The 2026 Georgia high school softball season officially began on August 1 and will culminate with the playoffs running from October 28-31 at the South Commons Softball Complex in Columbus, Ga.

Line Drive Media contributor Steve Hickey tracks the prep fastpitch journey in the Peach State for the seven public divisions (1A through 7A) and the one private division.

This is Week 10 of what will be a baker’s dozen of articles throughout the season to provide highlights and spotlights for journey in Georgia to crown its champions.

• Click HERE for Week 1’s report
• Click HERE for Week 2’s report
• Click HERE for Week 3’s report
• Click HERE for Week 4’s report
• Click HERE for Week 5’s report
• Click HERE for Week 6’s report
• Click HERE for Week 7’s report
• Click HERE for Week 8’s report
• Click HERE for Week 9’s report

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Huge Upset in Round 1… We Talk to the Winning Team’s Head Coach

We are walking through history. 

Today.

The Georgia High School Softball playoffs started on Monday under blue bomber skies, and we’re off.

Mostly, the results were chalky, if not forgettable or regrettable. 

However, in middle Georgia, defending 5A State Champion fell to the East Forsyth Broncos in what can only be described as the biggest upset of the Georgia High School softball season. 

We tracked down Bronco head coach Blake Cagle for his take of the series to get his insights on how his team jumped the Eagles, delivered the goods and now must regroup and get ready for the next round of play…

Line Drive Media: Tell us how long you have been at East Forsyth? 

Blake Cagle: I came to East Forsyth three years ago.  I was a baseball guy, and when I graduated, I went to work at Flowery Branch under Laura Beaver.  My mentors at the time encouraged me to try softball, they said it was like baseball, but in a shoebox.  I love the pace of play, and the girls are so much more open to positive coaching.  I had the opportunity to come into East Forsyth, and I brought my family and it is home to us now. 

LDM: How did you get your team ready for post season? 

BC:  We scheduled a rugged regular season slate. Frankly, we were below .500, and I was uncertain if we would even qualify for post season, but we got on a late hot streak and as the #26 seed (out of 32), we barely made it in.  But, I believe the only way to test yourself, you gotta go play the toughest competition that you can find. 

LDM: Talk about your team and players this season. 

BC:  Its all about our middle-class players.  Girls that show up and want to play, but they are not going to go play at the next level.  We are very strong up through the middle and have 3 girls that are going to play at the next level.  2027 Brooklyn Corn, a Lenoir Rhyne commit, she is our centerfielder, hits in the middle of the lineup.  Tatum Porter is our catcher; she is a lefty slapper and keeps the defense off balance with her tools.  Perhaps our most improved player over these last 3 seasons is Kaitlin Martinez, she is our pitcher and also hits in the middle of our lineup.  They drive the bus. 

LDM: Tell us about gameday.  When you woke up that morning, did you know that you had a slingshot with a smooth stone capable of felling Goliath? 

BC:  We have a lot of familiarity with Eastside.  When I was with Flowery Branch, they were in our region.  For the past couple of seasons, they were also in East Forsyth’s region.  So this year was the first time, we did not play them in the regular season. 

We have played them eight times over the past couple of years, and we won three times.  So, we didn’t lose this game before we got off the bus. 

The scouting report on Eastside is formidable: their shortstop is ranked as the 4^th best player in the country, their pitcher throws in the low 60’s, and their centerfielder is a terrific player who got three extra base hits off that day. 

But I tell our girls:

“All we need is chance. Go out there and put it all on the line, and we will take whatever the results are.”

So, I think our tough schedule served us well.  We have been in 12 one-run ball games now, and we have gone 8-4 through those tight games.  So, we have learned how to win hard games. 

Once game one started, we got on them early.  We scored two early runs in the top of the 1^st, and they answered with two of their own, but we came right back and scored six more in the top of the 2^nd. 

From there, we just tried to hold on. 

They kept chipping away and scored their 7^th run in the bottom of the 7^th inning.  As a coach, there is nothing harder than trying to get the 21^st out.  It is exquisite how difficult it is to close that out. 

But, we did and took Game 1. 

Game 2 was totally flipped around. 

This is the defending state champion, and they answered like it.  Now we were the home team, and they scored seven runs in the first two innings. 

We went to our second pitcher, Annika Rastall, she has been our Junior Varsity pitcher all season but hasn’t pitched for us at the varsity level.  She pitched her ass off!

Can I say that  (laughs)? But she did. 

She blanked them for four innings and gave our offense a chance to grind and get us back into the game.  We ended up tying it up in the 6^th inning, and going into the bottom of the 7^th, and I was worried about going into extras and Eastside stealing it back away from us. 

