The second round of the Georgia High School Association baseball playoffs continues Wednesday, with five area teams vying for a berth in the quarterfinals.
Buford (Class 7A), North Forsyth (Class 6A), Habersham Central (Class 6A), Cherokee Bluff (Class 4A), and Banks County (Class 2A) will begin a best-of-three series on Wednesday.
On Monday, Dawson County was the only area team out of four to make the quarterfinals. The Tigers swept No. 4 Franklin County to advance to the quarterfinals. They'll open their quarterfinal series against Calvary Day in Savannah on Saturday. First pitch is set for 1 p.m.
Meanwhile, Cherokee Bluff was as dominant as anyone in the first round, routing Woodland-Stockbridge 13-0 and 13-2 at Bluff Ballpark. The fifth-ranked Bears (26-4) have won 10 straight and lead Class 4A in wins. Cedartown (15-16) had been without junior pitcher and Georgia Tech-commit Jay O'Neal most of the season. O’Neal returned late in the season and is expected to be available against the Bears.
Bears' coach Jeremy Kemp said his group's focus over the past three weeks has been the key to their present run. He said they won't alter much against an underrated Cedartown squad.
"We haven’t really changed what we are doing, but we have changed the intensity of how we do things," Kemp said. "It has been a lot more mature approach to everything we do.
"The key is for us is to continue to have quality at-bats throughout our line up and continue to pound the zone on the mound."
Class 7A seventh-ranked Buford (21-8) plays host to West Forsyth (19-10) at Gerald McQuaig Field beginning on Wednesday. The Region 8-7A champion Wolves were pushed to the limit in the opening round in a pair of close games with Kennesaw Mountain.
Buford had been yielding just 2.92 runs/game before being roughed up for 10 runs in the opening round. West Forsyth is averaging 5.44 runs/game on offense.
In Class 6A, Habersham Central (21-9) faces a huge task: traveling to sixth-ranked Etowah (26-5) in the Sweet 16. The Eagles are tied for second in wins in Class 6A, advanced to the semifinals in 2023, and were the Class 7A state runner-up in 2022.
North Forsyth (23-9) hits the road against No. 3 Blessed Trinity (24-8).
Jeff Hart contributed to this story.
2nd ROUND BASEBALL SCHEDULE, Wednesday, May 1
(Best-of-3 series at higher seed; all DH)
CLASS 7A
West Forsyth (R6, S3) at Buford (R8, S1), 4 p.m.
CLASS 6A
North Forsyth (R8, S2) at Blessed Trinity (R7, S1), 4:30 p.m.
Habersham Central (R8, S3) at Etowah (R6, S1), 5 p.m.
CLASS 4A
Cedartown (R7, S2) at Cherokee Bluff (R8, S1) (DH), 5 p.m.
CLASS 2A
Walker (R6, S3) at Banks County (R8, S1), 4 p.m.
2nd ROUND BASEBALL SCHEDULE, Thursday, May 2
(Game 3s, if necessary)
CLASS 7A
West Forsyth (R6, S3) at Buford (R8, S1), 6 p.m.
CLASS 6A
North Forsyth (R8, S2) at Blessed Trinity (R7, S1), 6 p.m.
Habersham Central (R8, S3) at Etowah (R6, S1), 6 p.m.
CLASS 4A
Cedartown (R7, S2) at Cherokee Bluff (R8, S1) (DH), 6 p.m.
CLASS 2A
Walker (R6, S3) at Banks County (R8, S1) -- 5 p.m.
