By KEVIN ECKLEBERRY

Daily News

The Callaway Cavaliers, coming off a fantastic spring that ended with a heart-breaking loss in the Class AA semifinals, closed the season with a number-three ranking in the Georgia Dugout Preview poll.

Jeff Davis, which won the state championship, is ranked first in Class AA, while state runner-up Rockmart is ranked third.

Callaway pushed Rockmart to a winner-take-all game three in the semifinals, and it had a 5-2 lead heading into the seventh and final inning.

Unfortunately for Callaway, Rockmart rallied for five runs to secure the 7-5 win and advance to the championship series.

It was, nonetheless, a phenomenal season for Callaway, which advanced to the state semifinals for a second consecutive year.

Bleckley County, which lost to Jeff Davis in the semifinals, is ranked fourth in Class AA.

Bremen, which won the Region 5-AA championship and reached the state quarterfinals, was the top-ranked team at the close of the regular season, and it finished in the number five spot.

Completing the top 10 are Harlem, Bacon County, Social Circle, Thomasville and Fitzgerald.

Callaway beat Bacon County in the quarterfinals.

Northside-Columbus, after finishing third in its region, got hot at the right time and won the Class

AAAA state championship, and it is ranked first in that classification.

Parkview (36-4) is tops in Class AAAAAAA, Heritage-Conyers (31-8) is ranked first in Class AAAAAA, Loganville (34-6) is first in Class AAAAA after winning a third straight state title, and Pike County (34-4) is the top team in Class AAA.

In Class A private, Tatnall Square (35-3) is first after breezing to a state title, and Gordon Lee (32-5) is tops in Class A public.