But, with two outs, Gretchen Dolan got on with a single.  Tatum Porter backed that up with another single.  Up came Bailey Groover, who had a tough day against that great competition bearing down on her. 

But, I had gotten with her earlier and told her to stay tough and present in the moment, and she was going to get a chance to make a difference in these games. 

She battled several foul balls, before getting a 2-2 pitch she could handle, and she drove a pitch over the left fielder’s head that scored Dolen. 

Somehow, we just did it, but that is the story of our season.  It wasn’t pretty.  It wasn’t comfortable.  But we got it done. 

LDM: So, what is next?  

BC:  Well, we haven’t come this far just to come this far.  At #26, across all classifications, we are the lowest seed still alive in the playoffs. 

We don’t inherit the higher seed by winning, so we travel to Marist on Wednesday. 

They have an extremely talented third basemen, Megan Snipes, so we will have to contain her.  We will let the team enjoy their win, but we gotta rest, recover, reset, and go get it. 

LDM: Finally, congrats on the biggest upset in the playoffs! That is a lot of fun and great memories for your team.  Thanks for your time coach and now burn the ships, there ain’t no going back! Good luck against Marist this week…

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Here is the latest update for all the playoff brackets as linked below.  There are some great matchups this week, and we make the turn to Columbus, despite East Forsyth’s Cinderella story, the super seeds continue their march towards South Commons. 

• 7 A Playoffs
• 6 A Playoffs
• 5 A Playoffs
• 4 A Playoffs
• 3 A Playoffs
• 2 A Playoffs
• 1 A Playoffs
• Private Playoffs

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Three (Or More) Things I Learned This Week

There were 120 series across the Peach State with 251 total games played in the first round. 

You would expect 124 series, but Private Classification only had eight series as their top seeds enjoyed first round byes. 

Of the 56 super seeds in action, most of these teams coasted; however, two were tripped up: Eastside, as noted earlier, and Columbus fell to Calhoun in 4A action. 

It is notable how many sweeps occurred, even more than sweeps than favorites winning (101 favorites won). 

When the lower seeds sweep, it suggests a battle toughness, or lack thereof.  There were 15 underdog sweeps (12.5%), and only 11 three game series (9%). 

When you get down, you typically lose. 

Overall, 84% of favorites won, and over 90% of the series ended in sweeps (108 series).

Over 67% of the games ended in run-rule fashion (167 total games), so you can see how these games got out of hand real quick. 

There were only two series that the winner dropped Game 1 and rallied to come back and win.  Both of those were the higher seed, home team.

The one stat that did not hit this round that we are looking to the second round was the underdog dropping Game 1 and rallying to come back for the upset in three games. 

There was only one game like that all last year during the playoffs. 

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Here’s a class by class look at results from last week and looking ahead to the Sweet 16…

Class 7A

• Buford defeated Rockdale 17-0 and 16-0. Buford advances against Seckinger who prevailed in their matchup over Hillgrove, 6-4,6-7, and 11-6.
• Dacula won in three games over Paulding County 8-0, 2-3, and 11-3. They advance to play Richmond Hill, who defeated Etowah 9-1 and 7-3.
• Harrison defeated Parkview 10-0 and 14-1, they advance to play North Forsyth, who defeated North Forsyth 12-8 and 14-4.

• Brookwood defeated South Forsyth 15-0 and 16-0. They advance to play Grayson, who defeated Camden County 9-1 and 10-2.
• Northgate defeated Newton 8-0 and 20-7. They will advance to play North Gwinnett, who defeated Walton 2-0 and 7-1.
• Archer defeated Collins Hill 4-2 and 8-4. They will advance to play North Paulding, who swept Collins Hill 4-2 and 8-4.
• East Coweta defeated Peachtree Ridge 5-1 and 28-10. They will advance to play Carrollton, who was 1 of 2 total teams across the state to lose the first game and rally back for a series win against Mill Creek, 3-6, 12-3, and 10-2. 
• Cherokee defeated Lowndes 9-1 and 8-0. They will advance to play Lambert, who defeated Denmark 5-0 and 10-0.

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Class 6A

• South Effingham defeated Greenbriar 13-0 and 11-0. They will advance against Coffee, who upset and swept South Paulding 5-1 and 3-1.
• Lee County defeated Milton 8-0 and 11-0. They advance to play Kell, who upset John’s Creek 4-1 and 6-0.
• Lassiter defeated Alexander moving forward to play Decatur. Decatur defeated Riverwood in what could be the best series of the 1st round, 2-1 and 4-3.

