee rallied past Chestatee, 13-4, setting up their massive showdown, the only one of the regular season between the two teams.
North Hall coach Trevor Flow said his young group is just trying to learn how to compete against the top programs.
“For us, the important thing about this game is offensively,” Flow said. “I expect (North Oconee) to throw their Georgia-commit guy so I want to see how our lineup competes against a top arm like that. I also want to see how our defense responds against a team that is going to put the ball in play.
“We committed seven errors (in a loss to Jefferson) and we had some issues against Walnut Grove. These are things we have to improve on. I think both teams will be looking to win because you always want to keep that positive momentum going.”
Fans of Region 8-4A should buckle up. It figures to be a roller coaster ride the rest of the way.
