The 2025 GHSA State Playoffs kicked off last week. Playoff baseball in Georgia is some of the best baseball in the entire country and we are lucky enough to get to cover it. We have covered the state of Georgia from as south as Lowndes to as north as Gordon Lee and everything in between. Our staff has watched over 200 baseball games this year and can’t wait to cover playoff baseball.

To kick off the season we highlighted over 80 teams in our “Team Preview” articles if you want to check out any of those before the playoffs they can be found HERE.

If you missed anything from the season we have you covered with our weekly scout blogs with hundreds of players mentioned with notes and video that can be found HERE.

We also highlight players weekly in our Diamond Notes articles that can be found HERE. Top players in our Diamond Notes piece are announced at Player Of the Week, and they can be found HERE.

Here we are going to do a quick recap of the round of 16 to see how each team punched their elite 8 bid. 

6A

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Lowndes needed another big start from their sophomore, Brinson Rountree and they got it. He set the tone once again with another big start and the Vikings took down Mill Creek 3-2 in game 1. Garrett Moon stepped up behind Brinson and tossed a shutout in game 2 to punch their ticket to the elite 8 with a 4-0 win. Matthew Kerrigan led the offense going 4 for 7 with 2 RBI and 2 runs scored. Despite being cross town rivals, Brookwood and Grayson match up in the sweet 16. Brookwood is riding some strong momentum after a 3 game series win over a talented Denmark squad. Joseph Soto pitched another gem going 7 innings for a shutout with 9 K’s. They would beat Grayson by scores of 15-5 and 1-0. The Broncos will now head south to take on Lowndes with a final four bid on the line.

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Carrollton travelled to Etowah to take on the Eagles in their sweet 16 match up. Matthew Sharman had a bounce back start from the 1st round and tossed 6 innings, giving up 2 runs and striking out 11. He also added a massive home run in game 2 to open things up after the Trojans got out to an early 1-0 lead. Caden Borchering went 5 for 6 with 2 HR in the DH, leading the offense. The Eagles would go on and get the sweep by scores of 10-2 and 11-1. Parkview leaned on their senior, Porter Berryman to set the tone, and he sure did that in game 1. Tossed 6 innings of perfect baseball, striking out 13 on 62 pitches. Hillgrove made game 2 interesting but the Panthers would get the upper hand for the sweep by a score of 3-2.

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Harrison and West Forsyth were 2 teams that we thought matched up really with experienced offense and arms that are going to throw strikes. In what ended up being a couple high scoring games, Harrison’s Dominic Stephenson led the way for them with a HR and accounted for 5 runs in the DH. The Hoyas would get the upper hand and sweep West Forsyth by scores of 10-5 and 6-5. Walton and East Coweta battled it out in the bottom half of this bracket and had 1 offensive game from both sides and one pitchers duel. Logan Wideman led the charge for the Raiders going 5 for 8 with 1 HR, 3 2B, 6 RBI and 3 runs scores. They would end up getting the sweep with scores of 14-8 and 3-2.

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In the final bracket of 6A, North Gwinnett took on McEachern where their offense exploded and their arms pitched 2 shut outs. Ryan Hall did it all on both sides with 6 innings of 0 run ball and 3 for 7 at the dish. Jake Gaskill was massive for the Bulldogs going 6 for 7 with 2 HR, 5 RBI and 4 runs scored. They took the 2 game sweep with scores of 10-0 and 12-0. In the final game we expected one of the more competitive games in the bracket between North Paulding and Buford. The Wolfpack needed Raedan Jones to step up game 1 and he sure enough did that. He got them the much needed 4-3 win and then Yenli Nolasco followed him up with a gem going 7 innings, giving up 0 runs and striking out 10. The offense did just enough to get the game 2 victory of 2-0 to punch their ticket to the elite 8.

5A

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After a tough 3-game series in the first round, Winder-Barrow ran into a tough Effingham County squad who picked up their second straight sweep to open the 5A bracket. Wins of 9-4 and 11-1 behind big performances from different spots throughout the lineup including 6 team 2B and a HR from Caleb Swindle. River Ridge would continue their strong start to the playoffs with a big Sweet 16 upset over one seed Dunwoody in three games. KJ Hart continues to be a massive two-way factor adding a 2B and 3B alongside 7 K over 4.0 IP, while Will Schmidt and Connor Johnson both added huge quality starts on the mound.

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Habersham Central picked up its second three-game series upset in a row, this time over South Paulding as the offense came through huge in game three, winning 9-5 after being shut out in game two. Callum Spivey would prove to be huge for the Raiders in the win, adding a HR and 2B in the two wins alongside 4 RBI. The Newnan train rolls on to the Elite Eight with another convincing sweep, earning wins over Lassiter at 13-0 and 8-2 behind big-time starts from Jaden Hill and Hayes Maginnis. SS Dax Kilby would pace the offense in the win with 5 hits including a game one grand slam that would really set the tone.

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A combined 18 strikeouts from the duo Nick Bobrowski and Ethan Garrett would lead the pitching staff for Pope in a big-time sweep over Northgate, with wins of 14-1 and 4-1. Multiple contributions from many in the lineup, including Drew Abney, who looks to be getting hot at the right time. The trio of Kendall Jackson, Vick Gann and Isaiah Galason would come through with a combined 9 runs scored to pace Houston County as they earned a big sweep in their own right over Brunswick. After FInal Four matchups the previous two, this now sets up for the one of the best elite eight matchups in the state with the Greyhounds and Bears.

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To open the last quad in the bracket, we saw one of the best three-series in the class with Creekview earning their first Elite Eight bid in school history with their win over Woodward Academy. The Grizzlies would get big showings from much of their pitching depth including a huge game three performance from Neil Stam and Clay Herring. Loganville marches a step closer to yet another final four with their second straight sweep, this time over Greenbrier with tight wins of 3-2 and 6-5. Kaiden Howell would pace the lineup going 5-for-8 alongside good starts from both Jordan Johnson and Jake Boland.

4A

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In a hard fought 3-game series between Flowery Branch and Wayne County. The Yellow Jackets of Wayne County would come out on top thanks to a massive game three start from Tate Altman earning the CGSHO to advance to the Elite 8. Kell would take care of Central in a 2-game series by the tune of 5-2, 5-0. Preston Bottoms has big in the series, adding a HR and 3 RBI.

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After defeating East Forsyth in 9-innings behind an RBI 1B from Andrew Biggers, St. Pius X would close it out with a 7-2 win in game 2 to earn the sweep behind Mckale Stevenson and his 6.0, 11 K performance. Andrew Purdy would propel Cartersville to the Elite 8 with a massive 2-game performance across the series sweep (4-for-4 3 HR and a 2B).

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Blessed Trinity would shut out Northside, Columbus (10-0, 12-0) to cruise into the Elite 8. The 1-4 in the lineup would produce 15 hits and 9 RBI in the series to really pace the offense. Marist would also make quick work of Walnut Grove in a series sweep (13-1, 11-4). John Loudon was big in the series, adding multiple XBH and Jamie Vicens was excellent on the mound in game two with 13 strikeouts over 5.0 IP. Both Blessed Trinity and Marist carry momentum into the Elite 8 as they are set to face off with one another.

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More of the same continued for Cooper Underwood on the mound in this Sweet 16 matchup as the offense of Allatoonna would explode as well. Producing a staggering 26-runs in the 2-game series sweep (10-0, 16-1) to move on to the next round. North Oconee would win a tight series over Warre County in a 2-game sweep (2-1, 7-4) to advance. As both 1 seeds in the bottom right side of the 4A Bracket will square off against one another.

UPCOMING EVENTS