By MICHAEL MURRAY

Three area baseball teams; the Schley County Wildcats, the Southland Academy Raiders, and the Georgia Southwestern State University (GSW) Hurricanes, have earned themselves berths in the playoffs of their respective conferences.
With the Region 4-A championship under their belts and an impressive record of 26-2 on the 2017 season, the Wildcats will kick off tournament action on May 4 in Ellaville when they host the Trion Bulldogs at Wildcat Stadium. The Bulldogs enter the contest with an overall record of 17-10 and managed to amass a 6-6 record in Region 6-B through the season. Local baseball fans will recall that the Wildcats defeated the Trion Bulldogs twice in May of 2015 on their way to a state championship victory.
Games are scheduled to begin at 4:30 and 7:00, with the “if” game scheduled for 2:00 on May 5, if necessary.
With a record of 8-7-1 in Georgia Independent School Association (GISA) Region 3-AAA competition, the Southland Academy Raiders earned a spot in the playoffs with a pair of wins over the Brookwood Warriors two weeks ago.
The Raiders will look to advance in the post-season on May 5 when the crew travels to Perry to take on the Westfield Hornets. The initial game is scheduled to begin at 4:00, with the nightcap starting at 6:30. In the case of a tie, the deciding tilt will be held the following afternoon at 3:00.
The Hornets enter the playoffs with an overall record of 14-7.
The GSW Hurricanes finished their regular season tied with Augusta University (AU) for the eighth seed in the Peach Belt Conference tournament. The Hurricanes won the tiebreaker after winning two of three games against the AU Jaguars.
The Hurricanes will begin their participation in the PBC tourney on MAy 10, taking on the University of North Georgia in Florence, South Carolina. This marks the first time that the Hurricanes have been included in the PBC playoffs since 2010. The winner of the tournament will earn an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.