By Kevin Askeland
MaxPreps.com
State high school baseball playoffs have begun in about a half dozen states around the country with many more expected to start this weekend.
Alabama
The Alabama state baseball playoffs enter the fourth round this week with four of the division favorites still in the hunt crown.
In Class 6A, top-seeded Opelika (40-2), lost just its second game of the season in dropping a 4-3 decision to McGill-Toolen. However Opelika won the next two games, 11-3 and 18-0 to win the series and advance to the semifinals.
Meanwhile defending champion Hillcrest-Tuscaloosa (27-20) fell to Hoover (27-19) in three games, and was eliminated. Hoover advances to take on Sparkman (33-13), which defeated Paul Bryant (29-13) in three games.
Opelika takes on Prattville (33-14), which swept Daphne (29-13) in two games. The semifinals are a best-out-of-three series that starts on May 9 with the state finals on May 16-17.
In Class 5A, No. 1 ranked Bibb County didn’t make it out of the first round, falling to Briarwood 14-1 and 16-0. Meanwhile second-ranked Pleasant Grove lost to defending champion Cullman 5-13, 5-1, 3-7 in the second round.
With the top two ranked teams out of the picture, Cullman (30-19) has a shot at repeating as state champions. After beating Athens (25-14) 5-13, 9-1 and 12-2 over the weekend, Cullman will face Hartselle (41-10) in one of the semifinal matchups this week.
Charles Henderson (35-10) takes over the role as favorite in Class 5A after beating Spanish Fort (28-11) by identical 4-3 scores over the weekend. Henderson was ranked No. 3 in the Alabama Sportswriters Poll heading into the playoffs. Henderson meets St. Paul’s (22-9), a 3-1, 10-0 winner over John Carroll (16-16).
Top-ranked Boaz found itself the victim of an upset in the second round of the Class 4A playoffs, losing to Lawrence County 2-0, 1-12 and 0-1. Lawrence County then fell to Haleyville on Saturday, 6-5 and 3-2.
Defending champion Childersburg (25-10) also met defeat, falling to Jackson (32-5) in two games, 12-5 and 9-8. Jackson will take on Alabama Christian (26-9), a 5-4, 7-6 winner over St. James (26-9), in one of the semifinal matchups on Friday. Hayleyville (20-13) meets East Limestone (31-4), a 9-4, 11-9 winner over Saks (19-8), in the other semifinal.
Hokes Bluff (24-5), the defending champion and the top-ranked 3A team, advanced to the semifinals with a sweep of Winfield (22-9), 12-0, 16-4, on Saturday. Hokes Bluff meets Plainview (23-12), which swept West Limestone (19-11) 7-2 and 13-0.
Mobile Christian (29-3) and LAMP (25-15) will play in the other semifinal matchup. Mobile Christian edged Headland (20-11) 5-4 and 3-2 while LAMP got past Gordo (24-8) 7-1 and 5-2.
Leroy (33-5) is also on course to repeat as state champs after beating Wicksburg 2-12, 12-7, 11-8 in the Class 2A quarterfinals. Leroy will meet American Christian (31-5), which topped Houston Academy 6-5 and 9-3.
The other quarterfinal matchups each went three games with Ranburne (23-6) topping Phil Campbell 6-1, 3-5, 5-3 and Mars Hill (29-13) topping Westminster Christian (26-17), 10-6, 2-16, 8-2.
Top-ranked Athens Bible (27-4) reached the semifinals of the Class 1A playoffs with a 10-0, 4-2 win over Gaston (14-10). It will meet Shoals Christian (25-18), a 5-3, 12-2 winner over Cedar Bluff (17-16).
In the other semifinal matchup, Brantley (24-12) will play Providence Christian (17-15). Brantley topped Sweet Water (12-8), 7-6 and 16-3 while Providence Christian took Millry (19-21) in three games, 5-3, 3-4, 6-5.
Defending champion Hackelburg lost in the second round to Shoals Christian.
