By KEVIN ECKLEBERRY

Daily News

The LaGrange Grangers and Troup Tigers have both had their struggles during the first month of the season, but the slate will be wiped clean next week with the start of region play.

LaGrange and Troup will both begin their pursuit of a state-playoff spot when they open their Region 5-AAAA baseball schedules on Monday.

LaGrange’s task is a challenging one.

LaGrange’s opponent will be Cartersville, which is the second-ranked Class AAAA team in the state in the Georgia Dugout Preview poll.

Troup, which won the outright region championships in 2016 and 2017 and shared the title with Cartersville last season, begins its region schedule against Central-Carroll.

There are seven teams in the region, and they’ll play each other two times.

The top four teams will qualify for the state playoffs, and the first two finishers will host a first-round series.

LaGrange heads into the region schedule having won three of its past four games.

LaGrange (6-11) had won three in a row before losing to Spalding County 1-0 in the second game of Thursday’s doubleheader.

A strength of LaGrange’s team so far has been its pitching.

That pitching depth was on display in Thursday’s doubleheader, with Matthew Morgan, Landon Tucker, Charles Crawford and Jake Cardwell combining to give up three runs in two games.

The staff received a boost from the return of Crawford, who hadn’t pitched for a few weeks with arm soreness.

Crawford looked strong and pitched two scoreless innings.

Brant Williams and Wesley Kuhn have also fared well on the mound.

Troup (3-9), which has faced a challenging non-region schedule, has lost four in a row, including Thursday’s 3-2 loss to Woodward Academy.

The one big thing Troup has working in its favor is the presence of senior Colby Williams, who has signed with Kennesaw State.

Williams has been one of the state’s top pitchers the past few seasons, and he should give Troup an opportunity to win every time he takes the mound.

Fellow senior Jackson Knox, a Marion Military Institute signee, gives Troup another veteran, talented pitcher.

A handful of other Troup pitchers have been getting the job done as well, including a pair of sophomores in Carson Garner and Daniel Martin.

Here’s a look at next week’s region games, as well as the records of each of the region’s teams.

RECORDS

Cartersville 10-3

Cedartown 8-4

Central-Carroll 6-6

Chapel Hill 4-6

LaGrange 6-11

Sandy Creek 3-7

Troup 3-9

MONDAY

Cartersville at LaGrange

Troup at Central-Carroll

Chapel Hill at Cedartown

Thursday

LaGrange at Cartersville

Central-Carroll at Troup