Baseball Rankings: Starr’s Mill takes No. 1 in 5A

Region 8-AAAAAA saw Grayson (9-9, 5-3) down the No. 8 Archer Tigers (13-5, 6-2) and help shape the race for the region lead. The Rams used a David Stinson complete-game pitching performance to grab a 5-2 victory. Nick Clarno and Oscar Serratos powered the Grayson offense with Clarno blasting a homer and Serratos providing three hits. Elsewhere in the region, No. 5 Brookwood (14-3, 7-1) who is tied with No. 1 Parkview (15-2, 7-1) for the region lead, blasted Central Gwinnett (2-16, 0-8) 17-0. Davis Tovey, Jonathan White and Brock Baughcum combined to drive in nine runs. North Gwinnett (13-5, 6-0) debuts in the polls at No. 7 after nine consecutive wins and sole possession of first place in Region 7. Ben Carswell finished 2-4 with 2 RBIs to lead the charge for the Bulldogs in a 7-6 win over Collins Hill (10-7, 4-2).

Class 5A’s former top ranked team Greenbrier (14-1, 5-1) fell to No. 2 in the rankings after dropping 3-0 to Lakeside (8-10, 3-4). A two-run homer from Raekwon Bennett in the fourth inning gave the Panthers a lead they wouldn’t let go of as they shocked the Wolfpack. Brandon Hensley would add an insurance run in the fifth. Junior Daniel Wiggins hurled a complete-game shutout to pick up the win. Starr’s Mill (17-1, 8-0) is riding a 13-game win streak and now ascends to the top spot in 5A. The Panthers’ latest win came against Northgate (8-6, 6-3) 4-3. Starr’s Mill broke a 3-3 tie in the top of the sixth on an Allan Shad RBI single. Chad Green did the damage for the losing Vikings with a three-run homer in the fourth.

No. 1 Buford (16-2, 8-0) disposed of No. 10 North Hall (11-7, 6-4) in consecutive games in a battle of Region 8-AAAA frontrunners. The Wolves edged the Trojans 3-2 on Wednesday at home then followed it up with a 6-0 win on the road on Friday. Connor Bennett was the story on the mound tossing a complete-game shutout with 14 K’s. While Bennett was dealing on the bump, it was Joey Bart who supplied the offense at the plate picking up three RBIs to go along with his two hits.

The No. 2 ranked team in AAA is Pierce County who has now won 13-straight games. The Bears are 18-1 overall and 13-0 in Region 1. After a 4-5 start to the season and a departure from the top ten, No. 6 Westminster reenters the poll on fire picking up nine straight victories and now hold a 13-5 overall record with a 10-1 Region 4-AAA record. The Wildcats are coming off of back-to-back 15-0 wins.

Lovett (13-3, 6-1) has switched places in the rankings with No. 3 Greater Atlanta Christian (13-3-1, 3-1-1) after the No. 2 Lions handed No. 1 Wesleyan (15-3, 6-1) its first loss in region play, 7-6. Wesleyan would soon rebound with a 13-7 win over GAC. Hard charging No. 4 Benedictine (14-4, 8-0) extended its win streak to 10 games after picking up a 5-0 win over Bryan County (5-7, 0-5) on Thursday. Al Pesto allowed one hit and struck out 10 in his complete-game shutout. Ryan Woiwode paced the Cadet offense with two hits and two RBIs.

Previously undefeated No. 3 Tattnall Square (14-1, 7-0) was upended by No. 5 Eagle’s Landing Christian Academy (12-3, 6-0) in Class A, 8-2 last Friday. Nick DiPonzio was the lone bright spot for the Trojans finishing 4-4 with two RBIs.

Class AAAAAA

1. Parkview

2. Kennesaw Mountain

3. Lambert

4. Milton

5. Brookwood

6. Walton

7. North Gwinnett

8. Archer

9. Newnan

10. East Coweta

Class AAAAA

1. Starr’s Mill

2. Greenbrier

3. Gainesville

4. Allatoona

5. Union Grove

6. East Paulding

7. Ola

8. Loganville

9. Stephenson

10. Jones County

Class AAAA

1. Buford

2. Whitewater

3. St. Pius

4. Troup County

5. Pike County

6. Locust Grove

7. Liberty County

8. Wayne County

9. Mary Persons

10. North Hall

Class AAA

1. Blessed Trinity

2. Pierce County

3. Jackson

4. Westside-Augusta

5. Jefferson

6. Westminster

7. Decatur

8. Hart County

9. Washington County

10. Franklin County

Class AA

1. Wesleyan

2. Lovett

3. Greater Atlanta Christian

4. Benedictine

5. Bacon County

6. Jeff Davis

7. Darlington

8. Rabun County

9. Thomasville

10. Bremen

Class A

1. King’s Ridge

2. Mt. Paran

3. Tattnall Square

4. Whitefield Academy

5. Eagle’s Landing Christian

6. Treutlen

7. Charlton County

8. Emanuel County Institute

9. First Presbyterian Day

10. Brookstone