Week 8 softball rankings

We are in the middle of region tournaments with a bulk of region championships already set. The No. 1 ranking in Class AAAAAAA is up for grabs after Lassiter slips to No. 3 following losses to South Forsyth (2-0) and Etowah (8-2) over the past week. No. 1 North Gwinnett meets No. 2 Mill Creek in the Region 6 Championship. The series has been as even as it gets, both teams earning 5-4 wins at home during the regular season. Another momentous Gwinnett County showdown takes place in the Region 7 Championship with No. 8 Parkview clashing with last years state runner-up No. 10 Brookwood, who is peaking at the right time, winning five straight games and reentering the top 10 for the first time since they dropped out after the opening week of the season.

In Class AAAAAA, Harrison is red-hot with nine straight wins, moving the Hoyas up to No. 3. They face Region 6 leader No. 2 Creekview for a chance to cement themselves as a state title contender. The Region 7 Championship sees No. 4 Pope kick off a three-game set with No. 1 Cambridge. The Greyhounds have been up and down lately, going 3-3 in their last six games. The bottom of the poll sees Chattahoochee and River Ridge replaced by No. 9 Alexander and No. 10 Richmond Hill.

Walnut Grove takes over No. 1 in Class AAAAA with a 7-0 shutout of bitter rival No. 2 Buford. The Region 3 title is on the line as new No. 10 Starrs Mill has forced a championship deciding Game 3 with No. 4 Whitewater. No. 5 Thomas County Central skyrockets back into the top 10 after sweeping No. 9 Wayne County 5-4, 10-7.

In the Region 5-AAAA championship, No. 4 Central-Carroll has a rubber match with No. 5 Chapel Hill after the Panthers scored a 6-5 victory in nine innings to force Game 3. Heritage-Catoosa has struggled mightily down the stretch and is now out of the top 10, replaced by region rival No. 10 Northwest Whitfield.

No. 2 Westminster leap frogs No. 3 Lovett in Class AAA after serving up a 10-2 beat down. The Wildcats also dispatched of Class A-Private power Wesleyan, 4-1. No. 9 East Jackson is back in the top 10 after beating No. 5 Morgan County 5-3. Pierce County is back as well at No. 10, replacing Union County.

No changes in Class AA except for Pepperell replacing Bleckley County at No. 10.

The bottom of Class A-Private has been a revolving door. Spots 6-10 now read: No. 6 Athens Christian, No. 7 ELCA, No. 8 Strong Rock Christian, No. 9 Mt. Paran and No. 10 Prince Avenue. Tattnall Square rises to No. 2 as Wesleyan falls to No. 3.

Schley County continues to come on strong and is now ranked No. 3. The Wildcats are riding a nine-game winning streak with an 8-1 win over No. 9 Marion County. No. 1 Gordon Lee is still the heavy favorite to win it all. They took care of No. 8 Bowdon 8-0, 7-4. No. 10 Trion takes over the last spot in favor of Emanuel County Institute, who lost to Calvary Day 7-4.



AAAAAAA

1. North Gwinnett

2. Mill Creek

3. Lassiter

4. Lambert

5. East Coweta

6. Grayson

7. Cherokee

8. Parkview

9. Archer

10. Brookwood



AAAAAA

1. Cambridge

2. Creekview

3. Harrison

4. Pope

5. Dalton

6. Houston County

7. Mundys Mill

8. Lee County

9. Alexander

10. Richmond Hill



AAAAA

1. Walnut Grove

2. Buford

3. Locust Grove

4. Whitewater

5. Thomas County Central

6. Carrollton

7. South Effingham

8. Union Grove

9. Wayne County

10. Starrs Mill



AAAA

1. Northside-Columbus

2. Marist

3. Jefferson

4. Central-Carroll

5. Chapel Hill

6. Stephens County

7. Ridgeland

8. Mary Persons

9. Columbus

10. Northwest Whitfield



AAA

1. Calhoun

2. Westminster

3. Lovett

4. Pike County

5. Morgan County

6. Ringgold

7. Cook

8. Jenkins

9. East Jackson

10. Pierce County



AA

1. Vidalia

2. Rockmart

3. Harlem

4. Heard County

5. Bacon County

6. Dodge County

7. Berrien

8. Monticello

9. Social Circle

10. Pepperell



A-Private

1. First Presbyterian Day

2. Tattnall Square Academy

3. Wesleyan

4. Mt. Pisgah

5. Stratford Academy

6. Athens Christian

7. ELCA

8. Strong Rock Christian

9. Mt. Paran

10. Prince Avenue Christian



A-Public

1. Gordon Lee

2. Georgia Military College

3. Schley County

4. Glascock County

5. Seminole County

6. Baconton Charter

7. Wilcox County

8. Bowdon

9. Marion County

10. Trion