Arizona
Upsets marked the Arizona Class 5A Division 1 playoffs with No. 4 seed Hamilton and No. 15 seed Mesquite each reaching the state semifinals.
Hamilton will play the winner of the Mountain View-Mesa/Desert Mountain game, which will be played Tuesday at Tempe Diablo Baseball Complex. Hamilton upended top-seeded Mountain View 10-8 on Saturday in Pool A competition.
Meanwhile Mesquite topped No. 2 seed Red Mountain 8-7 on April 26 and then edged No. 7 Highland 5-2 on April 29 to reach the Pool B semifinals against No. 14 Mountain Pointe, which had pulled off a few upsets of its own. Mountain Pointe topped No. 3 Basha 15-4 in the first round and No. 6 Mountain Ridge 4-2 in 8 innings to reach Saturday’s semifinal.
Mesquite came up with the hard-fought 2-1 victory and Mountain Pointe will now face Highland in a Pool B elimination game on Tuesday.
There wasn’t nearly as much drama in the Class 5A Div. 2 playoffs, where the top two seeds each reached the semifinals.
Top-seeded Sunrise Mountain avoided an upset in the second round with a 4-2, 9-inning win over Pinnacle to beat #12 San Luis 11-1 in the Pool A semifinals. Sunrise Mountain meets the winner of Tuesday’s matchup between San Luis and No. 4 Desert Ridge.
Meanwhile No. 2 Horizon moved into the finals of Pool B with a 6-4 win over No. 3 Deer Valley. Horizon will take on the winner of Tuesday’s Deer Valley/Sunnyside elimination game for the championship of Pool B on Saturday.
While the Class 5A playoffs are nearly complete, the remaining Arizona state playoffs are just getting started. Class 4A Div. 1 held its first round on Saturday with seven of the top eight seeds advancing. No. 6 Apollo was the only upset victim, falling to No. 11 Saguaro 10-6.
No. 1 Chapparal topped Agua Fria 8-0 while No. 2 Sabino knocked off Thunderbird 11-7.
The finals are set for May 10 at Tempe Diablo Stadium.
In Class 4A Div. 2, No. 2 seed Amphitheater was a first-round upset victim, falling to No. 15 Douglas 7-5. No. 10 Catalina also upset No. 7 Page 6-4 while No. 12 Seton Catholic topped No. 5 Raymond Kellis 6-3 and No. 9 Coronado edged No. 8 Coconino 8-6.
Top-seeded Notre Dame won easily, 7-0, over Tempe.
The finals are set for Phoenix Municipal Stadium on May 10.
No. 8 seed Chino Valley stunned No. 1 seed Globe 5-3 in the Class 3A playoffs. That could open the door for No. 2 Winslow, which reached the semifinals with a 6-3 win over No. 10 Florence. Winslow faces No. 14 Safford, which topped No. 3 Show Low 3-0 in the first round and No. 11 Empire 7-5 in the second round.
Chino Valley faces No. 5 Fountain Hills, a 6-3 winner over No. 4 Estrella Foothills, in the other semifinal matchup. The finals are scheduled for May 10 at Surprise Baseball Stadium.
In the Class 2A playoffs, several top seeds bit the dust on Saturday. North No. 1 St. Johns fell to Metro No. 2 Bourgade Catholic 11-1. Meanwhile Metro No. 3 Valley Christian defeated Metro No. 1 Scottsdale Christian 8-2.
In the lower half of the bracket, East No. 2 Morenci downed East No. 4 Thatcher 8-3. Thatcher had upset South No. 1 Hayden in the first round, 2-1. East No. 1 Bisbee is the lone top seed remaining after beating South No. 2 San Manuel 16-9.
The 2A finals are May 10 at Surprise Baseball Stadium.
The South region has dominated the Class 1A playoffs, occupying three of the four semifinal spots. South No. 1 Valley Union will meet West No. 2 Mayer in one semifinal game on Friday while South No. 2 Gila Bend meets South No. 3 St. Gregory in the other semifinal. The championship game is set for May 10 at Tempe Diablo Stadium.
