When are Gainesville teams playing? A look at baseball and softball regional tournaments

Ainslie Lee, The Gainesville Sun

May 9, 2022 at 11:04 AM·5 min read

A total of 17 local high school teams will compete in the FHSAA's baseball and softball regional tournaments coming up this week.

In the Gainesville area, nine baseball teams and eight softball teams will look to keep their seasons alive and make a postseason run toward a state championship.

Here's a look at what's ahead for each of the area's surviving baseball and softball programs.

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Baseball

Class 5A-Region 1

No. 8 St. Augustine (17-8) at No. 1 Lake City Columbia (19-8)

The Columbia Tigers will once again host the St. Augustine after just seeing the Yellow Jackets on Thursday in the district title game, where the Tigers had no trouble with the Yellow Jackets and ran off with an 11-2 win.

Columbia and St. Augustine will square off on Tuesday night at 7. The winner advances to the region semifinal, where it will see the winner of No. 5 Mosely and No. 4 Stanton on Thursday.

Class 4A-Region 1

No. 5 Clay (17-10) at No. 4 Santa Fe (20-6)

In a highly anticipated rematch of the April 12 extra-inning dogfight that saw Santa Fe top Clay 2-1, the Blue Devils will get another shot at the Raiders in the opening round of the playoffs on Wednesday night at 7.

Winner of the rematch will battle the winner of No. 8 Baker County and No. 1 Suwannee on Saturday at 7 p.m.

Class 2A-Region 1

No. 7 Oak Hall (14-3) at No. 2 North Florida Christian (18-5)

Oak Hall will see an unfamiliar face when it travels to Tallahassee to square off against North Florida Christian in a battle of the Eagles on Wednesday night at 7 p.m. Winner of quarterfinal will see the winner of No. 6 Wakulla Christian and No. 3 University Christian on Saturday at 7 p.m.

Class 1A-Region 3

No. 4 Fort White (14-6) at No. 1 Union County (14-11)

When the Fort White Indians and Union County Fightin' Tigers meet in the region semifinal on Tuesday night at 7, it'll mark the fourth meeting of the season for the two teams. The Tigers hold the advantage, having won two of the three prior meetings.

Winner of Fort White-Union County will play the winner of No. 3 Lafayette-No. 2 Madison County on Friday night at 7 for the region title.

No. 3 Lafayette (16-3) at No. 2 Madison County (12-9)

It's been a while since the Lafayette Hornets and the Madison County Cowboys have seen each other on the baseball diamond. The two teams met back in Feb. 24 in a battle that saw Lafayette win 5-2. Now, the two meet again in the region semifinal on Tuesday at 7 p.m.

Winner of the rematch draws the winner of No. 4 Fort White and No. 1 Union County on Friday at 7 p.m. for the region championship.

Softball

Region 1-Class 5A

No. 6 Milton (12-8) vs. No. 3 Gainesville (12-13)

The meeting between the Milton Panthers and Gainesville Hurricanes in the region quarterfinal will be the first for the two programs this season. Milton will travel to Boulware Ballpark on Gainesville's campus on Thursday at 7 p.m.

Winner of the 'Canes and Panthers will see the winner of No. 7 Ocala Vanguard and No. 2 Middleburg in the region semifinal on May 17.

Region 1-Class 3A

No. 6 West Nassau (16-7) at No. 3 Keystone Heights (17-9)

Wednesday night's region quarterfinal meeting between the West Nassau Warriors and the Keystone Heights Indians will be the second of the season. Last time the two teams met back on April 21, the Indians withstood the Warriors in a 1-0 win.

Winner of West Nassau and Keystone Heights will face the winner of No. 7 Marianna and No. 2 Providence School on May 17.

Region 3-1A

No. 4 Lafayette (13-6) at No. 1 Fort White (13-7)

The Lafayette Hornets and Fort White Indians should be awfully familiar with one another after seeing each other twice in the regular season and then again in the district tournament. Through three games, Fort White has beaten Lafayette twice. The Hornets and Indians square off again on Thursday at 7 p.m.

Winner of Lafayette and Fort White will advance to the region final on May 17, where it will see the winner of No. 3 Union County and No. 2 Union County.

No. 3 Union County (17-5) at No. 2 Madison County (14-9)

The Union County Fightin' Tigers and Madison County Cowgirls will be just seven days removed from their last meeting when they see each other again in the region semifinal on Thursday night at 7. Madison County topped Union County 7-4 last week.

Winner of Union County and Madison County will see the winner of No. 4 Lafayette and No. 1 Fort White on May 17 for the region final.

Region 4-Class 1A

No. 4 Trenton (10-11) at No. 1 Dixie County (19-4)

Thursday night's region semifinal between the Trenton Tigers and the Dixie County Bears will be meeting No. 3 of the season for the two programs. Dixie County has won both prior meetings by a combined score of 12-6.

Winner of Trenton and Dixie County will battle the winner of No. 2 Taylor and No. 3 Williston on May 17 in the region final.

No. 3 Williston (18-7) at No. 2 Pierson Taylor (13-5)

It hasn't been long since the Williston Red Devils and Taylor Wildcats have seen each other. The two battled for a district title on May 5 in a game that saw the Wildcats top the Red Devils 7-6 thanks to a seventh-inning run from Taylor. The two teams will face each other in a rematch on Thursday night at 7 in the region semifinal.

Winner of Williston and Taylor will advance to the region final against the winner of No. 4 Trenton and No. 1 Dixie County.

This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: High school playoffs: Inside brackets for baseball, softball regionals

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