The path to states for all 11 Gainesville area playoff softball teams
Saturday morning, baseball and softball squads awoke across North Central Florida to see what path awaited them to reach states.
That path has now been cleared for the 12 baseball and 11 softball teams which qualified for the FHSAA Regional Playoffs.
The state final four for softball will be held May 20-25 at Legends Way Ballfields in Clermont.
With postseason play kicking off Wednesday, here’s the path for each team.
Class 1A-Region 3: Heavyweight tilt awaits
Perhaps the most anticipated game in the Gainesville area before states will come in this region, when Branford and Fort White will likely do battle.
Last year, the Buccaneers lost in the state title game. The year before, Fort White did.
Now, both teams have a title on their mind.
The Indians took the first two games in late February/early March, but in the district final, the Bucs hung on for the 3-1 win.
Branford is seeded one, so the game will be in Suwannee County.
Beforehand, the Bucs will open vs Aucilla Christian and the Indians vs Madison County.
Class 1A-Region 4: The clearest of clear favorites
Trenton enters Regionals not only as a clear favorite in Region 4, but a favorite to win it all.
The Tigers roared to 19 wins and just two losses. They rank first in 1A and 12th in the state. They beat every 1A team on their schedule.
Newberry, Chiefland and especially Williston look to shock the world in regionals, but that appears unlikely.
In states, Branford or Fort White can challenge Trenton due to regular season results, but we will cross that bridge when we get there.
Class 2A-Region 1: Can Countryside Christian make a name?
Countryside Christian flew under the radar this season, and while naysayers might gripe that CC took advantage of an easy district, the squad is here now.
Countryside dramatically won district games vs St. Francis (12-11) and Father Lopez (11-10).
Now, a seven seed, the Minutewomen will host No. 2 seed Providence due to FHSAA rules.
The Stallions should win, but CC has proven it can’t be counted out.
The winner there faces the victor of St. John Paul II and North Florida Christian.
Class 3A-Region 1 and 2: Can Santa Fe slay the dragon?
In Region 1, Keystone Heights suffered a stunning upset to Palatka in the district final. That cost it a potential home playoff game, but the Indians still gained a seven seed in regionals.
The challenge will be tough as it will travel to Episcopal School of Jacksonville, ranked fifth in the class and 19th in Florida.
Down in Region 2, Santa Fe has been like DJ Khaled and “just winning.”
The Raiders lost just twice since March 1 with wins over multiple playoff teams. They’ve elevated up to 30th in the state and 7th in 3A.
They are seeded No. 2 in R2 and host Astronaut. They’ll then face Trinity Catholic in a district final rematch or Trinity Preps before a potential regional final with top-seeded Monteverde.
Class 5A-Region 1: Two times the charm for GHS?
One of the area’s most dominant programs – Gainesville High – is back to its winning ways this season.
The ‘Canes, at 20-4, drew the four seed in Region 1. They are riding high after an impressive 4-0 district final win over top-seeded and state top 10 ranked Middleburg behind Leanna Bourdage’s heroics.
If the Hurricanes can get past Deltona in the regional quarterfinals, a rematch with the Broncos likely awaits.
A Gainesville area team can stop that rematch, though – Columbia. The Tigers garnered the eight seed in Region 1. If any team can upset No. 1, its them.
CHS beat Santa Fe and Trenton this season and lost to MHS by just a run on March 28.
The two and three seeds in the region are Fort Walton Beach and Gulf Breeze.
Noah Ram covers Gainesville-area high school sports and University of Florida athletics for The Gainesville Sun. Contact him at Nram@gannett.com and follow him @Noah_ram1 on Twitter.
This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Gainesville area softball teams prepare for FHSAA playoffs and bid to states
