By Kevin Eckleberry

kevin.eckleberry@lagrangenews.com

LAGRANGE – It’ll be a first-place showdown.

When the Troup Tigers host the LaGrange Grangers on April 11, first place in Region 5-AAAA will be on the line.

LaGrange and Troup are the two hottest baseball teams in the region, and they own the top two spots.

LaGrange has won six in a row and is in first place in the region at 6-1, while Troup has put together a four-game winning streak to climb to second in the region at 6-2.

Troup, which beat LaGrange 3-1 earlier this season, can climb into first place with a win over its rival next week.

Close behind is Cartersville, which is very much in championship contention in the region at 5-2, while Cedartown is in fourth place at 4-4.

The top four finishers in the region will qualify for the state playoffs, so Central (3-5), Sandy Creek (2-6) and Chapel Hill (1-7) are on the outside looking in, but they still have time to climb the ladder.

Each team has at least four region games left, and some of them have five remaining.

LaGrange began its region schedule with a 3-1 home loss to Troup, but it has been rolling since, capturing six consecutive wins to move into first place.

Troup was 2-2 in the region after a 6-5 home loss to Central-Carroll, but it began a four-game winning streak with a 1-0 road win over Cartersville.

Cartersville’s only two region losses are two LaGrange and Troup, and it will get to play each of those teams one more time.

REGION 5-AAAA

Overall record first, followed by region record:

LaGrange           14-7, 6-1

Troup                   15-8, 6-2

Cartersville        15-6, 5-2

Cedartown         14-5, 4-4

Central-Carroll 9-11, 3-5

Sandy Creek    12-10, 2-6

Chapel Hill         9-16, 1-7