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 5 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

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All Gas, No Brakes

From here, you can see October.  Fall has finally arrived.  Georgia’s notorious heat has finally broken.  The monotonous tone of highway miles to Columbus has given way to anticipation.

We are cracking our windows to let the heavy air of the Chattahoochee River that dominates South Commons into the car.

We are getting close!

The Road to Columbus is taking shape, and with almost two months of hard-fought competition under our belt, this is the best time of year.

The phrase of the week is “Senior Night” as many schools begin recognizing their Class of 2027.  Softball moms are all in their feels, working out their emotions with memory boards and glow ups for their well-deserved walk out on the field.

Softball dads, although none were available for comment, are certainly going through it too.

The precious sense of time, where did it all go, the memories, fights, laughter, and sessions in the cage.  Who doesn’t remember their daughter’s first hit?  Their biggest hit?  It is hard to apply nostalgia to a 17-year-old high school kid, but we are closer to the end than the beginning.

We are on the clock.  Every pitch, every at bat, every opportunity has been a blessing to each and every player, coach, and parent reading these articles.  It is a great time to celebrate this great sport and the ladies that fill it up with so much…everything.

Youth is often wasted on the young.  However, there are exceptions to every rule, it is not wasted on softball players.  They are different.

We all see it, or at least we did when we first started chasing this sport.  The role models are magnificent ambassadors for the sport and human beings in large.

We all pointed to it and said: “I hope my daughter grows up to be just like that.”

Strong, wise, courageous, beautiful – inside and out.  We wanted their youth to matter.  To hold purpose.  To be on mission towards something bigger and more meaningful.

And here we are, we got it.

For players who are still competing at this level, they know.  Coaches have long preached to them to stay in the moment, be where their feet are.

They know.

Obviously, some seniors already have their path to play at the next level, and that is amazing.  We shower those girls with accolades, and this is a great stepping stone for them.

For others, with the September 1^st recruiting window that has long come and gone, they are feeling their softball mortality.  There may not be a chair waiting for them at the next level.

Frankly, that is OK.

Softball players already have accomplished so much, learned so much about life through sports, have much higher cumulative GPAs than NARPs (non-athletic regular people), and already have a great head start on life.

It’s been a great journey.

Let them finish strong, filled with meaning, and enjoy their final season in the dugout.  Don’t let their youth be wasted by softball parents.  You can never go back.

To all the senior parents of softball players out there, smile and breath.  You have some amazing girls out there.

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Something I Learned This Week

If coaching was so easy, why doesn’t everyone do it?

The fan section of games is full of people who know more and better than the coaches.  All you need to do is stop and listen to them.  Every decision is second guessed, lineups, preparation, strategies, tendencies, situational play calls, scheduling, even injuries – the list is near infinite.  And cumulative.

Things from six games ago are remembered and indexed into the “coach didn’t make the right call.” The term “submit” has long been abandoned and doesn’t fit into most American ways of life.

But families and players must find ownership of this in order to have a meaningful and fulfilling experience in their playing career.

Former NFL quarterback Don Meredith famously said, “If ifs and buts were candy and nuts, we’d all have a merry Christmas.”

As I sit in the stands and listen to families and fans dissect a game, I often ask myself, “Are we playing softball or trying to have a merry Christmas?”

When I attend a game, I give over two hours to the sport to be entertained.  I just love watching these young athletes figure things out.  Every single parent should regularly tell every single player that they admire and appreciate what they give us.

Getting down from the soapbox now.

Let’s get into the classifications results and look across the Peach State.  As Columbus comes into focus, a quick reminder that the playoff seeding methodology was tinkered on for the 2026 season.

Only Region winners are guaranteed a berth into the state playoffs (last year, 1^st and 2^nd were automatically seeded).

After that, inclusion and seeding will be determined by the Post Season Ranking (“PSR”).  With each class having approximately eight regions, which opens eight more slots for a total of 24 slots for at large consideration.

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Now, let’s look at this week’s results across the Peach State…

Class 7A

*** Buford recovered from their first loss of the season to mow down Fayette County, Dacula, and Collins Hills.  They stumbled again losing again to the Cambridge Bears 9-6, getting down early, and never quite controlling the game.