St. Gregory knocked off West No. 1 Bagdad 10-9 in the second round while East No. 1 Duncan fell to West No. 4 Salt River in the first round, 4-1. Gila Bend beat Salt River 5-3 to advance. Meanwhile North No. 1 Mogollon lost to South No. 4 Tanque Verde, 1-0. Mayer then edged Tanque Verde 6-5 in the second round.
Florida
Florida will have a new Class 6A champion this year after Sarasota fell to Lakeland 6-5 in second round action on Friday.
Sarasota entered the game as the top-ranked Class 6A team in the state with a 24-2 record. Park Vista now takes over as the favorite in the 6A playoffs after beating Wellington 2-0 in the second round. Park Vista, 28-1 on the season with a first-round playoff win over Jupiter, 10-0, will meet Flanagan, a 5-2 winner over Taravella.
The finals are scheduled for May 17 at Ed Smith Stadium in Sarasota.
Niceville, ranked No. 1 in the state of Florida by MaxPreps, advanced to the regional finals with a 3-1 win over Pace. Niceville will take on Gainesville on Friday for a shot at a berth in the state semifinals.
Other regional finals find South Fork facing Nova, Winter Haven meeting Brandon and Dunedin taking on North Port. South Fork topped West Boca Raton 2-1 while Nova got past St. Thomas Aquinas 9-5. Winter Haven bested George Jenkins 6-2 and Brandon topped Newsome 9-3 while Dunedin knocked off Plant 8-2 and North Port beat Bayshore 7-1.
West Florida, the top-ranked 4A team in the state by MaxPreps, advanced to the regional finals with a 10-1 win over Navarre. It will meet Bishop Kenny on Friday. Other regional finals have Rockledge taking on Key West, Palatka meeting Pasco and Sebring meeting Riverdale.
A showdown looms in Class 3A where American Heritage and defending state champion Clearwater Central Catholic approach the championship game from opposite ends of the bracket. American Heritage topped Coral Springs Charter 4-1 and will meet Chaminade on Friday. Meanwhile Central Catholic ripped Bishop Verot 12-0 and takes on John Carroll this week.
Other regional finals find Pensacola Catholic meeting Episcopal and Keystone Heights taking on Trinity Catholic.
Defending 2A champion North Florida Christian is still alive after shutting out Port St. Joe 4-0. It will take on Jay in the regional finals on Friday. Other regional final games pit Highlands Christian against Miami Christian, Providence against Pine Castle Christian and Fort Meade against Northside Christian.
Eagle’s View, the defending 1A champion, is on course to repeat after a pair of lopsided wins. Eagle’s View routed John Paul II in the first round 16-3 and then blasted Aucilla Christian 18-5 in the second round. Eagle’s View meets Paxton this week in the regional finals.
Also playing in the regional finals are Lake Worth Trinity Christian against Brito Miami Private, Deltona Trinity Christian against Central Florida Christian and Cambridge against Brandenton Christian.
Louisiana
The Class 5A playoffs began on Friday with the top eight seeds all advancing. No. 1 West Monroe had no trouble with Grace King, winning 10-1. No. 2 Acadiana whipped H.L. Bourgeois 8-1 while No. 3 Baton Rouge Catholic rapped Pineville 12-3 and No. 4 East Ascension blasted John Ehret 16-3. No. 5 Barbe also won 14-1.
The top three seeds in the Class 4A playoffs advanced to the semifinals. Top-seeded Neville edged Sam Houston 12-10 in the quarterfinals and will meet No. 5 Shaw, which beat Morgan City 10-7 in the third round.
No. 2 Teurlings and No. 3 Zachary meet in the other semifinal. Teurlings shut out Holy Cross 8-0 while Zachary defeated Franklinton 8-2.
In Class 3A, top-seeded Lutcher fell to Iowa 5-0 in the regional on Wednesday. Iowa meets E.D. White in the quarterfinals on Monday.
