Georgia softball regions going down to the wire with two weeks left

Gordon Lee's Canaan Burnett gets a hit against Murray County during the Lady Trojans' SCORE International tournament last year at Warner Park. Entering Wednesday, Gordon Lee was 12-2 overall and 5-0 in Subregion 6A-A.
Gordon Lee's Canaan Burnett gets a hit against Murray County during the Lady Trojans' SCORE International tournament last year at Warner Park. Entering Wednesday, Gordon Lee was 12-2 overall and 5-0 in Subregion 6A-A.

Northwest Georgia is regarded as annually producing some of the state's most talented prep softball teams.

With just two weeks until tournament play begins in some regions, a few teams have started to separate themselves. However, due to weather-related postponements and a backlog of games, much can change between now and then.

Here's a closer look at each of northwest Georgia's regions.

Region 6-AAAA

LaFayette (13-1, 6-1) and Northwest Whitfield (14-1, 6-1) lead the way and are set to break their tie atop the standings tonight in Tunnel Hill. The Lady Ramblers won the earlier matchup, so a win tonight would get first-year coach Meagan Base's team closer to the tournament's top seed.

photo Gordon Lee softball coach Dana Mull and the Lady Trojans will try to continue their strong play against region competition as the postseason draws near.

"They would have the head-to-head (tiebreaker) if we lose," Northwest coach Jason Brooker said. "It is tight, as always, in our region. There are usually four or five teams that can win it, and this year is the same."

Ridgeland (11-4, 4-2), last year's region champion, remains in the hunt and still has a game with each of the leaders. Heritage (8-5, 2-3) owns a win over LaFayette and is not out of contention, either. Regardless, the top six teams will begin a double-elimination tournament Oct. 2 at Heritage Point in Dalton. The top two seeds receive a first-round bye.

Region 6-AAA

This subdivided league has two very distinct races going on.

In the north, Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe is the clear leader. A win against Ringgold - that game was rescheduled for Monday - would clinch the top seed for the Lady Warriors, who are 4-0 in the subregion.

"That would be huge for us to lock that up this early," LFO coach Tony Ellis said. "The other side, though, is really packed."

Sonoraville is 4-0 in the south and owns a win over 2016 region champion Calhoun, which is just 1-1 in subregion play after having its past two games rained out. Bremen is 3-1 in league play and still has two games left against Calhoun and one against Sonoraville.

The region's playoff teams will be determined via a tournament that starts Sept. 26 and pits the No. 1 seeds against the No. 4 seeds from the other subregion, with the Nos. 2 and 3 seeds also meeting in best-of-three series hosted by the higher-seeded teams. If two same-seeded teams meet, the team that won the regular season crossover game will be the host.

Region 7-AA

Rockmart (15-0, 8-0) has a clear hold on the regular season's top spot and the tournament No. 1 seed, followed by Pepperell (13-2, 5-2) and Armuchee (7-6, 5-3). Chattooga and Dade County, with three wins each, are still in the running to be seeded in the top four.

Region 6-A

Nothing has been decided in this subdivided region. On the "A" side, 2016 state champion Gordon Lee (12-2, 5-0), Trion (10-2, 3-0) and Bowdon (14-2, 3-0) are all undefeated in league play. Finishing in the top four in the subregion is critical because the region tournament only has eight teams, four from each side, and is a single-elimination bracket.

Of course, only region champions in Class A are guaranteed a playoff spot, with the rest of the public and private class fields determined via the GHSA's power ratings system.

Region 6-AAAAAA

Dalton (6-7, 4-5) is currently sixth, with Creekview (14-0, 9-0) holding a two-game lead on Harrison and Allatoona.

Contact Lindsey Young at lyoung@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6296. Follow him on Twitter @youngsports 22.

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