Six local baseball programs hit the diamond for the state playoffs this week. Here are the first round matchups.

CLASS 6A

Habersham Central Raiders @ South Paulding

The Raiders (19-11) earned their first playoff trip since 2006, which is only the second-ever for the program. Habersham ended as the 3-seed from the tough 8-AAAAAA, and travel to 2-seeded South Paulding (24-5).

Habersham Central has a solid lineup and plenty of talent on the bump to shut down anyone. It will be very difficult, as South Paulding has the top run-producing team out of its region with 247 runs scored, and allowed a region best 69 runs all year. These could be some close games.

WHEN? April 24-25

CLASS 4A

Stephens Co Indians vs LaGrange

The Indians (18-11-1) finished on a high note with 6 straight wins to claim the runner-up spot out of 8-AAAA. Stephens County is back in the playoffs for a third straight time, and will look for their pitching to carry them as it has done most of the season.

LaGrange (12-18-1) stands in the way, and the Grangers tend to give up more runs (144) than they score (120), which could be an advantage for Stephens County.

WHEN? April 24-25

CLASS 3A

Jefferson Dragons vs Westminster

Jefferson (24-1) is the #1-ranked team in the land, and proved it with an almost perfect regular season and region title. The Dragons won’t rest on that though, and that’s bad news for Westminster (15-12), a 4-seed going through a tough time with six straight losses coming in.

Jefferson is the defending Class 4A state champs, and are looking to duplicate that after now dropping into 3A. It’s a good bet they will do so.

WHEN? April 24-25

CLASS 2A

Banks Co Panthers @ Callaway

The Leopards (22-6) went from possible region champs to third place in the region with a tough ending to the regular season, but this group is solid all the way around and ranked #10 in the state. It’s going up against Callaway (17-12), a runner-up team in region that will have its hands full with Banks County.

This is the third time in four years Banks County has made the playoffs, and the 20-win season is the first of its kind for the Leopards, who made the Sweet 16 as recently as 2017.

WHEN? April 24-25

Union Co Panthers @ Bremen

The Panthers (14-10) were at one point one of the hottest teams in the area with a huge win streak. As a 4-seed, Union faces a ridiculous test at Bremen (23-5), a juggernaut who is state-ranked.

Union is in the postseason for the first time since 2016, when the guys advanced to the quarterfinals, which had capped a four-year run of playoff baseball.

WHEN? April 24-25

CLASS 1A

Commerce Tigers vs Crawford Co

Commerce (17-10) is a 9-seeded team going up against #24 Crawford County (15-10) in what should be a good series. Steve Cotrell has the Tigers in the playoffs for the sixth straight season. Prior to last year’s Sweet 16 run, the Tigers had previously gotten to the quarterfinals in 2015.

WHEN? April 24-25