St. Charles, the No. 5 seed, has already advanced to the semifinals after beating North DeSoto 5-0. North DeSoto had upset No. 4 seed Jennings 8-4.
No. 2 seed Parkview meets Catholic in a quarterfinal matchup on Tuesday while Rayville, an upset winner over No. 3 Cecilia, takes on Kaplan in the other quarterfinal.
The top three seeds have also advanced in Class 2A. No. 1 Sterlington meets No. 5 Calvary in one semifinal matchup on Tuesday while No. University meets No. 3 Evangel in the other.
The 1A playoffs have played true to form with No. 1 Ouachita Christian meetings No. 4 St. Martin’s in one semifinal on Wednesday and No. 2 Mangham taking on No. 3 Northlake Christian in the other.
In Class B, No. 1 seed Runnels meets No. 8 Pitkin today in a quarterfinal matchup for the right to play No. 5 Bethany Christian in the semifinals. No. 2 Zwolle has already advanced and will play the winner of Monday’s Oak Hill/Houma Christian game.
Top-seeded Claiborne Christian meets Family Christian in a Class C semifinal game while No. 7 Reeves takes on No. 3 Elizabeth in the other game Thursday.
Mississippi
Quarterfinal action is underway in the Mississippi state playoffs with Region 2 tournament winner Tupelo considered the favorite to win the 5A championship. The Green Wave defeated DeSoto Central 7-1 on Saturday and plays a second game today for the right to advance to play the winner of the NW Rankin and Clinton quarterfinal matchup. Northwest Rankin and Clinton split their first two games and placed a game three today. Northwest Rankin benefitted from a three-home run outburst by Zach Polzin to win 9-3 on Saturday.
Terry advanced to the semifinals in the bottom half of the bracket, topping Region 5 winner Oak Grove in two games. Ocean Springs and Brandon split their first two games and play the decider tonight.
Oklahoma
Regional play is complete and the state brackets have been compiled for the Oklahoma state baseball playoffs.
In Bracket A for the 6A division, Edmond Santa Fee will take on Jenks on Wednesday while Moore will play Broken Arrow. The losers of those two games will play Wednesday evening while the winners will play on Thursday.
In Bracket B, Owasso meets Midwest City and Enid takes on Yukon. The losers play at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday night and the winners play at 4 p.m. Thursday. The state finals between the winners of bracket A and B will be Saturday at Drillers Park.
South Carolina
Summerville is making a run at the state baseball playoffs. A state runnerup in football and a state champion in basketball, the Green Wave had to get past Conway today in order to advance to the Lower State finals. Even a loss would not eliminate Summerville since the tournament is double elimination. Conway, the state’s top-ranked team, beat Wando in the first round 5-0 while Summerville edged Stratford 5-4.
In the Upper State portion of the 4A bracket, Boiling Springs beat Dorman 11-10 and Easley knocked off White Knoll 3-0 to advance to the semifinals. The Upper and Lower State finals are May 9.
Texas
The month-long Texas baseball playoffs began Saturday with bi-district play in five divisions. While not all scores have been reported to the University Interscholastic League, many of the favorites have advanced to the second round.
Undefeated Plano West defeated South Garland in two games, 4-1 and 7-6, while Regan swept Austin Akins 13-5 and 8-3. Rowlett lost its opener to Plano East 3-1, but won the next two games on Saturday, 7-6 and 18-14. Socorro opened the playoffs with a 5-0, 12-2 sweep of Lubbock.
In 4A play, the top-four ranked teams, Calallen, Poteet, Moody and Barbers Hill, all received first round byes. Likewise Medina Valley, Cuero, Sinton and Kennedale, the top four teams ranked by the Texas Baseball Coaches Association poll, received a first-round bye.
In Class 2A, Holliday, Lexington, Brock and Grape Creek, the division’s top four teams, all received byes. Similarly, Archer City, Hamlin, Overton and Dawson all received byes in the 1A playoffs.
The second round of the UIL playoffs begin on Friday with the championship matches set for the week of June 4-7.
