GA Power 25: April 29

The ninth and final in-season edition of the GA Power 25 update is live. It was a hectic and exhilarating first round of the GHSA playoffs, so there’s a lot to discuss. However, the GA Power 25 teams fared well, and only one program ranked in last week’s edition is on the sidelines headed into the second round.

We’ll keep it pretty short and sweet this week, since there’s less movement than previous weeks, given the amount of sweeps that occurred and the lone series loss in the Power 25.

Let’s break it down.

TOP DOGS

+ No. 1 Parkview (28-4): The Panthers retained their No. 1 spot on the rankings after sweeping Peachtree Ridge in the first round of the playoffs last week. The Lions were a tough match-up for the opening round, and they provided top-ranked Parkview with an admirable challenge, but the Panthers were just too much. Offensively, senior Stephen Hrustich led the way in the series by going 4-for-6 with three home runs and five RBIs. Both Miles Garrett and Xander Stephens went the distance in their starts, too, and they limited Peachtree Ridge to just three hits combined.

+ No. 2 Blessed Trinity (26-6): Not much to see here as the Titans walloped Ridgeland in their series, outscoring them 27-1 in the two games. Blessed Trinity will face LaGrange next round, later this week.

+ No. 3 North Gwinnett (27-5): This week, North Gwinnett is involved in one of the most highly anticipated series of the second round, Forsyth Central, but they dismantled Lakeside-DeKalb to get here. They outscored their first-round opponents 23-2 in their two games and look well prepared for this week’s battle of the bulldogs.

UPSET ALERTS

+ No. 10 Pope (25-6): The back-to-back champs look pretty vulnerable all of a sudden, as they survived Creekview, barely. After losing game one, rather handily, the Greyhounds looked like their old selves in game two. I think most expected Pope to trounce the Grizzlies in the decider, but Pope actually needed to put together a near-miraculous comeback in order to steal the series at the final hour. Pope slides down the rankings as a result and they’ll have to get it together if they want to stave off an upset against Dacula this week.

+ Jefferson (25-3): The Dragons and defending 4A champs are off the rankings entirely in this update after losing their best-of-three series to Westminster last week. Jefferson is really good, but they ran into an unlikely buzzsaw in Westminster. The Wildcats were severely overlooked (by us, too), considering they have some serious talent inside their dugout, like the state’s top-ranked 2020, Parks Harber, and senior Tulane commit Luke Jannetta. The upset makes a little more sense when you spell it out like that, but the Dragons were still the definitive favorites in this match-up. It came down to the wire, but the Wildcats snuck out of Jefferson with the series win and will face North Hall next.

HOT STREAKS

+ No. 4 Winder-Barrow (26-3): Given Pope’s unconvincing series win over Creekview, the new 6A favorite, per our rankings, is Winder-Barrow. The Bulldoggs have now won 18 straight games after sweeping Creekside. We had high hopes for River Ridge entering the spring, but they got off to a slow start. They’ve since recovered and are going to make it a tough round-two meeting with the ‘Doggs this week.

+ No. 5 Cartersville (26-4): The Canes haven’t lost since March 27 and haven’t allowed a run since April 15. They’re dominating all sides of the ball right now and will need every bit of skill to push past Flowery Branch, a team that’s spent the last three weeks really heating up.

+ No. 6 Loganville (23-6): Winners of eight straight, the Red Devils represent the top dogs of the 5A class, as it stands. They’re our favorites to capture this year’s title, again. They cruised by Lithonia, but their series with Carollton next is must-see.

+ No. 23 Houston County (21-10): The Bears from Warner Robins went 9-1 in April and did not allow more than two runs in a single game all month. They also clobbered Mt. Zion last round by the combined score of 29-0. Houston County is among the hottest teams in the state and perennially prove that they’re worth of state title contention. They have Grovetown in round two and will meet the winner of Harrison/South Paulding if they’re able to win two games this week.

+ Carrollton (26-5): The Trojans have won 26 games this year and have lost only five, but they’ve been tough to push onto the rankings. While they did defeat 7A’s Hillgrove back on Feb. 26, Carrollton lost both of its games to Kell this spring and dropped a close contest to Alexander, too. They’ve won 11 straight games, however, and went undefeated in April, so we’ll see if they can start May the same way they wrapped this month up. Their series against the Red Devils is among the most fascinating on this week’s slate.