The Bears were led by 2027 RHP Lily Kimball, who kept Buford off balance all night and finished with five strikeouts and only one walk.  She flipped the game around with her bat by hitting two home runs driving in five runs.

The Brown commit roared the loudest against the No. 1 team in the state with her second home run, a three-run shot, in the top of the 7^th with the score at 5-4.  Kimball and team served notice that Cambridge may have the right stuff for the 5A championship.

Buford is 20-2 as it bounced back again against top rated Creekview 4-2 and have one more difficult test next week against Dacula.

There simply is never a night off in 7A.

*** Harrison is 19-1, and just 30 basis points behind Buford for the No. 1 seed.  The Lady Hoyas have a monster game to close out the regular season against 6A power Creekview.  This correspondent will be there.

*** Brookwood has run its record to 18-2 with wins against Mill Creek and North Gwinnett, but they dropped a 6-3 game against Seckinger.  Brookwood will have a closing gauntlet over the next two weeks to finish the regular season with games against Walton and Lassiter.

*** Northgate has surged to 3^rd in the PSR with an 18-5 record, finishing the week with an impressive 9-5 win over the Carrollton Trojans and a loss at East Coweta.

*** East Coweta ain’t done yet.  The reports of their demise have been greatly exaggerated.

While this year’s 15-7 record may not match historical expectations around this program, Coach Franklin DeLoach has guided his young team into the 5^th place PSR position.

With a shootout against Carrollton this week, the 11-10 win shows there is still some fight pumping through the blood in that dugout as they hunt for their place in Columbus.

Don’t believe me?

Get this: in this week’s game against Northgate, the Indians trailed the entire game.  Down four runs after two innings, and shutout and down seven runs going into the bottom of the 7^th innings, the Indians had Northgate right where they wanted them.

They started their warpath and scored 10 runs in the bottom of the 7^th, with their all-state 2028 LSU commit Payton Wilson being intentionally walked and not partaking in all the fun.

East Coweta walked it off as 2029 Kinli Blair hit a three-run homerun to take this critical region game.

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Class 6A

*** South Effingham held on to the top spot of the Post Season Rankings, running their season to date with a 17-2 record.  The have split its two games against Richmond Hill, winning this week’s rematch.

*** Creekview has a champion schedule and resume and has a firm grip on the No. 2 spot in the PSR.  We seem to mention them in every classification as the measuring stick, as everyone brings their “A” game to them.

The Grizzlies have a gaudy 17-2 record, but a far higher bar of quality competition.  Their upcoming slate of games against Buford, Lassiter, Pope, and Harrison will be “must see” TV or Gamechanger, if you will.

*** After breaking into the Top 3 of the PSR, Lee County faced Houston County thee times this week and went 2-1 against that Columbus contender.  Season to date, the Lady Trojans are 22-2.

*** Lassiter finished the week 18-4.  Their schedule is very heavy, and they have a couple of really big games looming against Cartersville, Walton, Creekview, and Pope.  There is no doubt that the Trojans are scheduled for a trip to Columbus.

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Class 5A

*** As expected, the Cartersville Lady Canes jumped into the No. 1 spot in the PSR running their season to date record to 22-2 and, with a favorable schedule to finish the regular season, they won’t be giving that up.

The Lady Canes have a complete lineup of senior leaders, like Zoie Shiftlet and 2027 Kennedy Crenshaw, and hungry underclassman like 2029 Izzy Tummins.

This team has ferocious pitching and depth and all the right pieces in all the right places.  I am looking forward to seeing this team clash against Harris County and Eastside and Cambridge in Columbus.

*** Harris County stretched its season to date record to 19-4.  Led by 2027 RHP Chloe Wolfenbarger, Harris County has the eye of the tiger to repeat their 2025 State Championship.  They dropped a 1-0 game to Starr’s Mill this week, but they have a big game this week against Northgate and will most likely finish the regular season in this top spot.

*** Cambridge rode their upset against Buford to move into No. 4 of the PSR and a season-to-date record of 18-3.

After the big win against Buford, they proceeded to lay an egg against Cherokee 1-0.  Cherokee is not a bad loss, but you would like to see them back up that monster win.

As noted earlier, Lily Kimball has the Bears in top form at the right time.  The Bears have two more big tests coming up against Walton and Pope, can they finish what they started?

