Parkview (18-2, 10-1), 6A’s No. 1 ranked team, gained some separation in Region 8-AAAAAA after picking up a crucial win over No. 7 Brookwood (15-5, 8-3) last Monday, 7-1. Austin Biggar drilled a grand slam in the third inning to set the tone for the Panthers and help lift them over the Broncos. Will Ethridge tossed a complete-game while allowing one unearned run. The Broncos dropped to South Gwinnett last Wednesday but quickly rebounded with a 4-2 win over No. 9 Archer (15-6, 8-3) to pull into a tie for second place. No. 6 Lakeside-DeKalb enters the polls after ripping off nine-straight wins. Georgia State-signee Darius Sewell leads the Vikings with six homeruns and 27 RBIs.
Gainesville (15-4, 10-2) takes over the No. 2 spot in Class 5A after Greenbrier (15-2, 5-1) tumbles to No. 4 thanks to a 4-1 loss to South Forsyth (11-9, 7-5). The Red Elephants have picked up wins over No. 7 Loganville (15-4, 10-2) and Winder-Barrow (12-6, 8-4). On Friday in a 7-0 win over Winder-Barrow, Jonathan Gettys hit two homers and allowed just two hits in five innings pitched. Michael Curry also went yard for the Red Elephants, blasting a two-run homerun in the bottom of the sixth inning. A huge matchup looms in Region 4 as No. 3 Union Grove (16-1, 14-0) hosts No. 6 Ola (18-3, 7-2). Both teams are trying to keep pace with the top-ranked team in the state and leader of the region, Starr’s Mill (17-1, 8-0). Both the Wolverines and Mustangs enter with team batting averages of .380. A.J. Spencer leads Union Grove with three homeruns and 24 RBIs while hitting .545. Ola counters with a slugger of its own in Carter Perkins who is hitting .523 with 29 RBIs.
2014 State runner-up Crisp County (13-5, 13-2) enters the polls riding an 11-game win streak. The No. 8 Cougars defeated Cairo (14-7, 12-5) 6-5 in eight innings last Wednesday. No. 1 Buford continued its dominance of Class 4A with a 12-0 shutout of Johnson-Gainesville (2-18, 0-11). The Wolves are now 19-2 overall and 11-0 in Region 8-AAAA. They have outscored region opponents 87 to 10 this season.
Westminster (14-7, 10-1), who has played one of the toughest schedules in the state this season, stays at No. 6 after falling to Class AA’s No. 1 and No. 2 teams, Wesleyan (17-3, 7-1) and Lovett (15-3, 7-1), in consecutive games. The Wildcats have now played three of Georgia’s top-ranked teams in their respective classifications (Buford, Blessed Trinity and Wesleyan).
In Class AA, the streaking Benedictine Cadets (16-4, 10-0) continue their rise in the poll and flip with No. 4 Greater Atlanta Christian (14-3-1, 4-1-1) to take ahold of the No. 3 spot. Last Tuesday Stevie Powers powered the Cadets to a 1-0 win over No. 8 Jeff Davis (12-6, 7-2). Powers struck out 10 in the complete-game win while hitting a solo homerun in the third inning to account for the only run of the game.
No. 1 King’s Ridge (16-2, 10-1) saw its eight-game win streak come to a close last week when it fell to Archbishop Moeller (OH) 8-4. No. 3 Tattnall Square (17-1, 9-0) who suffered its first loss on April 3rd, earned a nice non-region victory over Class AAAA’s No. 9 Perry (15-5, 8-0) 3-1. No. 5 Treutlen (15-3, 10-0) suffered a 3-2 loss to Hawkinsville (13-4, 6-2) last Monday in eight innings, but managed to get back on track with a 4-1 win over visiting Bacon County (15-3, 7-1), the No. 5 ranked team in AA. Brad Cammack hit a solo homerun and Tristan Cone pitched a complete-game one-hitter to carry the Vikings.
Class AAAAAA
1. Parkview
2. Lambert
3. Walton
4. Kennesaw Mountain
5. Milton
6. Lakeside-DeKalb
7. Brookwood
8. Newnan
9. Archer
10. East Coweta
Class AAAAA
1. Starr’s Mill
2. Gainesville
3. Union Grove
4. Greenbrier
5. Allatoona
6. Ola
7. Loganville
8. East Paulding
9. Stephenson
10. Richmond Hill
Class AAAA
1. Buford
2. Whitewater
3. Troup County
4. St. Pius
5. Locust Grove
6. Pike County
7. Wayne County
8. Crisp County
9. Perry
10. Thomson
Class AAA
1. Blessed Trinity
2. Pierce County
3. Jackson
4. Westside-Augusta
5. Jefferson
6. Westminster
7. Franklin County
8. Decatur
9. Oconee County
10. Central-Carrollton
Class AA
1. Wesleyan
2. Lovett
3. Benedictine
4. Greater Atlanta Christian
5. Bacon County
6. Darlington
7. Rabun County
8. Jeff Davis
9. Bremen
10. Thomasville
Class A
1. King’s Ridge
2. Mt. Paran
3. Tattnall Square
4. Eagle’s Landing Christian
5. Treutlen
6. Whitefield Academy
7. Charlton County
8. Brookstone
9. First Presbyterian Day
10. Providence Christian Academy