• Defending champion Creekview defeated Sequoyah 8-0 and 11-0 and will advance to play against Walnut Grove. Walnut Grove won in 3 games against Thomas County, 11-5, 10-12, and 12-3.
• Loganville defeated Grovetown 10-2 and 12-4, and advances to play Effingham County. Effingham defeated Midtown 12-0 and 11-1.
• Glynn Academy defeated McIntosh 10-0 and 12-0. They will advance to play Veterans that won in a 3 games series against Newnan, 12-2, 6-7, and 15-7.
• Pope defeated Chamblee 4-0 and 15-3. They advance to play against River Ridge, who defeated Dunwoody 15-0 and 12-1.
• Houston County defeated East Paulding 13-1 and 10-1 and will advance against Jackson County, which upset Northside-Columbus in a 3-game series, 12-0, 4-7, and 10-2.

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Class 5A

• East Forsyth pulled the biggest upset in the state playoffs so far by sweeping the defending state champion, Eastside.  East Forsyth will advance to play Marist, who defeated Cedartown 13-0 and 11-1.  
• Harris County defeated Mundys Mill 17-0 and 16-0.  They advance to play St. Pius, who upset OLA 7-1 and 8-5. 
• Cartersville defeated Ware County 3-2 and 11-0.  They advance to play Blessed Trinity, who upset Dutchtown 15-0 and 12-4. 

• Wayne County defeated Jackson 15-0 and 17-0.  They will play Villa Rica who upset Whitewater 16-1 and 6-1. 
• Cambridge defeated Allatoona 10-1 and 17-2 and will play Jefferson.  Jefferson won their series against Statesboro, sweeping them 6-0 and 13-0. 
• Central Carollton defeated Mays 15-0 and 16-0.  They will play Jones County by defeating the visiting Madison County in 3 games.  They were the 2^nd team to lose game 1 and rally for the series win 5-6, 4-2, and 15-2. 
• North Oconee swept Union Grove 10-2 and 17-9 and will advance to play Perry.  Perry defeated Jonesboro 12-0 and 15-0. 
• Starr’s Mill defeated LaGrange in two thrilling games, 1-0 and 3-2.  They will advance to play Cass, who upset Southwest Dekalb 16-1 and 2-1. 

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Class 4A

• Long County defeated Spalding 11-0 and 14-0 and will advance to play Oconee County.  Oconee defeated Peach County 4-3 and 6-1. 
• West Laurens defeated Hardaway 18-1 and 17-2 and will advance to play Adairsville.  Adairsville upset Mary Persons 10-1 and 6-2. 
• Cherokee Bluff defeated East Jackson 6-0 and 20-0 and will advance to play Gilmer.  Gilmer upset Troup County 3-0 and 6-5. 
• Monroe Area defeated Sandy Creek 19-0 and 21-0. They will advance to play North Hall, who upset Bainbridge 14-1 and 10-4. 
• Heritage, Catoosa defeated NW Whitfield 6-2 and 6-3.  Heritage will advance to play Cairo, which won its series against Luella 15-0 and 13-1. 
• As the 26^th seed, Calhoun pulled the second biggest surprise of the first round with an upset of #6 super seed, Columbus 7-0 and 7-0.  At first glance, those scores suggested a forfeit. 

But, this intrepid reporter flexed every media credential I could imagine and got on a call with Columbus High Blue Devil Head Coach Kelly Furtick to discuss the game. 

She said:

“They have great pitching, great defense, and hit balls to where we weren’t and we hit line drives right to them.  They jumped us, and I felt they are a Columbus ready team.  Tip of the hat to them.”

• Calhoun will advance to play Harlem, who won their series against Upson-Lee, 12-0 and 19-0. 
• Ridgeland defeated White County 11-3 and 12-3.  They will advance to play against Woodland, who won in 3 games against SE Bulloch 7-5, 4-5, and 9-4. 
• Pickens defeated Dawson County 2-0 and 13-6.  They will advance against Fayette who won their series against Shaw 16-2 and 16-0. 

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Class 3A

• Appling County defeated Thomson 12-0 and 8-0.  They will advance to play against Hart who upset Washington 12-0 and 9-3. 
• Worth County defeated Crisp County 7-0 and 10-1 and will advance to play Jackson.  Jackson upset Columbia 18-0 and 19-0. 
• Rockmart defeated North Murray 5-2 and 17-1.  They will advance to play Elbert, who won in a 3-game series against Callaway, 7-3, 6-7, and 8-0. 
• Sonoraville defeated Union County 4-3 and 9-0.  They advance to play Haralson, who upset Carver 18-0 and 18-0. 
• Toombs County defeated Ringold 1-0 and 12-2.  They will advance to play Stephens, who defeated Burke 14-0 and 13-1. 
• Pike County defeated Tattnall County 15-0 and 19-0.  Pike will host Lumpkin, who defeated Murray County 7-6 and 10-5. 
• Pierce County defeated Franklin County 2-1 and 13-3.  They will host Brantley, who defeated South Atlanta 15-0 and 16-0. 
• Lamar County defeated Temple 7-2 and 13-0 and will host Morgan County.  Morgan County defeated Sumter County 15-0 and 15-0. 