Now that the eyes of the state are upon them.

*** Back in the pack, Marist is 17-6 and is 11^th in the PSR.  We wanted to highlight perhaps one of the state’s most under-appreciated best players, Megan Snipes.

The Kennesaw State commit is a 2027 INF and is hitting over .550 with 11 home runs with an 1.200 slugging percentage.

Can she get hot and carry the War Eagles to Columbus?

As you will find everywhere, these single-threaded teams will need other players to step up and apply pressure, as great pitching will begin to voluntarily avoid her.  Without pressure to pitch to her, she won’t be allowed to get hot and wreck a game.

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Class 4A

*** Long County improved its record to 15-2 and solidified its hold as the No. 1 seed in the PSR.  The Tide conquered Richmond Hill 2-1 behind the tremendous performance of 2029 Sophia Brewster.

The freshman collected two hits, drove in both runs, and pitched the seven innings, scattering 10 hits and getting seven strikeouts with just one walk.  The Tide still has West Laurens next week, and a critical test against GIAA power Tatnall Square.

All eyes are on this young club to see how they handle the post season.

*** Heritage improved its record to 17-2 but did drop a game to Sonarville 9-4 in a showdown of Columbus contenders.

The Generals fell behind three runs to the Phoenix, were out-hit by the defending state champion, and could never get back into the game.

Iron sharpens iron, and the Generals have a rematch this week.  This reporter will be in attendance for the rematch.

*** Cherokee Bluff is 19-5 with a big game this week against Buford.  The Bears have a favorable schedule to finish the season strongly and be well positioned for the post season.

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Class 3A

*** Appling County continued its piracy of the 3A classification, running their record to 18-0. The Pirates have a huge rematch this week against Wayne County.

*** Worth County seized the No. 2 spot in the PSR with a 19-3 record.

The Lady Rams dropped a good game to the Berrien Rebels 8-5, despite the terrific production behind 2029 RHP Laurie Pritchard who also passed the 200K mark for the season.

*** Defending state champ, Sonoraville is now 18-4 and has a rematch this week against Heritage.

Emerging star, 2029 MIF Keegan Angel had a big week and is showing the depth of the defending state champion as it begins to turn its vision towards Columbus.

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Class 2A

*** Bacon County is No. 1 in the PSR with a 13-2 record with a big win this week against Brooks County.

*** Banks County is the No. 2 team with a 21-2 record for the season with a nice out of classification win against a big school like Dacula.

*** Cooks is 20-1 season to date and is firmly in the No. 3 PSR spot.

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Class 1A

*** Wheeler has jetted out to a 21-1 record and is currently listed as the No. 1 team in the single A classification.

*** Irwin has a 13-1 record and is ranked No. 2, Irwin did drop its game against Lanier County this week. 

*** Reigning champ Lanier is 14-4 and is 8^th in the PSR ranking, slowly working its way back into contention. 

Pumpkin spice lattes kick in hard during October, but everyone knows the only spice that matters is served in South Commons on Halloween. 

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Private

*** Hebron hit the meat of its schedule, and it hit back.  It appears that everyone is healthy, but it is the cost of vigorous scheduling against big time schools. 

It hammered their PSR calculations and dropped them to 5^th place, but their title aspirations remain clearly focused on South Commons in late October. 

*** Meanwhile, Prince Avenue has ascended to the No. 1 spot, and the long-teased interview with Coach Byrom is coming.  I promise.   I was holding out until they touched the sun. 

*** Pace Academy, with its Wrigley twins, is No. 2 and North Cobb Christian is No. 3.  North Cobb has an impressive win against Sonarville and a competitive game against elite Harrison. 

*** Mount Vernon rounds out this group at No. 4 with a 16-4 record, and Coach Edmonson’s squad with a couple of quality wins against Cass and Walton this week. 

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Steve’s Take 

Enjoy your seniors.  Cheer for them and play for them.  One day, it will be your turn.

Just hope your senior year will be buoyed by some precocious under classman while you are driving the bus to Columbus.  It won’t last long.  Don’t blink.

How many miles is it to Columbus from your school?  If you know it, feel free to drop me a line and give me the insider’s look at your team and the journey ahead this season.

— Steve Hickey/Line Drive Contributor