Week 7 softball rankings

Region tournaments are right around the corner. As teams have one last week to jockey for region position, two classifications see a new No. 1 contender. In Class AAAAAAA, Lassiter completes its climb to the No. 1 spot after opening the season unranked. Mill Creek slips to No. 3 after suffering a trio of losses: Archer (7-4), Northside-Columbus (4-1) and Parkview (4-3). Grayson climbs five spots to No. 5. The Rams are now 20-4 with a 9-6 win over River Ridge to their credit. Both Lowndes and Etowah drop out of the top 10. North Paulding cracks the poll for the first time this year and slots in at No. 7. The Wolfpack has won seven straight games. Archer opened the year at No. 5 but quickly fell out of the rankings by Week 3. The Tigers reemerge at No. 10 and have won four straight.

Class AAAAAA No. 2 Creekview dropped two Region 6 games, but the Grizzlies hold tight to their ranking. They lost at No. 3 Dalton, 4-3 and at No. 6 Harrison, 7-6. The Hoyas have now won eight in a row and seem to be peaking at the right time. The fourth Region 6 team in the polls, River Ridge, clings onto No. 10. No. 5 Houston County got revenge against No. 7 Lee County and jumped them in the process with its 6-2 win. Greenbrier exits the top 10 after a great 4-2 win against Marist was sandwiched between losses to Evans, Heritage-Conyers and the War Eagles. No. 9 Chattahoochee debuts in the poll after beating No. 4 Pope, 4-3.

In Class AAAAA, No. 3 Walnut Grove swaps places with No. 4 Locust Grove after the Warriors took care of North Georgia powers Heritage-Catoosa (13-0) and Ringgold (11-2). At No. 10 Woodland-Stockbridge makes an appearance replacing Kell.

The ongoing tug of war for Class AAAA supremacy shifts back into Northside-Columbus’ corner as the Patriots switch places with No. 2 Marist. The No. 1 Patriots get the nod after a strong week against some of the state’s best. Northside lost to No. 1 ranked programs Calhoun (5-2) and Buford (10-0), but picked up wins over Northgate (10-2), East Coweta (11-8) and former Class AAAAAAA No. 1 and defending state champion Mill Creek, 4-1. Elsewhere in the top 10, Northwest Whitfield is replaced by Mary Persons at No. 8. The Bulldogs are 16-5 and winners of their last eight games.

Calhoun is still Calhoun in Class AAA and continues to distance themselves from the field, running up a 27-1 record. The bottom of the poll sees some new faces after No. 8 Brantley County, No. 9 East Jackson and No. 10 Southeast Bulloch all bow out. In are No. 8 Jenkins (15-3), No. 9 Sonoraville (15-10) and No. 10 Union County (15-10).

Class AA sees No. 4 Bleckley County tumble all the way to No. 10 after losing four straight games including a 6-2 loss in nine innings to No. 6 Dodge County. Berrien makes its debut at No. 7 with a 16-8 record. No. 4 Heard County continues to sneak up the poll even after a 2-0 loss to Wesleyan. The Braves have a big showdown with AAAA No. 3 Central-Carroll tonight.

No. 1 First Presbyterian Day is on a warpath in A-Private. A 6-0 win against No. 3 Tattnall Square and a 2-0 shutout of No. 5 Stratford Academy continues to pile onto a sturdy resume in Middle Georgia. The bottom of the poll is still a revolving door, this time seeing Brookstone depart and No. 9 Prince Avenue reappear.

Class A-Public No. 1 Gordon Lee stomped Trion out of the poll after a 8-0 win. No. 2 GMC gave Glascock County a 4-1 loss, causing Glascock to slip a spot to No. 4 behind red-hot No. 3 Seminole County, the Indians beating No. 6 Baconton Charter 10-2 and knocking Miller County from the top 10, 11-0. No. 8 Bowdon debuts at 17-5 replacing Trion. Emanuel County Institute joins the fold replacing Miller County. The Bulldogs are 17-3 riding an 11-game winning streak.

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