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Class 2A

• Banks County defeated Washington 13-0 and 15-0.  They will host Thomasville who upset Screven County 7-5, 5-6, and 3-1. 

• Bacon County defeated Brooks County 16-0 and 16-0 and will advance to host Bleckley County.  Bleckley defeated ACE Charter 4-1 and 11-0.   
• Cook defeated Dodge County 8-0 and 9-1 and will host Jeff Davis.  Jeff Davis defeated Oglethorpe County 10-1 and 12-4. 
• Gordon Lee defeated Fitzgerald 15-0 and 20-0.  They will host Fannin County that upset Jasper County 6-2 and 9-7. 
• Armuchee defeated Chattooga 9-1 and 13-3 and will host Mt Zion.  Mt Zion defeated Commerce 9-1 and 14-2. 
• Berrien defeated Bryan County 8-2 and 3-2.  They will host East Laurens, who defeated Social Circle 13-1 and 13-3. 
• Vidalia defeated Rabun County 14-2 and 11-0 and will host Bremen.  Bremen won its series against Heard County 10-2 and 11-0. 
• Dade County defeated Jefferson County 9-0 and 12-0 and will host Metter.  Metter won its series against Model 2-1 and 5-3. 

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Class 1A

• Wheeler defeated Marion County 12-0 and 19-0 and will host LOA.  LOA won its series against Pataula Charter 15-7 and 18-0. 
• Irwin County defeated Pelham 13-1 and 18-1.  They will host Wilcox who won its series against Miller County 11-1 and 12-5. 
• E.C.I defeated Manchester 15-0 and 15-0 and will host Treutlen.  Treutlen won its series against Jenkins County 9-2 and 14-5. 
• Schley County defeated Portal 10-1 and 19-2 and will host Bowden.  Bowden won its series in 3 games against Charlton County, 8-5, 8-9, and 5-2. 
• Lanier County, this classification’s defending state champion, defeated G.I.S.C. 14-0 and 18-0.  They will advance to play against Baconton, who won their series 15-3 and 18-0. 
• GA Military Academy won 9-1 and 13-7 to clinch the series against Glascock County.  They will now host Johnson, who won their series against Seminole 8-0 and 7-1. 
• Trion won its series against Atkinson County 11-1 and 17-5.  They will now host Taylor, who won over Washington Wilkes, 12-0 and 10-6. 
• Telfair County defeated Hawkinsville 11-0 and 9-0.  They advance against Clinch County, who defeated Crawford County 14-6 and 17-1. 

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Private

• There are exactly 24 teams in the Private classification (opposed to up to 32 in the other classifications), so the importance of a Top 8 super seed is even more pronounced as these eight teams get a BYE in the first round.   
• St Vincents defeated Eagles Landing 8-0 and 16-2 and will now travel to Prince Avenue for the second round. 
• Pace Academy will host Holy Innocents in the second round, after Holy Innocents defeated Galloway 15-0 and 14-0. 
• North Cobb Christian will host Christian Heritage in the second round after Christian Heritage defeated Lovett 8-4 and 16-4. 
• Hebron Christian will host Greater Atlanta Christian, after GAC upset Landmark Christian 20-3 and 17-1. 

• Providence Christian will host St. Francis after St. Francis defeated Savannah Christian 13-1 and 20-0. 
• Mount Paran will host Westminster, after Westminster defeated Darlington 12-0 and 20-0. 
• Mount Vernon will host Trinity Christian, after Trinity Christian defeated Calvary Day 15-0 and 12-0. 
• Wesleyan, the 5-time defending state champion, is the #8^th seed, will host Whitefield.  Whitfield won over Walker 16-0 and 20-0. 

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Steve’s Take 

The second round is where the fun really starts. 

After one supernova upset of defending state champion Eastside in the first round, we should expect more fireworks in the second round. 

There will guaranteed be more than 11 three game series and 19 upsets, both in real numbers and obviously percent wise.  The gap is closing now, and it will be wars of attrition and best on best. 

I expect to see more manager’s decisions on when and how to rest arms and maximize outcomes during these longer series.  Regardless of the current year’s rankings, you should watch teams outside of the super seeds to make pushes to Columbus.  Familiar programs. 

Post Season Rankings are not as important as Columbus DNA; they are often the same, but for many it is not. 

— Steve Hickey/Line Drive Contributor