+ Alexander (28-6): Another bubble team to recognize here is the Alexander Cougars. I think they’re tired of playing arguably the scrappiest underdog in the state, Apalachee. They closed the regular season with a three-game set against them and wound up opening the postseason against them, needing three games to get by them in some all-time dramatic contests. Against non-Apalachee opponents, the Cougars have won 10 straight and are among the best teams in the 6A bracket. Facing Allatoona won’t be easy though, especially if they’re still recuperating from their three exhausting games with the Wildcats.

ELSEWHERE ON THE POWER 25

+ No. 8 Walton (21-9-1): We wondered if Walton was going to have any difficulty with Collins Hill, the team selected as the at-large recipient which had some momentum entering the tournament and rostered some really dynamic playmakers. Well, the Raiders rolled through the Eagles with relative ease, winning 9-1 and 10-0 contests in order to set themselves up for an enormous round-two series with the team ranked right behind them on the GA Power 25…

+ No. 9 North Paulding (25-6): The Wolfpack haven’t lost since dropping two of three from Hillgrove back on April 10 and 11. Back-to-back 11-0 wins over Campbell earned them the first-round victory and set them up with Walton in round two. It’s going to be a real battle in Marietta this week and the winner might be seeing Parkview, too, if the Panthers are able to get by North Forsyth.

+ No. 12 Milton (23-7) & No. 23 Mill Creek (21-12): While Milton comfortably swept their first round opponent, Rockdale County, Mill Creek was tested by a tough Norcross team and needed a game three to win the series. Still, these are very clearly two of the state’s best programs and they’ll put it all on the line against one another in round two.

+ No. 20 Etowah (21-11): They probably deserved to be favored in their series against Lowndes, despite being the No. 4 seed in this match-up, and the Eagles triumphantly won both of their games against the Vikings. They’ll be playing the No. 3 seed that scored the sweep and upset of East Coweta next round, Kennesaw Mountain.

+ No. 24 Riverwood (23-4): Riverwood was dealt a tough pairing as a No. 2 seed when they were assigned East Paulding in the first round. But the Raiders proved that they absolutely deserve to be considered a contender for the 5A title with their series victory. It went to a game three, but in that third game, Riverwood flooded the other Raiders to take the series win and force their way into round two, where they’ll meet No. 1 seed Southwest DeKalb.

WELCOME…

+ No. 25 Kell (26-6): The Longhorns spent a couple weeks aboard the GA Power 25 this month but were booted off following late April losses to Rome and Woodland. They’re back now after a convincing sweep of Jackson. We’re excited to see how they’ll match up against the Buford Wolves, too. The PBR Georgia Scouting Director, Blake Davis, has this series circled on his calendar is planning on making it out. It should be one of, if not the, best series on the round-two calendar in the entire state.

BUBBLE WATCH

+ Cairo (26-3): The Syrupmakers have won 18 straight games, translating of an undefeated stretch that started on March 19. While they’ve yet to play a team that’s been on the GA Power 25 this spring, their record alone is extremely impressive and they’re certainly worthy of some added recognition inside this week’s post. They dominated Druid Hills in the opening round of the 4A bracket last week and over West Laurens on the calendar this week. Give the upsets on the other side of their group, they’re the favorites to make it to the semis, where they could meet Blessed Trinity, if everything goes to plan for both squads.

+ Greenbrier (21-8): We saw, first hand, how talented Greenbrier is last week. If we could include a No. 26 on the GA Power 25, they’d probably be it. Instead, they’re right on the edge. The Wolfpack own some of the best pitching in the state, which gives them an upper hand in best-of-three competition. They’ll meet a sound Lee County team later this week and would be paired against the winner of Pope/Dacula should they get the two wins.

+ Forsyth Central (18-9): The Bulldogs legitimately almost swiped the Region 5 title away from Milton during the regular season, but ultimately settled for a No. 2 seed in the tournament. Still, they won their two games in the first round over North Gwinnett, handily, and get to test themselves with the Bulldogs from North Gwinnett next.

+ Redan (21-11): Among the most dramatic three-game series in the entire first round was the Redan-Morgan County match-up. The Raiders’ offense couldn’t quit and they were able to consistently keep pace with a talented Morgan County program. Now, Redan, a team that spent a decent chunk of the spring on the GA Power 25, will take on Fannin County, one of the top 3A teams remaining on the 3A board, especially now that Jefferson has been shockingly eliminated.

+ Ringgold (26-7): Ringgold needed three games but the No. 1 seed was able to swarm Cherokee Bluff in game three to take the series. The Tigers are also among the top-ranked teams on the 3A bracket and they’ll challenge Hart County this week to edge a step closer to making a state title a reality.

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